In the lobby of the corrugated metal building that serves as ADP's office sat a child's car seat with a tag identifying the owner. Outside, dozens of vehicles were parked in a large lot surrounded by chain link fence topped with razor wire. One was a panel van with lettering on the side advertising a man's gutter and window replacement business. The phone number had been disconnected.
State law allows a repo agent to go on private property to retrieve a vehicle but requires that repossessions be carried out by "peaceful means," meaning force or threats of force can't be used. The repo agent can't break into a garage, cut the lock from a fence or move a vehicle that is blocking the one he wants to get.
And the lender generally can collect towing and storage fees only if it has given the owner 10 days' advance, written notice that a vehicle is due to be repossessed.
Once the vehicle is picked up, the owner has 15 days to catch up on his or her payments and pay for storage and towing, or it can be sold at a wholesale auction. The owner has the right to bid on it there. If it sells for less than what is owed, the borrower is liable for the difference.
While companies such as Greenwood and ADP are properly licensed as collection agents, some used car dealers do repossessions with little state oversight.
Shannon Davidson complained to the attorney general's consumer protection division after two repo agents dressed in black came to her Baltimore home. They flashed fake badges and commandeered a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse that she and her fiance owned. The car was repossessed after the couple got into a dispute with the seller over needed repairs and stopped making monthly payments, she said.
"They were in a Ford Explorer and represented themselves as police officers," Davidson said of the repo agents. "They told us we had to relinquish every set of keys. When my fiance opened the trunk to get our personal belongings out of the truck, one of them snatched the keys from his hand and they started taking off."
State law prohibits such practices by licensed collection agents, and reputable repo companies don't engage in them. Greenwood, for example, said he thoroughly trains his drivers in permissible techniques.
Nonetheless, it's a risky business. Wary owners have been known to sleep in their cars or leave a pit bull inside.
In an attempt to avoid confrontation, repossessions often take place at night, when the owners are likely to be asleep.
