Some Counties Ease Up on Car Repossessions Over Debt

Y’all remember the Boston Globe, right? Stalwart warriors for justice? The voice for the voiceless?

Over the summer they ran a rather incendiary series of articles titled “Debtors’ Hell” – a series that picked from among the worst in the industry, and then extrapolated that the entire debt collection and accounts receivable management industry was corrupt beyond corruption and that debtors were simply more sinned against than sinning.

After the series, the Globe would periodically take a moment to pat itself on the back for its keen reporting, letting things like biased reporting and creative statistics furrow their collective brow no more. And now they’re back at it again.

According to the Globe, thanks to their tireless efforts, sheriffs in three Massachusetts counties are reevaluating their position on repossessing debtors’ cars.

"We will no longer seize cars over medical bills, no matter what the amount," Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti said in a statement covered by the Globe, calling the practice inappropriate because medical services are not a discretionary purchase.

“The change was made,” the article goes on to suggest, “after the Globe reported that many consumers have no idea they are being sued for debt or that a debt collector has a court judgment to seize their property” – forgetting that correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation.

Among the changes being made in regards to vehicle repossession vis a vis debt collection:

• Warning letters are sent to debtors who are in danger of having their vehicle repossessed;
• If a debtor claims to have filed for bankruptcy protection deputy sheriffs must not seize the person’s vehicle unless they determine the claim is false;
• When seizing vehicles, deputy sheriffs must now consult a catalog of used-car prices to determine whether a vehicle’s sale value will cover the debt that is owed;
• Vehicles will no longer be seized which have a large lien against them;
• Attracting more bidders to boost the sale price of repossessed and auctioned vehicles.