The Repo Man Commeth

Bud: Credit is a sacred trust, it’s what our free society is founded on. Do you think they give a damn about their bills in Russia? I said, do you think they give a damn about their bills in Russia?
Otto: They don’t pay bills in Russia, it’s all free.
Bud: All free? Free my ass. What are you, a fuckin’ commie? Huh?
Otto: No, I ain’t no commie.
Bud: Well, you better not be. I don’t want no commies in my car. No Christians either.

—Repo Man (1984)

According to an article in the New York Times, times are good for Repo Men.

When a boat owner defaults on his loan, the bank hires Jeff Henderson to seize its property. The former Army detective tracks the boat down in a backyard or a marina or a garage and hauls it to his storage area and later auctions it off. After nearly 20 years in the repossession business, Mr. Henderson has never been busier.

“I used to take the weak ones,” he said. “Now I’m taking the whole herd.”

Henderson has another paragraph devoted to him that I liked as well:

Tied up on the canal in back, just visible from the street, is a 40-foot Silverton yacht. As Mr. Henderson surveyed the area the other day, something nagged at his memory.

Finally he remembered: “I’ve taken this boat before.” Owners of repossessed boats have a few weeks to redeem them, and this fellow had availed himself of the opportunity. Now, a few years later, he was in trouble again. Mr. Henderson shrugged. “I took it before, I’ll take it again. After I take it a few more times, he’ll be eligible for a Christmas card. One guy, I took his boat four times.”

As a guy in the collections industry, I can tell you that this indifference creeps into you. It reminds me of John Cusack in Grosse Pointe Blank saying, “It’s not me. If I show up at your door, chances are you did something to bring me there.” I try to combat it to a certain degree. Frequently, a debtor I’m pressing for money will say something like, “I don’t blame you. I know it’s your job.” I tell them, “Feel free to blame me; I could do something else for a living.”

The New York Times article basically goes on to describe the fact that, as they say in Repo Man, “the life of a Repo Man is intense.” Violence is always a possibility. But, the following paragraphs captures more of what I’ve experienced in the collections industry:

But when he steered Toy Box up to his dock, no fisticuffs ensued. Robert Dahmen, a lanky 49-year-old, was peaceful, even apologetic. He wanted to salvage whatever he could off the boat, and offered in return to detail its history to any possible buyers. Mr. Henderson was polite but distant. Hard-luck stories have ceased to interest him.

There is a terrible sameness about a lot of folks’ individual tragedies. They got sick, they overcommitted, their situation changed, they didn’t plan ahead. At this point, debt scares me a bit. I have a fear of one day having to talk to someone like myself – friendly enough, but generally implacable and ready to grind me through the gears of the law to salvage a few bucks for a creditor.