AND WE WONDER WHY WE HAVE A BAD IMAGE

By The Patriot Ledger

A frightening incident last week and the arraignment of a pair of Brockton brothers has brought an ugly and little-regulated underbelly of credit collection to the forefront.

We wonder what possessed the Simeone brothers of Brockton to apparently think they were in a Martin Scorcese film. Had they watched too many episodes of ‘‘Dog the Bounty Hunter?’’

Jumping on the hood of a car, terrorizing a young mother with a 5-year-old in the backseat, allegedly assaulting the woman, all in the name of repossessing a seven-year-old Ford Focus when the owner fell three weeks to a month behind on her car payments?

Sara Bradley of Rockland admits she could not make her weekly $85 car payment to Crown Auto Sales after she lost her job as an accounting clerk. She said she notified the dealer but never heard back.

James Stuart, Crown’s general manager, said he unleashed the repo men, Robert J. Simeone Jr., 21, and his teenage brother Michael, after Bradley went into default last month.

The Simeones were apparently doing work for their dad, Robert Simeone of South Shore Auto. Riding with four teenage friends, they spotted Bradley in East Bridgewater, allegedly tried to reach in and yank her or the keys out, and gave chase through three towns before Robert Simeone Jr. jumped on the hood of her car and she drove into the Abington police station’s parking lot with the man still attached to her hood.

Bradley, understandably, said she thought she was being carjacked. While Stuart claimed the whole process was legal, Massachusetts general laws may take issue with that.

One of the statutes outlining repossession, Chapter 255, section 13J ( we looked it up so we assume others can as well), says a creditor can reclaim collateral on a defaulted loan ‘‘only if possession can be obtained without use of force, (and) without a breach of peace.’’

The brothers were hit with an array of charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in East Bridgewater and Abington and held.

‘‘Any semblance of common sense was completely lost as emotions escalated, putting a 5-year-old through that type of scare as her mother was confronted,’’ Abington Police Chief David Majenski said after the incident.

No one is saying people should be allowed to stop paying their bills. You are granted credit and with it comes responsibilities and consequences when you can’t hold up your end of the bargain. There are, however, regulations on how that delinquency should be handled and they include rights for the buyer.

When a teenager and someone barely above the legal drinking age act as unlicensed bounty hunters, it’s time to rethink the system.

Officials at the Executive Office of Consumer Affairs, the Executive Office of Public Safety and the Attorney General’s office said there are no statutes governing repossession companies or their employees save for a few requirements like not using force, not entering someone’s home and notifying police within one hour of taking possession of property.

They are unlicensed, unregulated and untrained yet they are empowered to recover collateral for a price. We regulate and license people to cut your hair, massage your back and put on your makeup but anyone with a scary physique and questionable background can be employed to take away someone’s car without warning.

The Legislature needs to look at these retail installment agreements but foremost, lawmakers have to put the lasso around these repo cowboys who have little regard or even knowledge of responsible collection actions.

Soldier's car repossessed while deployed to Ira

By Gene Rector

Clayton Jenkins of Montezuma has a federal law on his side, but his beef with an Oglethorpe used-car dealer is far from clear cut.

Macon County Auto Sales repossessed Jenkins' 1996 Chrysler Concord in May 2005 while the 48th Brigade member was deployed to Iraq. No one disputes that. And an Army attorney has said the "buy-here, pay-here" dealership violated the Service Member's Civil Relief Act. That has owner Mark Neisler in potential hot water. But then the details get murky.

Jenkins said Neisler repossessed his car for no valid reason.

"I had paid $1,500 down and we were caught up on all payments," the Blue Bird employee said last week. "My wife took the May payment down there that morning and Neisler refused it. He didn't give her any explanation. Then that night, he came and got the car."

Information Jenkins provided to Fort Stewart attorney Russell Putnam Jr. shows the Army specialist purchased the car in December 2004 for $3,850. He paid $1,600 down and made four monthly payments of $250 before it was repossessed.

Jenkins' wife, Monica, described the confrontation with Neisler when she attempted to deliver the May installment.

"He was very rude," she reported. "He asked me to get off his property. I told him we only had three more payments to go and he said, 'You're right, but I've decided I'm not going to accept anything from you.' "

The Allen Canning Co. worker said Neisler's motives were clear to her: "He just wanted to confiscate the car and keep the money."

She said the repossession created severe hardships for her and five children. Her husband had deployed four months earlier. Two of the children were ill and needed frequent medical attention. She was suffering from migraines and was in and out of doctors' offices and the emergency room.

"I had a lot of problems about that time," she confided. "I was really going through a lot of things and had no transportation for anything, including getting food for my kids. I had to pay someone or catch a ride."

Neisler offered a different view during a Thursday telephone interview. He implied that Jenkins was using federal law and his deployed status to avoid paying for the car.

"Nobody offered to pay off the car," he contended. "They were three payments behind or it wouldn't have gotten repossessed. I told them if they paid it off, they could get it back. They said they didn't have to pay if off. That's the way it ended. They cussed me out and called me every name in the book and said they would never buy anything from me."

Neisler said he has sold the Jenkins family three or four cars and has never received payment.

"I again tried to help them and see what that got me," he stated. "I'm a good person trying to help somebody. Yet I'm a bad person for taking the car. What about me getting my money? What about my family eating?"

He said he didn't know what the big deal was regarding the federal law and Jenkins' deployed status. "I don't care where he was," Neisler acknowledged. "If you don't make your payments, your car gets repossessed."

Neisler said another Macon County used car dealer, Larry Wilson, experienced similar problems with Jenkins. Wilson, owner of Cars R Us, said Jenkins bought two cars from him and did not pay for either one.

"He left me owing quite a hunk of money. I repossessed one and I could never find the other," Wilson contended. "I would never sell him another car."

Jenkins said his family has bought only two cars from Neisler - the one repossessed while he was deployed and a vehicle his wife bought two years ago.

Monica Jenkins confirmed the purchase, but said the deal fell through when the car developed engine problems.

"I had the car three or four days and (Neisler) assured me he would get his mechanic to work on it," she said. "He never did fix it. I was the one who called him to come and get it."

As for Wilson, Jenkins said he purchased one car that was later repossessed after he missed one payment. Monica Jenkins dismissed Wilson's comments: "Of course he's going to say that because he and Neisler are close friends."

Army attorney Putnam said "money owed" has little impact on laws protecting deployed members of the military. Documents issued by Putnam indicate creditors are forbidden from "repossessing for breach of contract ... without a court order."

The Fort Stewart official said he notified Neisler of his failure to obtain a court order by telephone and in a Dec. 12, 2005, letter. The car dealer denied receiving a phone call and was vague on receipt of a letter.

"No Army attorney has called me," he asserted. "I got some kind of letter but it was no good. Jenkins had one of his friends write it on Army letterhead just to scare me."

Putnam confirmed Thursday that the Dec. 12 letter - obtained by The Telegraph - was valid. "That's my signature," he said. "I sent it first class, return receipt requested. (Neisler) took the car in violation of federal law."

The letter contained a $10,000 settlement offer if executed by Jan. 3, 2006. Neisler did not respond. Putnam said violation of the statute can result in a fine, imprisonment for not more than a year, or both.

Jenkins has had little success in pursuing his claim since returning from Iraq in June of last year. Putnam referred the case to U.S. Attorney Max Wood in Macon, who declined to prosecute. Wood cited "limited resources," according to Jenkins. When asked why he would not help Jenkins, Wood issued a "no comment" response Thursday through an assistant.

The 48th Brigade member said his next step would be to file an action in Macon County Magistrate Court. "My Warner Robins attorney advised me to represent myself first and if (Neisler) appeals then get an attorney," he said. "He has not responded in any way." Jenkins said he would ask for $10,000, including pain and suffering.

Another option might come with the U.S. Justice Department. That agency regards violation of the Service Member's Civil Relief Act as a civil rights issue.

Neisler said he is guilty only of trying to help Jenkins. "I helped them when they were tight and needed a car," he said. "I didn't want to sell them another one, but I did any way. I took a chance and I got screwed. That's what this whole world is about it seems like. Somebody always has a loophole."

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From Virginia

In the dark of night, they come. Taking people's prized possessions.

They're not thieves.

They're repo men risking their own lives!

Over two nights, we rode with Bill's Recovery in Newport News and Summs Skip and Collection Service in Virginia Beach. Two companies with the same goal, to get that vehicle without getting grief from owners.

Bill Chenault and his drivers, including his 19-year-old son, begin the night at the kitchen table that doubles as Bill's office. It's just before midnight, and it's just the start of a seven hour shift. Between the three of them, they'll repossess ten cars before daylight, but it won't be easy.

"The joy I get out of it? It's a challenge," Chenault said.

Bill's been a repo man for 17 years, and he knows night time is prime time. The professional repo drivers, we're talking the pros, can find that car, and grab it. Forget gone in 60 seconds; try 10. Bill says the best of the bunch don't need to carry a gun.

"A lot of us repo companies out here choose to carry a firearm, if you're good at what you do, you don't really need it," Chenault said.

However, you do need steel nerves and a steel resolve. It's 4:00 a.m., and we're in Williamsburg. Bill's picking up a car. He just woke up the owner. Now the owner has to clean it out and give up his car in the middle of the night. That's bad enough without a camera crew in tow. And when he sees us, things get interesting.

"I don't care who they are! Get them out of here! It's 4:00 a.m! People are asleep! What the F&%$ you doin'? Get them out of here!" said the unidentified owner.

"He admits he's in the wrong there." Chenault explained. "'I should have had it cleaned out and put on the street.' But he said nobody showed up at nine, so he left the stuff in his car. That's kinda foolish."

Bill says people are sometimes desperate to keep their cars.

"This guy jumped the curb, ran over the curb, ran down Jefferson (Avenue), ran through stop lights, stop signs, even went by a (school) bus with the sign out. You know, why put some child's life in danger?"

If Bill Chenault is the rock-n-roll repo tow man, then Mark Summs is the symphony. If Summs Skip and Recovery isn't the biggest repo company in Hampton Roads, then it's probably the oldest. It opened in 1932.

"Somebody comes out with a gun and starts shooting. That's when it's time to leave," said Mark Summs.

Summs has a fleet of nine trucks that are so efficient, the company picks up 400 vehicles every month. Though thier personalities are different, both Chenault and Summs agree the economy is in a slump.

"Based on the first quarter of 2007 vs. 2006 we're picking up more cars."

One of Mark's drivers Mike Clark, says people will hide their cars anywhere to try to keep them.

"There was one in Franklin that I found in a cornfield finally, Clark said.

As night draws to a close, Bill on the Peninsula and Mark on the Southside have grabbed ten cars between them. About an average take. With a profit of $450 per vehicle, it makes us wonder, if we're in the wrong business.