So I am working as a temp in the collections and repo department of a very large company. I call it the world of sad. I am not sad working there, but the constant defaulting on loans, the constant repo-ing of cars, and the flood of mail from the bankruptcy courts is just sad.
No, I don't call people. I would cry hearing everyone's hardship story.
I don't know how the collectors do it everyday.
I do paperwork and enter things into the computer.
I am scared to ever finance a car again.
Today I had to overnight a letter to a DEAD MAN. Yeah, that's right. We send lots of mail to dead people. If they don't pay up, we repo. If their family members don't pay up, we repo the car.
I can say:
1) Buy the cheapest, cheapest car you can. And unless you haul around a dozen people every single day, then don't buy those expensive big cars. If I were a mom, I would just make all my kids ride bikes and tell them it's good exercise. If the baby can't crawl his/her way there, the baby can stay home. Okay, that's a joke.
2) So many cars are bought by parents or grandparents for their children or grandchildren, and then the kids (the grown kids) can't or don't make car payments. Who is stuck with the loan? Not the kids.
3) Everyday I pray for the people I have to send mean mail to. I pray for our country. I pray that my own car (TWELVE YEARS OLD my car is) keeps on running. It's scary out there in finance land, but you know that.
I thought about adding an image here of a car being repo'd, but it's scary. This is a nice Catholic blog.
3 comments:
That is very sad. It would be hard to work there, but I understand that you have to do it. You have a good heart, Lena!
My parents never bought any of us cars. There were five of us kids. We had one car among us five and had to share.
Oh wait. My parents did buy me my first car--a VERY OLD 1980 (I think it was a Chevy?) "boat car." That's what we called it. Those cars in the 70's and 80's were like boats compared to cars today. I remember one day I was sitting at a stoplight when suddenly my horn went off for no reason and it was stuck--frozen--honking. It was embarrassing. I honked all the way home.
I got rid of the car and later, much later, bought my own car.
Yes, it seemed like almost every young driver had an used car as big as a boat. I can't stop laughing about you honking all the way home.
My first used car didn't have a radio! And it had different colors of paint on it, and my mom called it Patches. Oh, how embarrassing.
I am thinking of the movie "License to Drive."
Becky, I'm sorry, but I'm laughing out loud at you honking all the way home. I had a boat where when I turned the wheel (even 1/4 turn) it would SQUEAL! I swear the engine was held together with duct tape. But I was LUCKY to have transportation!!!
Lena, you are RIGHT to get the least expensive car you can. It is NOT worth it to get repo'd or have payments. We buy used all the time. No payments.
I'm sure your job has been very eye-opening! I can't even imagine.
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