The Associated Press reports that Repo men are becoming increasingly violent with debtors.
This is the story where Repo men claim that they are defending themselves when they repo a car, by shooting at debtors that are defending their property. A few thoughts on this:
It is not the bank's car. It is not the bank's property that the car is on. The bank has a security interest in the car, but gun play in a debtor's yard is not the place to settle a civil dispute. That is why we have courts.
If this is typical of how repo men operate, I can see the problem. Sure, people need to pay their bills. With that being said, no one has the right to use force in a CIVIL dispute.
As a homeowner, if someone is on my property at 2 AM, I am going to investigate. If a man istrying to take my car with force, he is an aggressor and he will be dealt with, and I will meet force with force.
In Florida, it is illegal for a repo man to be armed. It is Federal law that a repo man is not allowed to create a "Breach of the Peace" in affecting a repo. I would say that a shootout is a breach of the peace.
