Scary Repo: Child In Car

A self-help car repossession in New Jersey took a terrible turn when the repo agent took a car with a toddler in it:

Police say the father put the child in the car outside their East Orange home Wednesday morning before returning inside to grab a bottle.

When he returned, the car had been towed by the repo driver, who was unaware the child was inside.

One of the inherent problems with the concept of non-judicial self-help repossessions is that it encourages hasty decisions. Repo agents must act quickly to avoid customer encounters instead of thinking through and assessing the situation. This is opposed to the standard approach of allowing the lender and the consumer present their positions in a court and allowing the judicial process play out.