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from the scorn-the-poor-man-as-a-thief-in-country-and-in-towne dept.
Auto loans to borrowers considered subprime, those with credit scores at or below 640, have spiked in the last five years with roughly 25 percent of all new auto loans made last year subprime, a volume of $145 billion in the first three months of this year. Now the NYT reports that before they can drive off the lot, many subprime borrowers must have their car outfitted with a so-called starter interrupt device, which allows lenders to remotely disable the ignition. By simply clicking a mouse or tapping a smartphone, lenders retain the ultimate control. Borrowers must stay current with their payments, or lose access to their vehicle and a leading device maker, PassTime of Littleton, Colo., says its technology has reduced late payments to roughly 7 percent from nearly 29 percent. “The devices are reshaping the dynamics of auto lending by making timely payments as vital to driving a car as gasoline.”
Mary Bolender, who lives in Las Vegas, needed to get her daughter to an emergency room, but her 2005 Chrysler van would not start. Bolender was three days behind on her monthly car payment. Her lender remotely activated a device in her car’s dashboard that prevented her car from starting. Before she could get back on the road, she had to pay more than $389, money she did not have that morning in March. “I felt absolutely helpless,” said Bolender, a single mother who stopped working to care for her daughter. Some borrowers say their cars were disabled when they were only a few days behind on their payments, leaving them stranded in dangerous neighborhoods. Others said their cars were shut down while idling at stoplights. Some described how they could not take their children to school or to doctor’s appointments. One woman in Nevada said her car was shut down while she was driving on the freeway. Attorney Robert Swearingen says there's an old common law principle that a lender can’t “breach the peace” in a repossession. That means they can’t put a person in harm’s way. To Swearingen, that would mean “turning off a car in a bad neighborhood, or for a single female at night.”
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 26 2014, @03:42PM
Really? You have to pay for ambulances in the USA? My god, your healthcare system is fucked up. What next, paying to call the cops?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Sir Garlon on Friday September 26 2014, @04:04PM
Most ambulances in the US are operated by private, for-profit companies. I don't know the going rate for ambulance service but last I needed an ambulance, the bill was $900. That was in 1986. The cost is completely hidden of course -- you call the ambulance, it takes you to the hospital, no one mentions price, and two weeks later you get a bill for $1000 or $2000 or $7000 (I have no idea the current rates). Let's just say the ambulance companies are in a strong position to set their own prices. Insurance companies usually work out a deal with the ambulance companies where their customers get a deep discount and the insurer pays the rest. If you don't have insurance, or if your insurance does not have a crooked little deal with the ambulance company, then they charge you the full, non-discounted rate.
I assure you, our healthcare system is more deeply fucked up than you, a foreigner, would dare to imagine. This is just one tiny facet of it, so inconsequential when viewed in perspective that people don't even complain about it.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 26 2014, @05:52PM
our healthcare system is more deeply fucked up than you, a foreigner, would dare to imagine
There's a guy who was top executive at one of these for-profit outfits who oversaw massive fraud and abuse. [google.com] Details [wikipedia.org]
He has gone on to be elected Governor by the people of Florida.
-- gewg_
(Score: 1) by SacredSalt on Saturday September 27 2014, @12:22PM
Indeed... All the ambulance did for me was put in a line to my arm (with no fluids) and transport me. They didn't give me the actual oxygen I needed even though my O2 sats were extremely low -- they waited to let the hospital do that. Then the billed $1500, which is roughly 500 per mile they transported me.
Goody!
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Friday September 26 2014, @10:58PM
Wouldn't surprise me. This story is 4 years old, but at least somewhere in this country we basically have to pay to call the fire department:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39516346/ns/us_news-life/t/no-pay-no-spray-firefighters-let-home-burn/#.VCXuxpWoJkU [nbcnews.com]
Welcome to America: The Land of Endangering People to Make Money (tm) and Something About Liberty or Freedom or Bravery or Somesuch.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 1) by kryptonianjorel on Saturday September 27 2014, @12:40AM
NO!
That story is about a town who pays for a fire department, and the residents of the surrounding county NOT paying for their own fire department. The residents of the CITY pay with their taxes, but the residents of the surrounding county do not. Thus the fire department of the city allowed the residents of the surrounding area to pay something like $20/year for fire protection. The house that burned down refused to pay the fee TWICE, and then got upset as the fire department let their house burn to the ground
Its the equivalent to trying to buy insurance once you need it.
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Saturday September 27 2014, @12:54AM
Alright, fair enough. I was hard-pressed to find an example. It's just that that sort of thing really wouldn't surprise me anymore.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.