Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car

[oscar]

Yep.  I don't understand why it's OK for a corporation to do something we wouldn't let the government do.  At least we can vote out the government (theoretically).

We can also stop doing business with misbehaving companies.  Not always practical, but much less theoretical than changing out the government, whose revenue streams are also usually much less vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction.

[jeffandnicole]

How often have you heard that your taxes never go down?  How often do people say that about products they buy in the supermarket?  Except for a few things such as Milk which can vary on occasion, nearly every product's pricing only goes up. 

[SidS1045]

From New York Times:

Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car

The thermometer showed a 103.5-degree fever, and her 10-year-old’s asthma was flaring up. Mary Bolender, who lives in Las Vegas, needed to get her daughter to an emergency room, but her 2005 Chrysler van would not start.

The cause was not a mechanical problem — it was her lender.

Ms. Bolender was three days behind on her monthly car payment. Her lender, C.A.G. Acceptance of Mesa, Ariz., 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.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Moral of the story, kids. It is very expensive to be poor and sub-prime. Stay in school, get a good job, and make sure you keep your finances in order.

To anyone who's ever seen Bait Car it's obvious that it was only a matter of time before the same tactics were used elsewhere.  I'm surprised government (other than police) didn't come up with it first.

[vdeane]

Yep.  I don't understand why it's OK for a corporation to do something we wouldn't let the government do.  At least we can vote out the government (theoretically).

We can also stop doing business with misbehaving companies.  Not always practical, but much less theoretical than changing out the government, whose revenue streams are also usually much less vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately many businesses are so big these days even an organized boycott won't make a dent in the revenue.  Plus, as an idealist, I can't afford to be too picky because my values and the way business works in a capitalist system don't align.

[Pete from Boston]

Yep.  I don't understand why it's OK for a corporation to do something we wouldn't let the government do.  At least we can vote out the government (theoretically).

We can also stop doing business with misbehaving companies.  Not always practical, but much less theoretical than changing out the government, whose revenue streams are also usually much less vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately many businesses are so big these days even an organized boycott won't make a dent in the revenue.  Plus, as an idealist, I can't afford to be too picky because my values and the way business works in a capitalist system don't align.

Don't be too sure.  Bad publicity travels like wildfire these days.  Ray Rice, anyone?