5 ms·

> The move to the shelter violated a clause in her auto loan contract that restricted her from driving outside a four-county radius, and that prompted the lende

> The move to the shelter violated a clause in her auto loan contract that restricted her from driving outside a four-county radius, and that prompted the lender to send a tow truck to take back the vehicle. The lender should have spoken to her and adjusted the allowed region rather than escalating immediately to a towtruck. Ideally she would have had the presence of mind to call her lender, but some understanding should be shown. > If the lender could so easily locate the client, Ms. Kleinpeter said, what was stopping her husband? This makes no sense. Her husband doesn't work for the auto lender. Why would he have access to that? It feels dishonest/manipulative to use this argument.

imoverclocked 6y ago
I can easily see a scenario where an abusive husband leans on some guy/gal working in a car dealership to get information. In theory the information shouldn’t flow across that border but in practice it does.
paxys 6y ago
The woman escaped an abusive relationship and found safety in a shelter. It isn't a question of "presence of mind", calling your auto loan agent would be the absolute last priority for everyone in her shoes.
bsder 6y ago
> This makes no sense. Her husband doesn't work for the auto lender. Why would he have access to that? It feels dishonest/manipulative to use this argument. "Hey, my car went walkabout and if I report this to the police it's going to take forever and cost a lot of time and money for all of us. I need to find it and you folks have a tracking system on it. Where is it? Thanks." I suspect that would probably work in 90% of the cases. These aren't exactly the most reputable people. A little bit of cash might get another 5% of the cases. Since he is the husband, his name is likely on everything as well, so he has a legal right to find the car. What's worse: a lot of abusers make sure to put only their own name on things so that what the wife did is nominally illegal. A little bit of nominally legal manipulation and you might actually be able to get the actual police to do all the legwork for you.
tyingq 6y ago
Ms Kleinpeter is the woman's lawyer, and she had a chance to use public opinion to help pressure the auto loan company. She happened to do it using language that didn't expose her to slander. Just doing her job as far as I can tell. Pretty well, too, since the quote landed in the NYT.
hansthehorse 6y ago
Buy here pay here auto lots are essentially predatory lenders using the cars as tokens. It's all about the loan not the car. They thrive on selling the same car over and over and will repossess at the drop of a hat. Two days late on your payment? Expect that car to be towed any minute. Even if the desperate customer manages to pay off the loan the lot makes credit card type interest on the transaction.

imoverclocked 6y ago

I can easily see a scenario where an abusive husband leans on some guy/gal working in a car dealership to get information. In theory the information shouldn’t flow across that border but in practice it does.

paxys 6y ago

The woman escaped an abusive relationship and found safety in a shelter. It isn't a question of "presence of mind", calling your auto loan agent would be the absolute last priority for everyone in her shoes.

bsder 6y ago

> This makes no sense. Her husband doesn't work for the auto lender. Why would he have access to that? It feels dishonest/manipulative to use this argument. "Hey, my car went walkabout and if I report this to the police it's going to take forever and cost a lot of time and money for all of us. I need to find it and you folks have a tracking system on it. Where is it? Thanks." I suspect that would probably work in 90% of the cases. These aren't exactly the most reputable people. A little bit of cash might get another 5% of the cases. Since he is the husband, his name is likely on everything as well, so he has a legal right to find the car. What's worse: a lot of abusers make sure to put only their own name on things so that what the wife did is nominally illegal. A little bit of nominally legal manipulation and you might actually be able to get the actual police to do all the legwork for you.

tyingq 6y ago

Ms Kleinpeter is the woman's lawyer, and she had a chance to use public opinion to help pressure the auto loan company. She happened to do it using language that didn't expose her to slander. Just doing her job as far as I can tell. Pretty well, too, since the quote landed in the NYT.

hansthehorse 6y ago

Buy here pay here auto lots are essentially predatory lenders using the cars as tokens. It's all about the loan not the car. They thrive on selling the same car over and over and will repossess at the drop of a hat. Two days late on your payment? Expect that car to be towed any minute. Even if the desperate customer manages to pay off the loan the lot makes credit card type interest on the transaction.