Debt collectors punch young mom in face

[Matsubara]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/05/debt_collectors.html

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Debt collectors charged with assaulting young mother

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

A debt collector trying to repossess a 2000 Ford Focus tried to yank a young mother out of her car so violently that he ripped off her necklace and punched her in the face, a prosecutor said today in court.

While the woman's 5-year-old daughter watched in horror Friday, another debt collector jumped on the hood like a �madman,� said Brendan Barnes, a prosecutor for the Plymouth County district attorney's office.

Afraid she was being carjacked, Sara Bradley, 25, drove to the Abington Police Department with the man clinging to her hood while his partner followed in another car. The two debt collectors from South Shore Auto Recovery -- Robert Simeone, 21, and his brother, Michael, 17 -- were arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

"This appears to be two young men in the repo business going above and beyond the call of duty," said Barnes at the brothers' arraignment today in Brockton District Court.

[SeattleGirl]

1. Fuckers!!!!

God. Damned. FUCKERS! :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

May they rot in hell!

[azurnoir]

2. These people operate under the impression

that they are above the law and that their victims don't know the law.

[malaise]

10. Well now these two young men have merely watched their

government who appear to be above the law as well.

This is disgusting. Thankfully this was an intelligent woman and she drove to the police station.

[lvx35]

3. Ah! I hope the lawsuit against those fuckers handles whatever debt she has quite well! nt

[colorado_ufo]

4. Now there's a sense of proper priorities -

These jerks valued a 2000 FORD FOCUS over the welfare of a young mother and child. If ever there was an example of materialism gone berserk, this is it.

The woman had guts and protected her child. I hope she can dig her way out of this economy and pay off the debt on her car.

[SeattleGirl]

5. They are evil! I have been having financial problems for the past

year, because my income took a dive. It's gradually going up, but I'm far behind on many of my bills. More than one creditor, when I told them that I could NOT pay what they were asking, said, very condescendingly to me, "Well, if you CHOOSE not to pay....." What part of "I don't have that much money right now" do these fucker NOT understand??????

I'm so tired of being treated like a piece of worthless shit because I'm not as rich as Dickhead Cheney or GeorgieBoy Bush! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Kindigger]

6. Dontcha know

to them "CHOOSE not to pay" means you are so very selfish! While they want the last installment on a sofa you no longer own, you pick food, water, electricity, and housing.

How dare you be so selfish. :sarcasm:

[Matsubara]

8. I know they use that language deliberately - be careful.

What they usually do is try to catch you saying that you choose not to pay so they can use it in court to show that you are willfully evading payment.

If they ever ask you "Do you choose not to pay", make sure and say "No, I CAN NOT PAY." And I would suggest also not speaking to collectos on the phone as they can be horribly abusive. Tell them your address and to send their communication their. They are not allowed to keep calling and calling you.

More on credit problems and law protecting debtors:

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/consumer/fair_debt_collection.html

NACA

http://www.naca.net/

Bud Hibbs

http://budhibbs.com/

[Ilsa]

13. She may not have to now...

If I'm not mistaken, the debt collectors are acting as agents of the lenders. This was a violation of debt collection law as well as criminal law. She may be entitiled to treble damages or something.

[Ecumenist]

7. WTF??!! These creeps need to be put UNDER the jail...

and their actions need to precede them to General Population so that a few of the inmates can open up a big ass can o' whupass on those two. They also need to be sued for EVERYTHANG they ever thought about owning. This is f*cking ridiculous!!

[Horse with no Name]

9. Illegal tactics used by self-proclaimed warriors

I get the same sick feelings when I watch Dog the Bounty Hunter. An even sicker feeling when people here contributed to his defense fund.
Nobody is asking any of them to be compassionate. They have jobs to do but there are very well-defined boundaries they are allowed to do it in.
That said, I hope these two go to jail and I hope she sues the company that hired them tenfold of what she owes them so she can buy a better car.

[ellisonz]

11. Actually, I wouldn't put Dog in with these guys.

There's a pretty big difference between a bounty hunter and a debt collector. If you've watched more than a couple episodes you will see that Dog and crew are generally pretty compassionate and humane towards individuals who are not just behind on car payments but are criminals in violation of the conditions of their bail. That's not to say I don't have beef with either capitalism or its "justice" system, but I can't help but think Dog's show hasn't caused some of the more ruthless bounty hunters to become a bit more compassionate in regards to people that do need to be in jail.

:evilfrown:

[Matsubara]

12. From what we see on the show, yeah.

We can only guess what Dog & Co. might be doing when the cameras are off.

But yeah, he doesn't seem like a total jerk.

It is strange to me that anyone would lump debtors in with criminals - is that how debtors are seen?

All I can say to the high-and-mighty who scoff at people in default "There but for the grace of God go I".

[Horse with no Name]

15. I'm not lumping debtors in with criminals

I'm lumping bounty hunters in with repo guys.
Not a real subtle difference.
Many here were all too willing to give Dog a pass when he broke the law to capture Andrew Luster.
I wasn't.
You can't break the laws to enforce the laws. Case in point these repo men.

[Ilsa]

14. I bet they bend over backwards to satisfy her.

I'm not certain, but I think as agents of the lenders, she may get treble damages or have some degree of recourse against the lender for not making sure the repo'ers know their responsibilities. I know that you can't do that in Texas.

[NaturalHigh]

16. Throw them in jail.

I can't work up any sympathy for these little weekend warrior wannabes.