theres always a way to get around johnlaw

 

it's really not the cops you have to worry about. It's the car owner that calls the bank and complains that you broke into their house that causes the problems. Then you get to explain to your client (i.e. the bank) why you broke the law and why they should continue to be your customer, etc. You, acting as their representative, can cause them all sorts of problems, including lawsuits. And then there's the insurance issue. Repo insurance is expensive enough without having them catch a wiff that you might be operating on the shady side.

 

Even if the guy DID break into a garage, the burden of proof is on you, the homeowner. Your word against his - and who's going to believe someone who can't pay their bills? You can bet a repo company has better lawyers than you will.

I watched a show on repo guys onetime. Pitrow's (obviously) right - if they can get to the car, it's theirs. They will even cross international borders to get a car back. I saw them go to Mexico, steal the car, and drive it through customs. "Just went to get some lunch." Yes, it's illegal. No, they don't care. They have a job to do.

Unless you chain it to the ground, they'll get it.

 

the solution is simple, pay your friggin payment each month. if you are DETERMINED to keep your car secure, you can always simply take the wheels off, let it sit on the ground, and have a lift under the car, with it chained to the lift and have vicious dogs around to keep people away.

 

Ive repoed a car or two in my day too. It is illegal for them to enter into a building where the car is locked or even if its in a driveway that has a locked gate and it is illegal for them to move another vehicle to get to the one they want to repo. I know of no state where there is any exception to the B&E into another vehicle or onto private property that is locked.
The thing the repo guy used is technically a burglars tool and is basically a universal remote control that works with almost any electronic garage door opener theirs detects what kind of opener you have then uses the codes they have to activate it to open the door. There are a finite number of codes any garage door opener uses to work even if you have one which uses multiple codes this tool shoots all of them at it or uses the formula that your system uses to create the one time use code to make the opener pop.. the only cure unplug your garage door opener at night
based on theway this guy went after that car in the garage it is prolly a safe bet that he would just break in another way and manually open the door if he wanted the car that bad
Repoing is a tough business and i had a friend who was shot nine times trying to repo a car from a less than desireable person who was using the car for pharmecutical sales
the repo guy lived the drug dealer went to jail and the car was repoed but what a cost and lol the repo guy made the same money as if he never got shot its hardly worth the pay for some of the risks you take
as to the first poster if he slimmed the lock to get into the car he must have had to release the parking brake. I doubt for a parking infraction towers are allowed to damage the car to move it like pop the lock i sincerely doubt that he had keys for it unless perhaps the owner sent the shop to pick it up cause it was broken who knows... most of the modern tow trucks have a sneaker lift in them you can position the tow truck under the front wheels even if they are turned and this lift can lift it up . Once it is up im sure you can disengage the transmission linkage or something to let the car roll or put it in neutral. Ive taken many cars that way without ever once getting out of the nice warm cab of the tow truck while recovering a car.
Im a man of many trades i do construction work but when the winter comes and things are slow i sometimes drive tow trucks or rigs

 

Man, I wish I could moonlight as a repo man or even better a cop, and "take out some trash" other than the stuff in my kitchen. But I doubt my family will go for the idea...

 

If you can prove they broke in and stole it, the bank could be held liable as they hired the repo company.

 

[/QUOTE]You would think so, but its not even safe in a garage. About a 6 months ago, I was outside around 2 am when I noticed a repo truck in front of one of my neighbors' garage. The repo guy looked around for a while, then he went back to his truck and whipped out a fairly large console-looking device, pushed a few buttons and about 30 seconds later, my neighbor's garage opened. He opened the SUV, pushed it out and towed it away, just like that.[/QUOTE]


Is it true in TX that if you catch a person in the act of stealing something on your property, you are within your legal right to shoot them? I was watching a show on repo men years ago and one of them said something to that effect. It supposedly dated back to when cattle rustling was still a big problem. I know it sounds kind of hokey, I just wondered if anyone had heard the same thing.

 

The original poster said that the car was towed from the rear. Rear Wheels up is how he put it.

 

You can shoot someone to defend your property in TX, but only at night. So I could have shot the repo guy since I had my 686P handy, but I also knew my neighbor hadn't paid his auto loan in over 6 months so... (He did get the SUV back a week later after working it out with the bank.)

Deadly Force to Protect Property

"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect his property to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, theft during the nighttime or criminal mischief during the nighttime, and he reasonably believes that the property cannot be protected by any other means."

"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to pervent the other who is fleeing after committing burglary, robbery, or theft during the nighttime, from escaping with the property and he reasonable believes that the property cannot be recovered by any other means; or, the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the property would expose him or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. (Nighttime is defined as the period 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise.)"

Protection of the Property of Others


"A person is justified in using force or deadly force against another to protect the property of a third person if he reasonably believes he would be justified to use similar force to protect his own property, and he reasonably believes that there existed an attempt or actual commission of the crime of theft or criminal mischief."

"Also, a person is justified in using force or deadly force if he reasonably believes that the third person has requested his protection of property; or he has a legal duty to protect the property; or the third person whose property he is protecting is his spouse, parent or child."

 

Why can't we have your laws in Kalifornia? Would that be a registered or non registered handgun or long arm?
.....=o&o>.....

 

Only at night? What do you do during the day- beat the robber senseless?

 

That's odd. I always thought it was perfectly legal during the day as well here...

 

Should be in my book day or night your dead, justice served.
.....=o&o>.....

 

I worked for my Uncle in the early 80's after leaving the Army Airborne SF. I was good at what I did in the military, but it was time for a change. In the daytime, I worked for his construction company. Two or three nights a week, I was on a repo team. My Uncle was a Cop and then a Judge before his newest ventures, so he was well versed on the fine points of law. He had a huge assortment of keys on several key rings, and only HE knew his system. Sometimes the job was easy. The keys were left in the ignition every so often, and other times an ignition key was found somewhere in the vehicle. Many, MANY times the vehicle to repo had one of those little magnetic spare key cases hidden under the car. People always stuck them in a spot that was easy to get at, and that made them easy to find. We weren't allowed to damage the vehicle to recover it. That meant we couldn't pop out lock cylinders or whatever if we didn't have a key. We had a rollback and a wrecker for when that happened. Sometimes there was much detective work involved, just trying to locate the dang vehicle. Many people would park in other people's garages to hide them, or in a barn or whatever. Even move to a different town or state. They would go through more trouble to keep us from taking their ride, then to just earn the money to make the payments. Our record was good, but not perfect. If an owner was to confront us and refuse to give up the vehicle, we could not take it by force. There were times when we were shot at. Even more often, guys (and once a girl) would attack us out of the blue. Sometimes weapons were pulled on us or swung at us, and sometimes guys would come at us using various fighting skills. All they really had to do was to order us off their property, and/or tell us that they refuse to let us take their vehicle. I guess you can say I wasn't often the brains of the operation. I was the guy who did the leg work to try and locate the vehicles, when the cars/trucks/cycles/boats etc couldn't be found at the address we were given. It also seemed that it was my job to play defense. I was always packing, but we could absolutely only use "equal" force to protect ourselves from whatever level of force an aggressive person attempted to use against us. In other words, if they hit me, I could hit them back. If they discharge a firearm in my direction, I could then use like force in return. They get the first punch and the first shot. It didn't seem very fair, but it sure makes a person pay attention while on a recovery mission. I really enjoyed the feeling of having to be ready for anything, and then having to properly respond to whatever situation may come up. Playing detective involved some of my military skills too. I had to make my Uncle find a replacement for me after several years of repo work. I decided to divert all my attention to the construction business, and leave the repo work to somebody else. I grew tired of feeling guilty. Many people can't make their payments, because of bad luck, going through hard times, or whatever. NOT EVERY PERSON WHO HAS SOMETHING REPOED, IS A DEADBEAT. Problem is, the banks and finace companies don't make that distinction. I miss it in a way, but I feel better about myself.