The New York Times is reporting that First Castle Federal Credit Union in Covington, La. is using starter interrupter devices to track the location of the cars that it has financed.
According to the article, the head of collections for the credit union, Lionel M. Vead Jr., uses the device to monitor the movements of about 880 subprime borrowers on a computerized map. If a borrower has fallen behind on his or her payment, Mr. Vead can remotely disable the vehicle from his computer or mobile phone.
The article quotes Mr. Vead about disabling a car while shopping at a Walmart.
He noted that once he disabled the vehicle, the borrower will call him within minutes looking to make the payment.
He is also encouraging other credit unions to use the technology.
Moreover, Lender Systems of Temecula, Calif., which sells a range of starter interrupt devices, has seen its revenues more than doubled so far this year, buoyed by an influx of new credit union customers.
However, this practice, while improving collections, does raise privacy concerns.
Read the story.
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Looks like Mr. Vead is helping his members get back on their feet.
ReplyDeleteThe credit union community calls this: "People helping people. Not for profit."
ReplyDeleteHelping people become stranded.
ReplyDeleteMaking no money doing it...half of all lose money.
We use devices so we can interest rates about 40% lower than by-here pay-here dealers. Our members are thankful for the service and we've had few if any problems. Certainly not the horror story the Times article would have folks believe.
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