Car Repo...

[TicketBitch]

I was wondering when this is going to turn into a lawsuit from an employee getting hurt or put in danger. I was thinking of all the repo's that are done by ERAC employees that are not trained in this aspect of the job. This is not something that a rental agent should not be asked to do. Note that real repo men do it at the ass crack of dawn, many of them with weapons in their tow trucks as it is a very dangerous practice. I had to go on a repo with my branch manager on my first day at the branch! Think about going on a repo in the hood and a disgruntled customer comes out with intent to harm to get that car back? Is ERAC ever going to step up and contract this out to professionals, or is it going to have to result in someting grave happening to an employee to correct this? Just curious if this has ever crossed anyone else's mind...

Originally Posted by TicketBitch

I was wondering when this is going to turn into a lawsuit from an employee getting hurt or put in danger. I was thinking of all the repo's that are done by ERAC employees that are not trained in this aspect of the job. This is not something that a rental agent should not be asked to do. Note that real repo men do it at the ass crack of dawn, many of them with weapons in their tow trucks as it is a very dangerous practice. I had to go on a repo with my branch manager on my first day at the branch! Think about going on a repo in the hood and a disgruntled customer comes out with intent to harm to get that car back? Is ERAC ever going to step up and contract this out to professionals, or is it going to have to result in someting grave happening to an employee to correct this? Just curious if this has ever crossed anyone else's mind...

What a great post. Everything you said was right on. Are there cases of lawsuits based from these repos? It just doesn't seem like there would be a way to avoid having something happen since there are so many repos done all over the country. How much can outsourcing a repo business possibly cost?

[FailingEnterpriseAdmin]

Originally Posted by TicketBitch

I was wondering when this is going to turn into a lawsuit from an employee getting hurt or put in danger. I was thinking of all the repo's that are done by ERAC employees that are not trained in this aspect of the job. This is not something that a rental agent should not be asked to do. Note that real repo men do it at the ass crack of dawn, many of them with weapons in their tow trucks as it is a very dangerous practice. I had to go on a repo with my branch manager on my first day at the branch! Think about going on a repo in the hood and a disgruntled customer comes out with intent to harm to get that car back? Is ERAC ever going to step up and contract this out to professionals, or is it going to have to result in someting grave happening to an employee to correct this? Just curious if this has ever crossed anyone else's mind...

These, I imagine, are the arguments that Enterprise would put forward:

1. Enterprise never asked the employee to do this, and in fact, somewhere it says that employees are ordered not to.

2. The employee did this at night, while not on duty, on their own time.

You'd have to round up a lot of witnesses saying this is the regular practice at Enterprise, and this forum would be the place to do it.

[gp65:(]

This thread should be posted in the "Health and Safety Issues" forum, so it will get more views...

Repos are one of those things at ERAC that are "fill in the blank" orders. Ok. You won't get paid if your car is stolen. The customer has the car. Fill in the blank..............go get the car.

No one will tell you to go wash a car. But there's a customer here for a car. There's no car prep. The car is dirty. Fill in the blank............go wash the car.

we do outsource for certain repo's. drive by's are what they are drive by's.
you shouldnt put yourself in danger. i'm manager and have never asked someone to go repo a car. drive by's yes, to see if it's there, if it is call the tow truck. pretty simple.

[TicketBitch]

Pretty simple for you but it's amazing what things a manager will do when it comes to getting that car back before it hits the books and they "ask" you on your first day. Congrats to you for calling tows but I guarantee you are in the minority. YY never called a tow at any of my branches while I was there (2 years), they were all recovered by ERACers.

[E####B]

The "dangerous" or difficult ones in my past dealings (mind you no real group policy) were done by a Private Investigator, who is not cheap. As a manager, I never asked my employees to go on a repo, but they seemed to volunteer on a regular basis. I've done so much as to do these by myself with 911 preprogrammed in my cell phone. I've done them in the 'hood, the ritzy part of town, resorts, and in the sticks (think The Deliverance with Ned Beatty) all without a problem. Obviously, one should not attempt to do this if he/she is not comfortable with it. I stand before you telling you I have never put myself in a situation that I felt endangered me, but as stated before took precations. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a few tricks up your sleve. Off the record, I had an off duty cop friend who accompanied me (mind you very seldomly) on certain car rides which may have also resulted in picking up a potential conversion. I guess if you want to blame someone, then sure point the finger at the E. However, as GP65:( summed it up so well, fill in the blanks. Current employees, keep yourselves safe and get creative. Don't be a whiney bit#h and get sue happy. If you don't feel comfortable in a situation, quite simply, don't put yourself in it. This goes for managers, MT's, ARM, my wife, my dog, the guy in line I talked to at the grocery store, and my mailman. Take some responsibility for what you do and know where to draw the line.

[Tim O' Tei]

Originally Posted by FailingEnterpriseAdmin

These, I imagine, are the arguments that Enterprise would put forward:

1. Enterprise never asked the employee to do this, and in fact, somewhere it says that employees are ordered not to.

2. The employee did this at night, while not on duty, on their own time.

You'd have to round up a lot of witnesses saying this is the regular practice at Enterprise, and this forum would be the place to do it.

I don't know about the US or Canada, but there used to be a typed copy of the grill floating about. One of the questions was 'when is the best time to reposess a car?'

The amount of people that must have been asked that question would be ridiculous.

i have heard there are some former employees bringing a class action lawsuit regarding job safety, i.e. repos. Exposing ERAC's "unwritten rule" to the public, regardless of outcome will hopefully prevent someone's death. God fordbid any VP has to make that call to Billy Bob's Parents or Wife and tell them their kid was killed trying to keep more money in their paycheck. To honor your kid we have awarded them posthomously the Green E Medal of Honor.

[Jeahho]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i have heard there are some former employees bringing a class action lawsuit regarding job safety, i.e. repos. Exposing ERAC's "unwritten rule" to the public, regardless of outcome will hopefully prevent someone's death. God fordbid any VP has to make that call to Billy Bob's Parents or Wife and tell them their kid was killed trying to keep more money in their paycheck. To honor your kid we have awarded them posthomously the Green E Medal of Honor.

I heard there are some former employees bringing a class action lawsuit against Enterprise for making them work around cash, because that is what armed robbers are generally looking for. That is some dangerous shit......

Repo's are part of the job. Stop being a puss.