Random guy shows up with letter from VW Credit at my house!

[Conna]

My girlfriend filed CH13 a few days ago. Been ignoring the calls from VW credit for the last few months. As she just got her case number she called VW credit to give it to them this morning.

Tonight a random guy comes with an envelope hand written with her name on it. States he is not collections, works for a company that VW credit hires to hand deliver letters to debtors who aren't communicating. The letter has the right account number, the right number to call VW etc. He takes a few pics of the car in the driveway and off he goes.

WTF!?

Whats got my hackles raised is how unprofessional it all was. The handwritten envelope, the guy had no business card etc.

Company name was "sand" something... like an idiot I failed to get enough info from him, just noted the license plate!

Anybody ever see anything like this!? Legit or... did we just get targeted for crime?

FYI we live WAY out in the sticks, no crime here.

Thanks!

[justbroke]

I would expect my creditor or a representative to show up, sooner or later, if I did not pay and have not answered any communication. The mortgage companies certainly do this same thing. That is, they hire someone to go out and "inspect" the property and make sure everything is okay. They often leave a letter as well which advises the debtor to contact them.

As far as the major automobile creditors doing this, I have only read about this happening once before -- and it may have just been a credit union or smaller bank. It seems as though the creditor really does not want to repossess and preferred trying to contact the debtor before taking action. It also provided the creditor with a way to "inspect" the collateral by having pictures taken so they know if it's worth their time. In fact, I'm thinking the photos, and having the person go out there, was cheaper than them hiring a repo-man who could come and find the car in a condition that would not even raise enough at auction to pay the repo-man's fees. Especially since you are "out in the sticks".

You may see it as unprofessional, but it shows how desperate the creditor is. The creditor is not receiving payments and doesn't know where the car is, whether the debtor (owner) still has it in her possession, and the condition of the vehicle.

Grabbing the license plate is always prudent when you live in the sticks. From what you stated, it doesn't seem like this person was up to no good.

[GoingDown]

I would expect my creditor or a representative to show up, sooner or later, if I did not pay and have not answered any communication. The mortgage companies certainly do this same thing. That is, they hire someone to go out and "inspect" the property and make sure everything is okay. They often leave a letter as well which advises the debtor to contact them.

As far as the major automobile creditors doing this, I have only read about this happening once before -- and it may have just been a credit union or smaller bank. It seems as though the creditor really does not want to repossess and preferred trying to contact the debtor before taking action. It also provided the creditor with a way to "inspect" the collateral by having pictures taken so they know if it's worth their time. In fact, I'm thinking the photos, and having the person go out there, was cheaper than them hiring a repo-man who could come and find the car in a condition that would not even raise enough at auction to pay the repo-man's fees. Especially since you are "out in the sticks".

You may see it as unprofessional, but it shows how desperate the creditor is. The creditor is not receiving payments and doesn't know where the car is, whether the debtor (owner) still has it in her possession, and the condition of the vehicle.

Grabbing the license plate is always prudent when you live in the sticks. From what you stated, it doesn't seem like this person was up to no good.

Yep, I think it shows desperation on their part.

And it sure made an impression on this person.

It is far more effective than making phone calls.

It gets the debtor's full attention immediately.

I'm surprised that more creditors don't do this same thing.

[Conna]

We called VW the next morning. It was a valid visit, but far from professional.

I contacted the company VW hired to deliver the letter, Sand Castle Field Services. The woman I spoke with was extremely polite. She informed me that the representative was in error not having and showing proper ID and fully explaining the validity of his visit. She also went over the images of the car she had in their database and at my request removed images of my car they had that is not part of any collections action. She apologized profusely that the agent did not perform his job properly, leaving me wondering about the legitimacy of his visit.

So, yes it was legit... but it certainly might not have been because the agent did a crap job.

Did it get our attention? Yes, but certainly not regarding the debt. It got our attention because it was amazingly shoddy field work. It looked more like somebody scoping out for a future theft than a legitimate field operation on the behalf of a legitimate creditor seeking information regarding their collateral.

[justbroke]

I agree that any visit from a creditor's representative should be highly professional and they should provide appropriate credentials even without demand from the debtor! I'm glad that you validated the visit. Hopefully your input into the process will be taken into consideration and they'll use it as a learning opportunity and train their "field" reps better.