A Repossession, a Big Heart and a Thanksgiving to Remember
Snatching cars over the holidays has always been part of the business. It’s a necessary evil performed during a special time of year, and one that the industry comes under a lot of public criticism for. There are however many times that persons in the industry have risen above and beyond the call of the duty. This is just one of such.
Once Upon a Time…
On a cold Illinois November morning in 2016, Bill Ford, co-owner of Illini Recovery Inc., arrived at the home of Stanford and Patty Kipping to repossess their 98’ Buick. In a moment of softness, Bill went to the door to advise the retired couple in their seventies and eighties of what was happening and offered them time to remove their personal property.
Struck by their humility and situation, Bill called the lender on the Kipping’s behalf hoping to work out a deal with the bank. Unable to get the lender to provide any leniency, Bill carried on with his duty and repossessed the car.
“When I got home that night, I said to myself, ‘They are a real nice elderly couple. I gotta do something. I can’t just take their car,’ ” Ford later said.
This did not sit well with Ford and he set up a “GoFundMe” page soliciting others in the repossession industry to help. In one night, he raised $3,500. On Kipping’s behalf, Ford paid off the lender, fixed the cars headlights, topped off the gas tank, radiator, and oil.
Armed with a turkey and the remaining $1,000, he and a friend went back to the Kipping’s home in time to provide them a Thanksgiving to remember.
“It was a miracle come true. We didn’t know what we were going to do,” said Patty Kipping, as a small group of neighbors gathered around and cheered Ford.
“I got up this morning and I looked up at the sun and I said, ‘I hope we get our car back.’ It’s just unbelievable,” said Stanford Kipping, a retired dock worker.
But Jim’s big heart didn’t stop there. In fact, just three years ago, Jim struck again and did the same for a borrower fallen down on his luck who needed his car to get back and forth from kidney dialysis treatments. Goodness and giving are still good and good habits to have.
We first reported this when it made national news, but incidents like these are far more frequent than most could imagine. Traditionally, many, if not most interactions between recovery agents and borrowers are very polite and dealt with by the agents using the ages old “Golden Rule.”
The Better Angels of our nature
In recent years, most lenders have prohibited recovery agents from making contact in order avoid potential litigious incidents. From a legal standpoint, this appears reasonable, but from a human standpoint, it can dehumanize the repossession experience and hinder opportunities to help people.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of untold stories like this through the years that the industry keeps to itself. This is an industry of ex-school teachers, police, little league coaches and despite the hard-boiled image, they are only human, just like the person on the other side of the door.
In life we walk many paths and encounter many people. Many we simply walk by without a thought, but many awaken the better angels of our nature.
They leave with us a desire. A desire to do better and a desire to help.
This was such a story. Bill Ford just stepped up. He couldn’t help himself.
In this most special and holy of seasons, please keep your eyes, minds and hearts open. You will see people in need. Listen to your better angels and when the urge crosses you to do good, do it. It’s always the right thing to do. And right wrongs no one.
Have a very Happy Thanks giving everyone!
Kevin Armstrong
Publisher/Writer/Editor
Our Better Angels – Finding Goodness in the Dark – RABF – Repossession
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