Even repo men get the economic blues

A tanking economy should, by all accounts, have repo men dancing in the streets. Across the U.S. repossession orders are up from 1.49 million in 2007 to 1.67 million last year. So why is it so hard to make a buck in the booming sector? Increased competition, for one, has forced those in the "recovery" business to slash their fees. But, more importantly, tightening credit conditions mean those whose cars are supposed to be repossessed can’t replace their ride as easily as they would have in the past. Debtors are therefore becoming increasingly elusive and combative in order to defend what little they have left. "When you do find them," one repo man told the Wall Street Journal, "they’re the ones who are going to come out raising Cain."

The Wall Street Journal