Digital Repo-Man

[Dr Mordrid]

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/25902

I've never heard of this trend before, but according to USA Today, subprime borrowers buying a car are required to have a little box mounted under the car's dashboard that forces them to make payments on time. A light on the box flashes when payments are due, and if the payment is not made on time, the box starts to beep until a four-digit code is punched in to reset the system. The only way to get this code is by making the payment, and if that payment is not made on time, the car won't start.

Apparently, customers hate them, while lenders love the little boxes because it lowers default rates. Sekurus, the company who sells these boxes, has sold over 250,000 at $250, and its competitors are looking at ways to make these payment enforcement devices more efficient. One company is selling wireless systems that sends text messages to the car, and another one is adding GPS functionality to the device to make it easy for lenders to repossess the car. I know times are tough for everyone, but is this really necessary? Before you know it, we'll have these little boxes locking us out the house too. It's just crazy.

[Brian Ellis]

This wasn't printed in USA Today on 1 April, was it?

[ND66]

Mon Mar 31, 7:25 AM ET

According to THIS:





.

[Dr Mordrid]

Brian;

They're for real. Seen one.

[Brian Ellis]

Found http://www.sekurusontime.com/PRODUCT...8/Default.aspx

Question: what is the legal position if you stall at traffic lights and cannot restart because you owe a payment, thus obstructing traffic?

[Gurm]

Found http://www.sekurusontime.com/PRODUCT...8/Default.aspx

Question: what is the legal position if you stall at traffic lights and cannot restart because you owe a payment, thus obstructing traffic?

If you still owe payments, the odds that you'll stall at a traffic light... well, ok I see your point but it's not likely.

[Kooldino]

Good idea.

[MultimediaMan]

A little research yields this:

1) The unit will not disable a running vehicle; if the onboard clock goes past the pay period limit and the vehicle is running, it will simply not allow a restart.
2) It connects to the factory wiring harness; bypassing/disabling the unit is not exactly difficult. This only works against ignorant sheeple.
3) This unit costs several hundred dollars per unit, plus installation: the installed base is likely fairly limited.
4) There is a contingency code to unlock the unit in the case of a genuine emergency or if a forebearance is granted.

In short, this is only going to be useful against ignorant people: these are people you probably should not be lending money to. The "risk" that the lenders are willing to take on these borrowers do not speak well of the lender's common sense, especially when you start looking at the potential for misusing these types of devices:

What happens if a hacker gets in and threatens to lock out an entire lender's database of borrowers unless the lender pays the Danegeld to keep their data breach secret?

What if a criminal with a tow truck uses the device to facilitate a "towing service"? Locking down a user's car when they stop in for a Starbucks coffee and then offering a deal on a "discounted" towing fee to "help" the customer with their problem.

What about a person whose car is disabled (wrongly or otherwise) and cannot flee an attacker?

What about the first person who gets stuck in the snow, and freezes to death because they shut off their car to dig it out, then could not get it started again. There is the potential for criminal culpability here...

I do not think devices which actively control access are going to withstand a legal challenge in civil court. If any of these cases end up in a criminal court, you can bet these devices use be severely curtailed at the minimum.

[Dr Mordrid]

A little research yields this:
>
In short, this is only going to be useful against ignorant people: these are people you probably should not be lending money to.
>

In other words the same types who caused the mortgage debacle

[MultimediaMan]

Exactly...