CRIReporter.com

I came across this posting online recently and it got me thinking.

$100 for information on vehicles being hidden from repo agent/bank, the classified ad proclaimed. 100% anonyomous. 

This follows another conversation I was having last week with a repo industry professional who commented that he had heard of another agency that was employing a similar strategy.

A year or so ago, a collections executive and I were talking about using social networking to find delinquent debtors. When a judgment is issued against a debtor, it becomes a matter of public record. Everyone in the world can know that John Doe owed a debt, stopped paying it, and is now legally bound to do so. By publishing a list of debtors who have had judgments against them, the thought was to use social networking to try and locate those individuals. 

All of these somewhat random conversations and interactions have me wondering whether this strategy actually pays off. How successful is it? What does a repo agent have to do to make this work? It would seem to be so random. For example, I would have to know that my uncle stopped making his car payments and that he is now facing repossession. Then, I would have to know that Joe's E-Z Recovery has received the order for repossession. And then I would have to contact Joe to tell him where my uncle's car is. The odds against all of those stars aligning would seem so far-fetched as to possibly work.

Don't get me wrong. I love the initiative. I love the concept. I just find it hard to believe that it can work as a practical long-term strategy. I'd love to be proven wrong. 

So, if you've used a bounty to some degree of success, please share your a success story with us. Give us a tip or two. Give us a glimpse into how to make this work for the rest of us.