In the United States where the practice of leasing to private individuals is widespread, this practice – really unpleasant from the point of view of the car user – is called ‘repossessing’, a word which literally translated indicates the action by the owner (bank, leasing company or dealer) to repossess the vehicle after a certain number of installments have not been paid.
Avoiding what many US users consider a real ‘kidnapping’ of their car and which is instead completely legal, with procedural differences from State to State, will be increasingly difficult in the future, as a patent filed by Ford suggests and of which The Drive reports.
A document registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Uspto) in fact describes in detail a “repossessing” system that exploits the vehicle’s digital systems, its connection to the web and – if it is equipped with autonomous driving – the ability to move on its own, in this case perhaps to get out of the driveway and settle in a better position to be loaded onto the tow truck.
According to the Ford patent, nuisance actions against the debtor customer can be simple, but certainly infuriating, such as disabling some vehicle functions such as air conditioning, cruise control, power seats, power windows or radio . Another method described in the document is the reproduction of irritating and incessant sounds through the stereo system and then moving on to limiting the functions to be accessed in the vehicle.
The patent application also details the steps that would be performed via infotainment before activating an automatic recovery, such as messages sent to the owner listing overdue payments (thereby allowing for an additional period of time) or the acknowledgment of unexpected events such as ‘being hospitalized or being out of the country.
And it is expected that the implementation of this digital creditor-debtor dialogue function could give people with financial difficulties to process a personalized payment plan in real time and without having to go to an office.
Source: Ansa
I am an author at Global happenings and I mostly cover automobile news. In my time working in the automotive industry, I have developed a keen interest in the latest developments and trends. My writing skills have also allowed me to share my knowledge with others through articles and blog posts.
