The American Repossessor

When repo man Shannon Hoeffler reads headlines about the economic nosedive, he can’t help but smile.

“To me, it’s great news. The worse the economy is, the better business is for me,” he said. “I’m to the point where I could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s unbelievable how much people are losing.”

Hoeffler, 31, lives in Green Bay but repossesses cars, trucks and a variety of other items across the state. He estimates that he snatches about 15 cars a month from the Wausau area.

Although Hoeffler says he’s as busy as ever, it’s difficult to gauge the true impact the recession has had on repossession rates. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Banking Association said he knew of no agency, public or private, that tracks the figure.