The Two-Income Trap - Elizabeth Warren [73]
Consider, for example, a conversation we had with “Sally,” a former Sears collection agent in the Boston area. Sally’s job was to call families that had fallen behind and to pressure them to pay up. One incident particularly stood out in Sally’s memory. When another Sears agent threatened to repossess a mattress from a woman who was delinquent on her payments, the customer in question stuck to her guns. “You will not. It isn’t worth anything. Besides, you can’t even sell a used mattress. It’s not legal.”67 Sally’s coworker was quick on her feet. “We’ll come and get it because we can. And then, we’ll set it on fire and burn it up. It won’t give us anything, but you won’t have it either.” The woman caved in and sent Sears a check for $50. According to Sally, the story was widely told and retold in her department and praised by the department manager as an example of “real initiative.” Since we only have Sally’s word, we can’t confirm the facts of her account, but it is a matter of public record that Sears has threatened to repossess used mattresses from other families.68
Sally’s real expertise wasn’t collecting from the living. She spent most of her days collecting from the dead—or at least the family members of the dead. When a person dies, only a cosigner on the account is liable for the bill. If no one has cosigned, the store can repossess the goods (if the original contract permitted this) or collect from the estate of the deceased, but they cannot hold other family members liable for the debt. The company is not, however, prohibited from trying to collect from the family. So Sally’s job was to call the adult children or grieving widows of customers who had died leaving an outstanding bill. She typically started a call with something gentle and confidential. “Mabel was a longtime member of the Sears family, and we’re sure she would have wanted her bills to be paid.” Sally then read from a list of purchases Mabel had made on her Sears card, inserting some personal comments. “I see she bought eyeglasses. And some baby clothes—I love those sweet little sweaters and matching caps, don’t you?” If the soft sell didn’t work, Sally would turn up the heat, threatening to send a collection agent who would plow through the deceased’s closets and drawers and “take back what belonged to Sears.” If that wasn’t enough, there was a final warning that must have sent many families running for the checkbook: She threatened to reclaim every gift ever purchased on the Sears card. Again, the claim seems ridiculous; how would a Sears agent ever figure out that Mabel had given the frilly dress to her grandniece in Detroit, while the Walkman had gone to a greatgrandson in Denver? But these threats were put to grieving family members who had just lost a loved one, not to battle-hardened debt-dodgers who were primed to defend themselves. Not surprisingly, Sally said that most families paid.
We remind the reader that we have only Sally’s word to go on. It is possible that she wasn’t telling the whole truth or that she had an ax to grind. But a statement by former Sears CEO Arthur C. Martinez is certainly in keeping with Sally’s story. He explained the company’s aggressive debt collection practices this way: “We have an old-fashioned view. People should pay for what they take.”69 As he touted that “oldfashioned view” of debt, Mr. Martinez seemed oddly blind to the fact that Sears is no longer an “old-fashioned” merchant. At the time Mr. Martinez