Repo man tows older couple's car, raises money to pay it off

RED BUD, Ill. — He's the guy who people don't want to see rolling up to their driveway, but a repo man recently had a change of heart when he was tasked to take the car of an older Illinois couple.

Jim Ford is the repo man who banks send to repossess cars when owners have fallen behind on payments.

Recently he was tasked to repossess the 1998 Buick of Stan and Pat Kipping, The Sun Herald reported.

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Stan is 82 and Patty is 70.

Ford figured out why they fallen behind on the payments. He assumed that like many, the cost of their medications had doubled or tripled, he told KTVI.

They had not been able to pay several $95 a month payments, The Sun Herald reported.

The Kippings said they only used the car to go to the doctors, drug store and grocery stores and Ford had to take the car away.

He only drove a block from the Kipping's home when he pulled over to call the bank, asking how much would it cost to make the payments up to date.

Ford then set up a GoFundMe page to help pay off the car. Within eight hours, most of the money had been raised and Ford is still getting requests to help out the couple.

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Monday, the Kippings got their car back and it was in better condition than when Ford repossessed it, KTVI reported.

Ford had the oil changed and headlights fixed and the car was detailed before they got it back.

A co-worker at Ford's company also bought them a turkey. They received the dinner and an additional $1,000 raised over $2,501 needed to pay off the car, The Sun Herald reported.

The Kippings' financial woes are not over. Pat told KTVI that they still owe $500 to a drug store and they even owe money to their local grocery store.

This isn't the first time Ford has shown heart when having to do one of the worst jobs. He will regularly tell those whose cars are being taken by the bank what is happening and will allow them to get items out of the car before towing it away, The Sun Herald reported.

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