The American Repossessor

You Just Never Know…
By Susan Marston

We go about our normal business each day, often not giving a thought to others as we are so wrapped up in our daily grind – just power for the course – we all do it.  There is no doubt in my mind that we have all had our share of trials and tribulations that life brings, that is most definitely a bet  I would not take to the contrary, yet we are still here to ‘live and breath it’.

Unfortunately for one young man, one of us, was only 28 years old, now is not.  Chris Abbot, who I was fortunate enough to meet, died on 9 August 2008, after a brief illness.  I took the following extract from www.repoman.com from a listing that Manny Sousa, President of New England Associates, where Chris was employed as a Field Agent/Driver.

Christopher Abbott, AKA Fubu, age 28 of Quincy, MA entered in to heavens gates on August 9, 2008 after a brief illness. Chris was known for his charm, sense of humor and loyalty to his family, friends and co-workers. Everyone that knows or first meets him, immediately took a liking to him. He was the type of person when you needed him he was there for you. Most of us would call him a Teddy bear. He loved fast cars, nature, technology, music and being a Collateral Recovery agent. He leaves behind a mother, father, brother Robert (who is employed by us) his 2 sisters and several nieces and nephews. Fubu will be missed by all of us.
-Manny Sousa New England Associates, Brockton, MA

Unfortunately, Chris did not have life insurance or burial coverage.  Lucky for many, RSIG have a fund called Recovery Agents Benefits Fund that is there to help those within the industry and here is an extract, again from the www.repoman.com asking the industry for donations to help Chris and his family.

“….Chris had minimal health insurance coverage, but had no life insurance or burial coverage to assist with the mounting expenses. Services for Chris have yet to be announced. Chris was a Collateral Recovery agent with New England Associates 5 years, his entire time in the industry. He will be greatly missed by his family and co-workers.

The Recovery Agents Benefits Fund will begin accepting donations immediately for those who can give of themselves to Chris’ family during this most difficult time. Donations can be mailed to the Recovery Agents Benefits Fund at PO Box 4102, Manassas, VA 20108 or faxed to 703-365-0753. For those wishing to contribute with a Visa/MasterCard, a credit card authorization form is available through the forms section of our website at www.rsig.com or by calling our office at 703-365-0199”….

It would seem that many ‘talk the talk’ but when it comes to action, your talk means nothing at all, as the response to Dana (from RSIG) was pathetic (my word not hers) and hence the following extract from www.repoman.com as a follow-up to her initial request for help.

“….Recently, I made a post on this industry forum regarding the death of a young New England repossessor. Seeing how passionate about the industry some of you are who post on this site, we were hopeful that participants on this site would give of themselves. Ironically, it has only been RSIG members and employees who have contributed in any way, which has been typical over the last several years.

The Recovery Agents Memorial Fund has helped numerous families when called upon regardless of who they are insured by, what associations they may or may not belong to, or their political views. All expenses associated with the administration of this fund are donated. Regretfully, this help has been provided without the assistance of lenders (which isn’t necessarily surprising), advertisers (who make a lot of money off this industry), trade groups (whose sole purpose is supposed to be to help the industry) or even this site itself. In a time when everyone in the industry is calling upon one another to come together, it’s disappointing to see that it can’t be done at the most desperate of times.

We have received some inquiries about when the services are going to be held. At this point funeral arrangements cannot be made as the family does not have the $10,300 needed to bury their son and brother; and since Chris did not have any sort of life or burial insurance, the family and funeral home cannot move forward with the arrangements. To date, we have collected $1200.00 towards this fund and every $25, $50, $100 donation will help.

As the volunteer administrators of the memorial fund we would like to collect as many donations as possible and as quickly as possible so that Chris may be finally and respectfully laid to rest and his family be given the opportunity to have closure and move through these difficult times. Even if you are not in a position to currently donate at this time, we would encourage you to view this as a "wake-up" call if you also find yourself in a position of not having insurance or the ability to handle a situation like this should it arise. As Chris’ employer mentioned to me earlier today while looking at update notes from July that Chris had completed before entering the hospital, "He was here one day, and gone the next. And it could happen to any one of us." ……

Only one comment was made regarding all of the aforementioned on www.repoman.com and Betty said it all!

“…..Subject: This industry sucks!
This is terrible, this poor man was one of us, a member of our industry and to think somebody has to get on a public site like this and beg and plead for donations just to bury the poor man. I am new to this site and glad I found it but this type news is distressing. I know it is a little late but I hope that by this time he has been laid to rest with a proper funeral. My heart goes out to his family and I thank those who cared enough to at least try to help. I will be sending my donation to help in anyway possible. Can someone respond here with an update on if more funds are needed or if he was in fact buried or what? Also if you can post more information on the Recovery Agent’s Memorial Fund, how does one join or whatever? “
Betty

I have to say, it makes you wonder, at least it makes me wonder, as to what kind of world we really do live in.  Thankfully there are those within it that really do have caring hearts and here is the proof of that.    The following is the update from Dana from RSIG…..

“…..Thank you for your post Betty. While the full amount was not able to be raised for the services, with the donations we were able to collect along with some very limited assistance provided to the family through a faith based charity; Chris was finally laid to rest in a Funeral Mass in Holy Trinity Parish, Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Quincy, MA on Monday, August 18, 2008.

Chris’ mother, Mary Ann Abbott is extremely touched by the outpouring of support from repossessors nationwide and is very grateful for everyone’s help and condolences. In an emotional conversation with the Benefits Fund Administrator, she admits that she never knew that the repossession industry would be so supportive and says she will never forget what the Recovery Agents Benefits Fund has done for her family during what can only be described as one of the most difficult times in their lives.

The Recovery Agents Benefits Fund f/k/a The Recovery Agents Memorial Fund was established to fill a huge void in the industry as so many are unable to obtain life/health coverages or fail to get supplemental policies to assist in times like these. Our first distribution was made in December 2002, where not unlike this situation, funds were over-nighted to a funeral home in Florida because services could not be held without payment in advance. Since December 2002, the fund has distributed over $50,000 to 18 families. Distribution checks have ranged from $500 to $8000, solely dependent on the amount of the donations received. Each fund is started with a $500 donation from RSIG.

It doesn’t matter who you’re insured with or what group you may or may not belong to; if a request is made for the Recovery Agents Benefits Funds to begin accepting donations, we put out the request and accept donations for approximately 30 days. After that time, the funds are distributed and a list of donors is provided to the family. The Recovery Agents Benefits Funds is in the process of applying for its non-profit status and all administrative services such as collecting the funds, disbursing funds, notifications and accounting functions are at this time donated by RSIG.

We will continue accepting donations for the Recovery Agents Benefits Fund until the end of the month and will then provide the final list of donors to the Abbott family. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to the Recovery Agents Benefits Fund for the benefit of Christopher Abbott”…..

Like it or not, sometimes, we do not think beyond what we are doing in our lives and things like life insurance are not a priority for us, particularly the younger we are.  That’s just life.  Not everyone plans for the inevitable, as let’s face it, there are more important things in life to think about – living for example!

I hope that the content of this article hits a nerve and at the same time, it touches your heart strings, as the industry needs to take care of its own, not matter what age, gender, color or creed, as we all work to the same end.

As you read, you will see that the Recovery Agents Benefit’s Fund is always taking donations, so why don’t you take a few dollars each month and send it to them.  Don’t have that extra coffee, or donut or packet of cigarettes in the week and if you multiply that for the month, there you have over $20.00.  And if we all did that or similar, the Fund would constantly have funds available for those things in life that no-one on this earth, can predict.  Look into yourself, and help those that cannot help themselves.  There is every reason and excuse out there to use  in saying you cannot afford it eg., the economy is bad, gas prices…etc., you name it, it’s out there.  But you know what?  You are still breathing, that’s the difference!

There is an old saying, which is so very true and one that we really don’t think of for ourselves…..”THERE FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, GO I! “ 

One day, we might need that help…..you just never know!

Buy Here – Pay Here
By David Branch

I will most likely generate a slew of hate mail on this subject, but I see a tremendous value in working Buy Here-Pay Here (BHPH) accounts. Also known as Tote-A-Note or simply a used car lot, these self financed sellers are either taboo or great income. There has long been a stigma attached to these types of clients, one that I have never realized or acknowledged. I suppose that many of you who shun the lots feel that you are too good to work these accounts. Just remember that I, along with many, many others, started our careers in this industry working the BHPH crowd. Let me take a moment to share with you why I find a value in these clients and why I am not above working them.

The biggest complaint by far that I have heard is the amount paid per unit recovered. No, the fees may not be as high as some of the commercial lenders, but with the flood of forwarders coming into the industry, the fees are not that much lower. If you structure your fee schedule correctly at the beginning of your relationship with the dealer, you stand to make a better profit in the long run. I would set a standard fee for simple recovery. From there, everything else was an add on. Keys, mileage, skip-tracing, etc. All were charged for, if used, and more often than not, the final fee was well above the standard fee. It is much easier to negotiate your fee schedule when you are standing face to face with the decision maker. Start high. It is much easier to negotiate down and nearly impossible to negotiate up.

Now that you and your client have an agreed upon fee schedule, get to work. Self finance lots are much more apt to assign a unit out for repossession than a major lender because they do not face the severe loss that the bigger lenders do. In fact, many BHPH lots look forward to having a unit recovered as they can turn that vehicle over and get another large down payment for it. I have seen the same Honda Accord sold to 6 different debtors. I am sure the dealer was making a profit on just his second sale and down payment. So, you can see why volume is the norm and with volume comes increased recoveries.

Now that you have your fees set and are out pulling in the dealers units comes one of the best benefits of working BHPH accounts. You spend the night working and in the morning, pull all the recoveries onto their lot and get paid on the spot. No waiting 30, 60 or even 120 days out before getting paid. I have spoke to more agency owners who have folded saying that they just couldn’t make it waiting weeks and weeks for payment.

Years ago I was working an account for a major lender. The debtor was a Doctor who had purchased His & Hers Jeep Cherokees. In the end, I located the debtor in Spain, where he had shipped both units to. That never happens with BHPH debtors. They are corralled into a small area by financial constraints. While the BHPH debtor does tend to be somewhat more transient, when they do run, they don’t run far. And quite often, they will move within the same housing circle that other debtors run in and after years of working these areas, you make some good contacts (Read Snitches). I find the BHPH skip to be so much easier to locate.

Another aspect of these types of accounts is the repeat debtor. I have recovered the same Ford Ranger from the same debtor over 12 times. We were on a first name basis and had worked out a routine for picking up his truck until he finally paid off his note. This happens because self financers have a lenient redemption policy compared to commercial lenders. Knowing your debtor and them knowing you makes for an easy day of it.

One other point I might make out is that almost all BHPH accounts come with a spare key. Now, while I agree that a keyed recovery is inherently more dangerous that a towed recovery, doing so dramatically decreases your operating costs. For years, I ran around in 4 cylinder cars with a driver. If I needed a wrecker or a rollback, I had 5 or 6 local towing companies that would be there in a matter of minutes for me. During the same period I was picking up tractor trailers, dump trucks and other equipment that wouldn’t fit on a self loader so I didn’t see the need for a truck when I could sub one out when needed. My overhead was low and my profits were high. No, there isn’t much glamour in running BHPH accounts, but I never thought of myself as a glamorous recovery agent. No, I was a cash hungry agent and there is money in BHPH’s if you know how to work it.

Go make some!