The American Repossessor

Seeing Red…
By Susan Marston

It would seem that CHANGE has been thrust upon the Repossession/Recovery Industry yet again… a CHANGE that every repossession/recovery company in the United States will have to adhere to, like it or not!

Our clients, the Financial Institutions,  are being dictated to by the Federal Laws that govern Identity Theft – THE RED FLAG PROGRAM. It’s very simple really,  if we do not do as they request, we will lose them as clients, as the liability for them in their supplier network not having this kind of policy in place leaves them extremely vulnerable, liability wise.  And we all know that they will not do that – instead they will find suppliers that will meet their requirements.

As we know, the repossession industry is extremely competitive and for those repossession companies that meet the client’s requirements – those are the ones that will get their business, irrespective of how many years you have had them as clients!

Many lenders have already issued their requirements to repossession companies stating that as service providers, our compliance with these regulations is vital to ensure their (the clients) compliance to the regulations as per the following law.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)……” the Red Flags Rule was developed pursuant to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003.  Under the Rule, Financial Institutions and creditors with covered accounts must have identity theft prevention programs to identify, detect and respond to patterns, practices or specific activities that could indicate identity theft.  The Rule applies to creditors and financial institutions.  Federal Law defines a creditor to be: any entity that regularly extends, renews or continuous credit; any entity that regularly arranges for extension, renewal, or continuation of credit; or any assignee of an original creditor who is involved in the decision to extend, renew or continue credit.   Accepting credit cards as a form of payment does not, in and of itself, make an entity a creditor.  Some examples of creditors are finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, telecommunication companies and non-profit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services. …..”

Repossession/Recovery companies are service providers to the Financial Institutions, be they Banks, Credit Unions, Loan Companies, Automobile Finance Companies etc.  This makes us an extension of the Financial Institutions as we deal with debtor’s information and storage of same at varying stages of our repossession/recovery services.    As a service provider your compliance to these regulations is essential in order to ensure that the Financial Institutions comply with the laws of the FACT Act.

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in this country and 9 million Americans have their identity stolen each year, with disastrous effects.  This is a very serious situation and thankfully our Government have seen it as such to enforce the FACTA laws.

I have a very good friend and colleague, who through no fault of his own, had his identity stolen  and because of this, the thieves have ruined his credit by running up bills in his name into the thousands of dollars.  He tried all ways to correct this, spending thousands of dollars  himself to no avail and finally, at the advice of his attorney, succumbed to having to file bankruptcy.  So as you can see, this is very serious stuff!!!   Of course, the police were made aware of this but that still did not ease the pain or satisfaction in having these rogues caught and punished.

This was and is a very stressful experience, one that he hopes others do not fall into.  If this can happen to him, it can surely happen to you, both personally and business-wise – particularly if it is one of  your client’s debtors! 

When it is ‘close to home’, you most certainly pay attention!

You may ask – HOW THE FACTA RED FLAG LAW AFFECTS YOUR BUSINESS?  Well, this new law provision has established a higher level of responsibility associated with identity theft for businesses.  This increased liability can cause financial ruin for those companies who do not have a proactive Red Flag Policy in place and you need to keep up to date with all the updates that will be issued to ensure that your processes, procedures and systems, continue to support the Red Flag Policy you have in place.

The law went into effect 1 June 2005.  You may recognize the FACTA law as allowing Americans access to their credit reports once a year.

The affect to you?  Your company is now liable for identity theft under FACTA and that liability alone could not only lose you clients but could destroy your company as a whole.

You are also responsible for ensuring that your employees, irrespective of their job eg., office staff, field agents, drivers etc., are aware of the Policy and also that they are trained accordingly in all elements of its content.

This is a major CHANGE that your existing clients will have to deal with and there are no exceptions.  Non-compliance fines range from $1,000 to $2,500 for each violation and could bring into play class action suits.

My company ConnecTGo, Inc., of which I am President, has developed a Red Flag Policy that meets the requirements of the new laws for the repossession industry.  We also know that it more than meets the Financial Institution’s needs, because we asked them.  In addition to that, we have developed an updating support service that will provide all the necessary updates to ensure that your company continues to meet the legal requirements of the Red Flag Policy/FACTA.

If you are interested in these services, please e-mail me at salmarston@connectgo.biz and you will be sent the information and associated costs for these services.

Don’t be caught out here. You need a Red Flag Policy for Identity Theft in place now.  If you don’t get it from ConnecTGo, Inc., that’s okay, but just make sure that you get one!
Be pro-active and keep your clients happy and keep them YOUR clients!

No Fear?
By David Branch

Fear–noun

Fear is a good thing. There are many times in a man or woman’s life when fear enters into play. There are many causes of fear and probably as many reactions to fear that a person can experience, for fear is an emotion just as anger or happiness. Fear can affect a person both physiologically, neurologically and behaviorally. How people deal with fear is as complex as fear itself.

In conversations with other Recovery Agents or prospective Agents I have often come across the individual who claims that they are not scared of any ‘damn’ thing. I am amused when I hear that because through my psychology courses, I know that this person is either lying or has a serious mental defect.

Throughout my life, I have repeatedly sought out activities that would bring on the emotion or experience of fear.  Activities that produce self-induced fear, whether it is rappelling down the side of a sky-scraper, surfing an incredibly large wave or repossessing a vehicle, have always lured me to them. What really fascinates me is the way that I control the fear, develop it and use it to my advantage.

With a group of friends, I once jumped into the waters of the Mackenzie River in Eugene, Oregon to ‘swim’ the rapids on this certain section of the river. We entered at a fairly calm area, but were quickly taken downstream at an alarming rate, directly for the section of rapids that I was apprehensive about. Trying to time my last breath before hitting the rapids, I was sucked under about 5 feet shy of where I thought I would and spent an eternity being dashed and thrashed about. It scared me to death. I sucked some water in and had a gash on my leg, but I was able to control that fear and we swam those rapids all day long, still scared of what could happen, but having a blast.

With repossessions it’s the same thing. I was terrified when I ran my first account and there was a decent amount of fear associated with the very last one I did. There is an inherent danger to repossessions, but the fear associated with it has made me more alert to the dangers that exist. Fear enables me to make decisions quickly. Fear enables me to deal with an irate debtor in a manner conducive to a better outcome for the both of us. Fear enables me to walk away and try another day. Fear keeps me safe and fear makes me a better Field Agent.

I have often been described by the adjective ‘fearless’, but let it be known that the key to success in many areas is by retaining a little fear.

I would have to conclude that an Agent who does not experience fear and is not willing to admit it, may not be the best team player and would be downright detrimental to the Agency.

Fear is a good thing!

Dave Branch

In part II of this article, I will share some of the techniques and tips that I have used to control fear, use it to my advantage and to make the most out of a sometimes dangerous situation.