The American Repossessor

One of the fastest growing forces that is driving the Repossession/Recovery Industry forward is Technology and this section is dedicated to news-related articles.

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Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems Launches Open-Source I-BEAM Portal

Proprietary technology to be offered free to lender and agent community for first time ever

Raleigh, N.C. (March 20, 2012) – Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems, a Raleigh-based leader in repossession and remarketing services, today announced it will launch a new open-source, freeware version of its IBEAM™ Web portal to the agent and lender community. This new version of IBEAM, available after April 15, will be specific to repossession and invoice management, providing all the capabilities of asset tracking, real-time monitoring of updates, online condition reports and complete transparency throughout the recovery process.

“This technology is very aligned with the agent community, and we hope it will become standard in the marketplace,” said Steve Norwood, CEO of Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems. “Our goal was to provide a robust platform for repossession management at no cost to the market, allowing agents to have access to software for managing their direct relationships with lenders.” Read the rest of this »

American Recovery Service and SWBC Team Up

Credit Unions across the United States will benefit from ARS and SWBC Partnership

El Dorado Hills, CA (PRWEB) March 14, 2012

American Recovery Service (ARS), the premier national repossession servicing firm, and SWBC, a recognized leader and trusted business partner in the financial services industry, have announced the completion of their technology integration which streamlines systems and business processes between the companies.

ARS provides nationwide servicing of asset repossessions, skip-tracing, impounded asset retrieval, license plate recognition (LPR) recovery, and online remarketing, which will now be available to credit unions utilizing SWBC’s AutoPilot® (a suite of risk management services). Through this integration, SWBC is able to provide its partners with access to one of the largest and most successful asset recovery companies in the nation without any disruption to their current repossession process.

Credit unions will enjoy leveraging ARS’s services through SWBC’s offering with little effort and big results. Every 3 minutes, all day, every day ARS repossesses a vehicle somewhere in the United States. Read the rest of this »

MVCONNECT, LLC (MVTRAC), Digital Recognition Network, Inc. (DRN) and Vigilant Video (Vigilant) Announce a Transaction Related to a License of MVTRAC’s Historical Tracking Patent

Palatine, IL (March 5, 2012) – MVTRAC, a premier provider of cradle-to-grave location and recovery solutions and home of the neural ALPR system called The Intelligent Data Network™, is pleased to announce a transaction between MVTRAC, DRN and Vigilant, involving a license of MVTRAC’s ALPR historical tracking patent. The undisclosed terms of the transaction conclude all litigation between the parties.

”We are pleased to announce DRN and Vigilant Video as additions to our list of growing patent licensees. The transaction brings increased enterprise value for all three companies, while allowing us all to focus on our business with less distractions,” explains Scott A. Jackson, Chief Executive Officer for MVTRAC. “MVTRAC’s intellectual property will be protected at all costs, so licensees such as DRN and Vigilant Video can grow their businesses knowing that anyone with a low cost camera and a computer cannot dip into their market share without the significant investment needed to achieve long term success.” Read the rest of this »

INTRODUCING….THE NEW ONLINE REPOSSESSION COMPANY DIRECTORY FOR QUALITY AND PROFESSIONAL REPOSSESSION COMPANIES

No, it’s not just another advertising/marketing outlet.

We know that many Lenders within the Financial Institution sector read www.theamericanrepossessor.com and as part of our ‘push’ to support a professional and quality Repossession Industry, we are introducing the new Repossession Company Directory.

We market www.theamericanrepossessor.com to thousands of repossession industry stakeholders including Banks, Auto Finance Companies, Credit Unions, BHPH, Auto Dealers, related Associations and more. Read the rest of this »

CLIENTS: Are you listening to what they are telling you? Hear it now, from the ‘horse’s mouth’!

At the NARS 2011 event last week in Texas, we were fortunate to listen to the Keynote Speaker Mark Floyd, Vice Chairman and CEO of Exeter Finance Corporation, who provided the attendees with a candid presentation about the vehicle finance industry, the economic outlook that surrounds us and repossession outlook too.

Mark asked the questions: WHY ARE YOU HERE and reminded us of the NARS mission:

…”The mission of the North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) is to unite the collateral recovery industry by providing an open, collaborative environment for all people in the recovery and lending community to come together to address and improve the industry’s challenges and complexities…” Read the rest of this »

World’s Largest Association of Recovery and Remarketing Professionals Concludes Successful First Series of Collateral Recovery and Remarketing Accreditation Program

American Recovery Association’s Program Trains and Certifies Lenders, Members and Members’ Employees

DALLAS, March 15, 2010 – American Recovery Association, Inc. (ARA), the world’s largest association of recovery and remarketing professionals, celebrates a successful first series of its new Collateral Recovery and Remarketing Accreditation Program in nine cities across the U.S.

The accreditation program completed successful programs in Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; San Diego, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and sold out classes in Dallas, Texas before the 2011 North American Repossessors Summit (www.reposummit.com). Read the rest of this »

Ally’s SmartAuction Receives Best E-Channel Award from Avis Budget Group

DETROIT (March 11, 2011) – SmartAuction, Ally Financial’s online used vehicle auction, received the 2010 “Best Performance – eChannel” award from Avis Budget Group. The award was announced at the 2011 Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR).

According to Greg Thibault, Avis Budget Group’s vice president of Fleet Disposal, SmartAuction helped Avis Budget Group remarket more vehicles from its fleet than any other online auction company in 2010 and had consistently high performance levels within several key measurement statistics.

”Avis Budget Group relies on all of its remarketing service providers to meet or exceed certain performance metrics each year, and Smart Auction delivered exceptional results for us in 2010.” Read the rest of this »

Retail Sales Propel General Motors to 49 Percent Gain in February

Year-over-year retail sales gain of 70 percent highest on record
Car, Truck and Crossover segment retail sales each rise 59 percent or more
GM’s newest vehicles continue to gain customers – retail sales up 119 percent
Retail sales improve 52 percent for the first two months

DETROIT – 1 March 2011 General Motors total sales in the United States rose 49 percent in February, as dealers reported 207,028 deliveries for the company’s four brands. For the second month in a row, the gain in total sales was driven by soaring retail demand for the company’s products. During the month, retail sales rose 70 percent – the highest year-over-year gain in the company’s history.

For the first two months of the year, GM’s total sales have risen 36 percent, while the company’s retail sales – those to individual consumers – have increased by 52 percent. Read the rest of this »

Red Flag Rule Program

Are you in compliance? The Government’s FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is requiring financial institutions to be – so you need to be too!

Browse Red Flag Rule Program

Sold Out 3rd Annual North American Repossessors Summit Unifies Hundreds of Recovery and Lending Professionals

Record-Breaking Numbers Help Participants Expand the Future of the Recovery Industry

Dallas, TX – March 14, 2011, American Recovery Association, Inc. (ARA), the world’s largest association of recovery and remarketing professionals, is proud to announce a record-breaking number of attendees and an astounding amount of money raised helped make its premier third annual industry event, the North American Repossessors Summit, a success.

This year’s NARS attracted the highest attendance of the past three years. Almost 400 people in the collateral recovery and remarketing industries, including collateral recovery professionals, clients and vendors from across the U.S., unified in Dallas this past weekend, March 5, 2011 to participate in open and collaborative discussions to address and improve the industry’s challenges and complexities. Read the rest of this »

Upcoming Events

24 May:
- Time Finance Adjusters (TFA) Convention (01:00)
11 June:
- 2012 NIADA National Convention and Expo, Las Vegas, NV (02:00)

From the Editor

AND THERE IS MORE FORWARDING NEWS…….OVERLOAD YOU MAY ASK?

The repossession industry ‘rumor mill’ (also known as the ‘grapevine’) is as busy as ever and it’s been even more active recently regarding the growing amount of Forwarding Companies that are springing up.

Here are a couple of questions that I am asking you the reader to think about:

Do you think the repossession industry is on FORWARDING OVERLOAD as the ‘barrier to entry’ to that part of the industry seems not to be as high as it once was?
Is there room for all of these Forwarding Models?
Are there enough quality and professional repossession companies to meet these growing demands? …more…

Spring is in the air – finally! A new season and new event that you, not only need to take note of, but you need to attend.

NARS 2011 – Have you booked yet? No, then what are you waiting for? See the link ‘Your Industry. Your Future’ on the website or go directly to www.reposummit.org for the information. It’s an action-packed event that has an unprecedented array of speakers, including the keynote – the Vice Chairman and CEO of Exeter Finance, Mark Floyd. Some of you may remember him as the Co-Chief Operating Officer of AmeriCredit Corporation.

In addition, there will be lots of opportunity for you to network too and in the Network Room there will be a stellar list of vendors that you will want to visit too. …more…

Well, I think I have seen many things in my lifetime and definitely a great many things whilst working within the Repossession Industry, but seeing the trailers for the new movie “Repo Men” gives a truly new meaning to what the repossession industry could be in the future.

This movie is about the repossession of human organs.

‘Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before his heart is repossessed’.

Of course, as the heart is an integral organ, this means that its removal means death! The contract signed for the purchase of the organ has not been met, payments have not been made. So the ‘Repo Men’ have a repossession order to retrieve their company’s collateral.

Armed with slightly different tools for the job than we are today. No truck payments, no fuel costs, no insurance, instead they have guns, knives and surgical tools to retrieve the asset that enables the debtor to live.

They track down the debtor and inevitably he or she is carved up and the collateral removed.

Makes for a lovely horror story, does it not? I wonder how far removed it really is?. Is this an insight of what the future may bring?

On that note, I swiftly move on to a future event that is just around the corner. In less than two weeks time, hopefully many of you will be attending the 2010 North American Repossessors Summit in Texas, where a variety of subject areas will take light that impact the future of the Repossession Industry.

The Repossession Industry has to move forward and work to become what it truly deserves to be recognized as – a professional, quality service that is second-to-none in any other service industry sector, and one that we can ALL be proud of – and that includes our clients!

Take a look at the advert below, give it a click and there you will find all the information you need. So what are you waiting for?

See you in a couple of weeks!

Susan

Columns and Features

TransUnion Payment Hierarchy Study Finds Consumers Paying Auto Loans Before Credit Cards and Mortgages
By Susan Marston

CHICAGO, IL–(Marketwire – Mar 29, 2012) – Recent updates to a key TransUnion study found that in 2011 consumers were more likely to pay their auto loans before their credit cards and mortgages. This insight was gained through TransUnion’s Payment Hierarchy study update, which also found that the divergence in payment patterns — where consumers are increasingly apt to pay their credit cards before their mortgages — has continued for four straight years. …more…

Sub-Prime Borrowers Gaining More Access to Credit as Lending Continues to Improve, Equifax Reports
By Susan Marston

Mar 29, 2012

ATLANTA, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Sub-prime origination growth across all lending sectors continues with notable increases, according to recent U.S. consumer data from Equifax’s March National Consumer Credit Trends Report and CreditForecast.com, a joint product of Equifax and Moody’s Analytics.. The report shows origination growth across multiple vertical markets through 2011.

The number of bank credit card accounts increased from Dec. 2010 to December 2011, a product of lenders more aggressively seeking new customers and consumers increasing demand for new credit.

New credit in 2011 ($782 billion) remained below pre-recession levels, but gained more than 10% over 2009 and 2010 levels ($695 and $709 billion, respectively).

Increases in credit limits were also seen in 2011, as total retail credit card limits increased 6% year over year from Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2011* and total bank credit card limits jumped 24% from Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2011.** Consumer finance credit limits also saw a comparatively modest improvement of $1.2 billion from Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2011. …more…

TD Economics: U.S. Economy Pushing Forward; In Better Position to Handle Pain of Rising Energy Costs
By Susan Marston

Projected economic growth to average 2.2% in 2012 and 2.4% in 2013; unemployment rate of 8.1% by end of 2012, 7.5% in 2013

CHERRY HILL, N.J. and PORTLAND, Maine, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The economy is back on track, but rising energy costs mark the latest speed bump on the road to recovery, according to a report released today by TD Economics (www.td.com/economics), an affiliate of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank^®.

“There’s a new confidence in the recovery that we haven’t seen in a while,” says TD Chief Economist Craig Alexander, noting recent positive developments in the labor and housing markets. “There’s a strong case for optimism.”

TD Economics forecasts economic growth to average 2.2% in 2012 and 2.4% in 2013. The unemployment rate is expected to be at 8.1% by the end of the year, and average 7.5% in 2013. …more…

Auto repossession leads to shot fired on bypass
By Susan Marston

By John Winters

The Newnan Times-Herald

3/15/2012 An attempted auto repossession led to at least one shot being fired, a fight in the middle of a road, two people getting pepper-sprayed and one arrest.

All four of the individuals involved in Monday’s fight on Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard/Newnan Bypass were handcuffed at some point while police investigated just what happened.

Newnan police officers received several calls from Coweta 911 around 6:30 p.m. regarding four men fighting in the middle of the road on Millard Farmer near Bullsboro Drive and that a gun had been fired. …more…

2011 Commercial Vehicle Registrations Reach 1.25 Million, Led by Record Used Commecial Transactions
By Susan Marston

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (March 14, 2012) — A Polk analysis of new and used commercial vehicle registrations (GVW 3-8) in the U.S. finds 1.25 million units were registered during the 2011 calendar year. Used commercial vehicle registrations reached a record level for a calendar year of 791,288 units, surpassing the previous record of 671,887 units registered in 2010, a 17.8 percent increase in year-over-year registrations.

2011 ranks third in the total number of commercial vehicle registrations in a single calendar year since Polk began tracking this information in 2004. The current record of total commercial vehicle registrations in a calendar year is 1.35 million units in 2005. …more…

NARS 2012 SELLING OUT FAST – LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE!
By Susan Marston

There is no time to waste – get yourself registered for an action-packed event that you cannot afford to miss!

Next week is NARS 2012! Are you ready for the big event? Here are 5 things you need to know:

1. Still need to register? Better hurry as the event is close to selling out!

Although registration closes on March 19, it is projected that the event will be a sell out before that date. No walk-up registrations will be accepted and registrations are a must to attend all NARS events. Register now, via the link on the www.theamericanrepossessor.com or www.reposummit.com. …more…

Renovo Releases Agency Scorecards
By Susan Marston

CHICAGO, March 11, 2012 – Renovo Services, LLC the vehicle transition industry’s most fully-integrated single source solution to the financial services industry today announced the release of Agency Scorecards for its repossession partners.

“The scorecard leverages our clients’ core requirements and is designed to help our recovery partners identify key opportunities for improving the scores produced by the Get Best Agent algorithm,” said Wes Goebel, COO of Renovo Services.

Renovo’s Get Best Agent (GBA) program identifies the agents in a defined zip code range, and then uses several weighted metrics to automatically select the best agents. The primary metrics used to evaluate the best agent are recovery rate, update compliance, condition report compliance and average days to recovery. …more…

Renovo Services, LLC – Leading the Industry Forward: Renovo Services, LLC announces the successful implementation of its Business Continuity Plan.
By Susan Marston

(PRWEB) March 08, 2012

Renovo Services, LLC the vehicle transition industry’s most fully-integrated single source solution to the financial services industry announces the successful implementation of its Business Continuity Plan.

“The recent storms in the southeastern United States provided a very real reminder of the importance of system and process redundancy in a large volume business such as repossession management,” said Wes Goebel, COO of Renovo.

Annie Lowell, VP of Customers, along with the Sales & Marketing team announced to its clients and agency partners on Friday morning, it would be executing its pre-established Business Continuity Plan. On short notice, Renovo closed its Nashville office due to the pending violent weather so as to ensure the safety of its employees and their families. In spite of the office closure, Renovo reports that call response times, order administration, and back office functions were completed within their usual expected timeframes, resulting in minimal disruption to their client activities. …more…

Repo man says he was threatened with gun
By Susan Marston

By Alice Queen – Rockdale Citizen, Conyers, GA

3/6/2012 CONYERS — A man who said he wanted to get his Bible from his 2003 GMC Envoy before it was repossessed went to jail last week after he allegedly pointed a gun at the repo man.

Zolly Brown, 61, of 1931 Smyrna Road, has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the Feb. 28 incident.

According to a report by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, Brown told the responding deputy that he went out to talk to the repossession company worker because he wanted to get his Bible from his vehicle. Brown said he is a deacon in his church. Brown told the officer that the situation became heated, words were exchanged, and he went inside the house and got his gun — a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum. …more…

Repo Company’s Insurer Loses Claim Against Defaulting Consumer
By Susan Marston

If you are in the repo business, you carry insurance, and you probably carry a lot of it. There are just too many things that can go wrong during the course of repossessing a car not to have an insurance company’s deep pockets available in one of those “worst case” scenarios.

But insurance companies need to operate in the black, too. So when there is an opportunity for an insurer to take its hand out of its own deep pocket and stick it in someone else’s, you can bet it will try.

A recent case involved a repossessor whose insurer decided it would take a shot at collecting from another deep pocket – in this case, from the company that insured the owner of the repossessed car. Here’s what happened.

Annetta Jackson signed a retail installment sales contract to buy a car. The dealer assigned the contract to AmeriCredit. When Jackson defaulted, AmeriCredit asked Repossession Specialists to repossess the car.

During the repossession, Jackson climbed on the moving tow truck in order to retrieve some personal belongings. She fell off and sustained injuries. Jackson then sued Repossession Specialists and AmeriCredit for those injuries. …more…

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Technology

Red Flag Rule Program

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From the Editor

Columns and Features

TransUnion Payment Hierarchy Study Finds Consumers Paying Auto Loans Before Credit Cards and Mortgages By Susan Marston

Sub-Prime Borrowers Gaining More Access to Credit as Lending Continues to Improve, Equifax Reports By Susan Marston

TD Economics: U.S. Economy Pushing Forward; In Better Position to Handle Pain of Rising Energy Costs By Susan Marston

Projected economic growth to average 2.2% in 2012 and 2.4% in 2013; unemployment rate of 8.1% by end of 2012, 7.5% in 2013

Auto repossession leads to shot fired on bypass By Susan Marston

2011 Commercial Vehicle Registrations Reach 1.25 Million, Led by Record Used Commecial Transactions By Susan Marston

NARS 2012 SELLING OUT FAST – LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE! By Susan Marston

Renovo Releases Agency Scorecards By Susan Marston

Renovo Services, LLC – Leading the Industry Forward: Renovo Services, LLC announces the successful implementation of its Business Continuity Plan. By Susan Marston

Repo man says he was threatened with gun By Susan Marston

Repo Company’s Insurer Loses Claim Against Defaulting Consumer By Susan Marston

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