Westlake’s Tone-Deaf Messaging on Flatbed Fees

Nice of them to try to define the difference between a flatbed truck and a set of dollies, even if it’s wrong.

EDITORIAL

Coming on the heels of the outrage over their recent and probable erroneous demands for refunds for mileage fees, you would think they would be a little more cautious with their messaging. But Westlake’s most recent communication has caused yet another round of frustration and feelings of insult at their audacity and is raising questions about their financial stability.

On Monday, Westlake Financial sent an automated email to all of their agents via RDN announcing their demand that all agents provide photographic proof of their use of a flatbed truck in order to receive payment for the fees. Following their accusations that agencies were falsifying mileage fees, two troubling issues may be at play.

But before we discuss these, let’s look at the actual message.

The Tone and the Message

Flatbed Verification Requirement

 Effective immediately, all agents must provide photo proof when claiming the use of a flatbed tow truck.

Definition of a Flatbed:
A flatbed is a tow truck with a long, flat platform (bed) on the back that can be hydraulically inclined and lowered to the ground. The vehicle to be transported is loaded entirely onto the flat platform and secured before transport. This method keeps all four wheels of the vehicle off the ground during towing.

Important Clarification:
A dolly is not considered a flatbed. A dolly is a towing attachment or small trailer that lifts only two wheels of the vehicle off the ground, leaving the other two in contact with the road.

Photo Requirement:
Agents must submit a clear photo of the vehicle loaded on the flatbed as proof of use. Failure to provide photo verification may result in non-payment or rejection of the flatbed charge.

Automated email sent from Westlake Services utilizing RDN

As an unofficial update, I was just advised by one agency owner who received direct communication from Westlake management that dolly fees also require photos. This was reportedly not broadcasted through RDN, so don’t use me as an official source for this.

Mistrust or Ignorance?

Wow! That was mighty nice of them to try to define the difference between a flatbed truck and a set of dollies, even if it’s wrong. I’m a little surprised they didn’t provide the definition of a photo as well.

The way it is written doesn’t appear to be for legal purposes since it doesn’t contain any of the excessive legalese. It almost appears to be an AI generated message. But regardless of source and purpose, a number of agency owners reached out to me over this within hours of its posting and everyone felt it was condescending, insulting and suspicious.

As previously mentioned in the September 29^th article titled “Westlake Clawing Back Paid Milage Fees – Agents Furious”, Westlake has for the most, had a very good relationship with their agent network. Where did this sudden change in their perception of their agent network come from?

As previously mentioned, it illuminates two issues that may be contributing.

Mistrust – Both of these fee related incidents seem to suggest that Westlake is either fearful of or believe that they are being defrauded by their agent network. That’s pretty rich for a lender who, no matter what they’re paying their direct agents, is probably paying a fee that is far below what it should be with all of the decades of unaddressed inflation and general rising cost of operations.

Ignorance – The sheer audacity of a lender explaining to their repossession network the difference between a rollback flatbed truck and a pair of dollies is laughable. The fact that they didn’t get it right is hilarious. It hints at the possibility that perhaps someone at Westlake is new at this and really has no direct knowledge of the industry itself.

All of this sudden hyperfocus on recovery service fees may be part of a larger internal battle with net income. Not really a big red flag in itself, cost cutting efforts are just part of the ongoing expense management of every lender. But as publicized, subprime lending is showing charge-off losses at record levels. Perhaps there is some added cause?

Regardless, it’s a message of poor tone and messaging. It makes it appear that their focus is on avoiding paying earned flatbed and dolly ancillary fees that should just be instant approved by now.

Why does this require the agency to take the extra steps of taking and sending photos on top of everything else? It’s the 21^st century and we have this thing called the internet. It’s not like they can’t simply look up the vehicle type to find out if it is an all-wheel drive vehicle.

AWD – Past the Event Horizon

The fact that by now, any lender would not simply include into the repossession expense flatbed fees is absurd. Of all the automobiles sold in the USA in the past eight years, a weighted average of 51% of them are all-wheel drive (AWD).

In that time, the percentages of AWD’s have more than doubled, climbing from 26% in 2018 to 62% in 2025 and the “event horizon”, the point of no return, is well behind us. This ratio is increasing and shows no signs of decreasing.

AWD is the new normal and disputing the need to compensate for the need for dollies or flatbeds is ludicrous. Creating hurdles to employ what are safe industry recovery standards is an afront to safety and efficiency. Requiring agencies to take extra steps to prove the need for them is just a reason to decline paying for them.

Be safe,

Kevin Armstrong

Publisher

Westlake’s Tone-Deaf Messaging on Flatbed Fees – Westlake’s Tone-Deaf Messaging on Flatbed Fees – Westlake’s Tone-Deaf Messaging on Flatbed Fees

Westlake’s Tone-Deaf Messaging on Flatbed Fees – Repossess – Repossession – Repossession Agency – Repossessor – Repossession – Bankruptcy – Delinquency