Repo Agent vs. Repo Agent – The Battles in the Field

If agent safety truly matters, it’s time to examine the assignment practices creating unnecessary confrontations.

GUEST EDITORIAL

We are seeing a concerning increase in incidents where other repossession agencies are blocking our agents from lawfully recovering vehicles in the field.

What was once an occasional occurrence a few incidents each week has now escalated to multiple incidents every day. This trend is becoming a serious issue within our industry. When agencies interfere with another company’s lawful recovery efforts, it creates unnecessary conflict, increases safety risks, and disrupts operations for everyone involved.

One of the primary reasons we are seeing this increase is that the same repossession assignment is often being sent to multiple agencies and, in many cases, to multiple LPR providers at the same time. This creates unnecessary competition in the field, where several companies may arrive at the same location attempting to recover the same vehicle.

The result is avoidable confrontations between professional recovery agents who are simply trying to perform the work they were assigned.

Ironically, some of the same organizations and companies that publicly advocate for agent safety are contributing to the very conditions that increase the likelihood of these encounters. If agent safety is truly the priority, then the industry must take a serious look at the practices that are creating these situations in the first place.

As a professional recovery company, we can only control what is within our control. We invest heavily in training our agents to conduct themselves professionally, de-escalate situations, avoid confrontation, and operate safely at all times. If another agency interferes with one of our recoveries, our agents are instructed to leave the scene immediately and move on to the next assignment. No vehicle is worth risking the safety of our employees or the public.

Unfortunately, many of these incidents stem from the actions of agencies that choose not to operate with the same level of professionalism. While we cannot control the conduct of others, we can continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards and expect our team to do the right thing every time.

This is an industry issue that deserves attention. Reducing duplicate assignments, improving communication, and promoting professional conduct in the field will help protect recovery agents, reduce unnecessary conflict, and ultimately benefit lenders, forwarders, agencies, and the public alike.

Agent safety should never be just a talking point, it should be reflected in the way assignments are managed and, in the professionalism, expected from every company operating in the field.