A Repossession Is a Repossession – Correction and Clarification

Following publication of the A Repossession Is a Repossession editorial published on September 22^nd, I spoke at length with John Fountaine of Trinity Financial Services, who provided important information regarding Copart’s handling of voluntary and impound repossession assignments that was not available to me when this article was written.

Trinity Financial Services serves as Copart’s repossession forwarding company for agency assignments in the 14 states with some level of repossession-agency licensing requirements. John advised me that Trinity uses only recovery agencies possessing the credentials required by the applicable state for these voluntary and impound assignments.

That materially changes part of the picture presented in the original editorial. While the broader discussion concerning what legally constitutes a repossession, lender responsibilities, consumer protections, insurance and personal property remains worthy of examination, the article created an inaccurate impression that Copart may be using unlicensed or improperly credentialed providers for these recoveries in regulated states.

Based on the information John provided, that implication was incorrect, and I want to correct it clearly.

I have known John for approximately seven years and was unaware that Trinity was handling these assignments for Copart. Had I known, I would have contacted him before publication.

I apologize to John Fountaine and Trinity Financial Services for the inaccurate implication and appreciate John taking the time to explain the process to me in detail.