AFA Joins the Call for a Sustainable Future in Repossession

AFA President Lisa Hancock calls on recovery agencies, forwarders, lenders, banks and credit unions to confront rising costs and find an industry-wide solution.

I want to talk about something that affects every single one of us in this room, and frankly, it’s something we can’t afford to ignore. Fuel prices are rising. The cost of doing business is rising. Insurance, equipment, labor, technology, everything is costing more. And yet, we continue to be expected to do more, go farther, respond faster, and somehow make the numbers work.

We have to ask ourselves: How long can we continue doing business this way?

Because this isn’t just a repossession company problem.

It’s not just a forwarder problem.

It’s not just a bank problem, a credit union problem, or a lender problem.

It is an industry problem.

And if it’s an industry problem, then we need an industry solution.

We have national associations. We have state associations. We have repossession groups. We have company owners, forwarders, banks, credit unions, and lenders.

We are all sitting at the same table, sometimes on different sides of the table, but we are all part of the same industry.

And I believe it’s time we start acting like it.

We need to have the hard conversations.

We need to talk openly about what it actually costs to recover a vehicle today. We need to look at fuel, labor, equipment, insurance, compliance, technology, and all the other expenses that have continued to climb.

And we need to find a way to build a system that is sustainable for everyone.

Because let me tell you something: If recovery companies continue to struggle, eventually there won’t be enough companies left to provide the service.

And when that happens, everybody loses.

The lenders lose. The forwarders lose. The credit unions lose. The banks lose. And our industry loses.

So I’m not standing here today asking one side to give something up for the other.

I’m asking all of us to come together.

Let’s bring the right people into the room.

Let’s put the numbers on the table.

Let’s stop pointing fingers and start finding solutions.

We may not agree on everything, and that’s okay.

But we should be able to agree on one thing: We want a strong, professional, sustainable repossession industry that will still be here for the next generation.

We have the people. We have the experience. We have the relationships.

Now we need the will to work together.

Because the future of this industry isn’t going to be secured by one company, one association, or one group.

It will be secured when all of us decide that working together is more important than working against each other.

So, let’s have the conversations. Let’s find the solutions.

And let’s build an industry that doesn’t just survive these challenges, but comes out of them stronger than ever.