ARA Letter to the Industry – Lender Overreach

Dear ARA Members,

March 7, 2025 – The ARA Board remains committed to protecting the interests, safety, and professionalism of our industry. Recently, we have seen an increase in lender requests that we believe are both inappropriate and impractical, threatening not only our agents’ safety but also pushing our industry backward.

One lender has requested that we revert to using paper and avoid digital signatures, even though lenders themselves readily accept digital signatures for their own operations. This is an unnecessary overreach that disregards the efficiency and security that digital tools provide.

Even more concerning, they have stated they will not pay redemption fees, etc., when digital signatures are used. This places an unwarranted financial burden on the agent network.

Other lenders have proposed that agents take photos of repossessed vehicles requiring dollies or flatbeds in the field rather than at the yard. This is not only an unreasonable request, but also a dangerous one.

Asking agents to take unnecessary photos on-site increases exposure in already high-risk situations. Modern technology already provides sufficient documentation to satisfy any audit requirements without compromising agent safety. No photos should be required in these cases.

The only reasonable exception for requiring photos would be in cases where a two-wheel-drive unit is damaged (wrecked, missing wheels, etc.).

The ARA Board of Directors stands firmly against these ill-conceived requirements and encourages our members to not change their current processes. Each member can run their business as they wish; however, ARA does not support lender overreach as laid out in these two examples.

ARA will attempt to meet with these lenders to discuss our position and why we advised our membership as we have, and to listen to the lenders’ point of view to better understand their position — aiming for a positive dialogue, so we can work together to satisfy these issues.

Thank you for your continued support. Together, we will ensure our industry is safeguarded and treated with the respect and consideration it deserves.

Sincerely,

ARA Board of Directors

ABOUT AMERICAN RECOVERY ASSOCIATION

Originally chartered on July 22, 1965, and located in Dallas, Texas, American Recovery Association (ARA) is a membership organization made up of more than 260 repossession business owners providing service from more than 500 locations to more than 27,000 national and international cities. As the world’s largest association of recovery professionals, ARA strives to be a leader and advocate for the recovery industry by providing member support, education, and certifications; fostering relationships between the lending community and repossession agents; and hosting the annual three-day North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) – the largest repossession conference in the industry. For more information, go to repo.org or call (972) 755-4755.