CLA Warns Recovery Vendors: No Hidden Trackers on Vehicles Out for Repossession

National title lender tells vendors unauthorized GPS tracking is not a legitimate recovery method

Atlanta, GA – April 24, 2026 – Community Loans of America, Inc. (CLA) has issued a nationwide memorandum to forwarding agents and repossession service providers prohibiting the use of tracking devices to effectuate repossessions or recoveries.

In the April 20, 2026 memo, CLA President Robert I. Reich states that the company and its subsidiaries have received information suggesting that some recovery service providers may be placing tracking devices on vehicles without the consumer’s knowledge or consent. The memo specifically references GPS, wireless transmission, radio frequency, geolocation applications, or other methods used to later locate vehicles when a tow truck is nearby.

CLA states that it “does not recognize this practice as a legitimate recovery method” and warns that it may create exposure for breach of peace, invasion of privacy, or other civil or criminal claims.

Read the entire memo below:

Community Loans of America, Inc.

Memorandum

To:
All Forwarding Agents and Repossession Service Providers in all states

From:
Robert I. Reich, President, Community Loans of America Inc.

Date:
April 20, 2026

Re:
Prohibition on Use of Tracking Devices to Effectuate Repossessions/Recoveries

Community Loans of America, Inc. (“CLA”) and its subsidiaries have recently received information that some recovery services providers use a tracking device to effectuate recoveries. More specifically, the information suggests that some recovery service providers’ employees surreptitiously, and without the consumer’s consent or knowledge, place a tracking device (whether operated through GPS, wireless transmission, radio frequency, other geolocation application or other method) on vehicles out for recovery, in order to track and locate those vehicles later when a tow truck is available nearby for the pick-up.

Please be advised that CLA does not recognize this practice as a legitimate recovery method. CLA believes such a practice of tracking a vehicle without the consumer’s knowledge or consent and recovering it later opens the door to claims of breach of peace, invasion of privacy, or other civil or criminal conduct on the part of the recovery service provider, such that the provider will be in breach of its contractual obligations with CLA.

For the foregoing reasons, such practices are strictly prohibited with respect to all vehicles out for recovery associated with customers of CLA’s subsidiaries.

For questions, please contact Thad Boberg at (469) 955-6137.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Signature

Robert I. Reich
President, Community Loans of America, Inc.

CLA is a midsized short term title loan lender of about $600M – $1.2B in assets. Public reporting has described Community Loans of America as a privately held Atlanta-based title-lending company founded in 1994, operating across the South and Midwest under brands including Carolina Payday Loans, Illinois Title Loans, and Fast Auto Loans, with about 1,800 employees and more than 200 locations. (lacsn.org)

The timing may be significant. CLA has faced recent regulatory scrutiny. In January 2024, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with CLA over vehicle title loan practices, including allegations involving collecting on loans and repossessing collateral vehicles.

The CFPB also lists a petition to enforce a civil investigative demand involving Community Loans of America, filed in October 2023, with an order issued in June 2024. (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)

There is also a broader legislative and compliance environment developing around repossession practices and tracking technology. California’s SB 382, for example, addresses vehicle repossession agencies and proposes additional restrictions around certain repossession-related business practices, though it does not appear focused specifically on GPS trackers. (LegiScan)

Separately, legal commentary has warned for years that repossession agents who place GPS devices on vehicles without consent may risk privacy, stalking, or criminal exposure depending on state law. (JD Supra)

For repossession agencies, the message is clear: CLA is placing responsibility squarely on its vendors. Any unauthorized tracking-device practice tied to CLA accounts may not only be rejected as an improper recovery method, but could also be treated as a breach of the provider’s contractual obligations.