EDITORIAL
Lifetime of shame is a bit dramatic, but hey it got your attention… and drama sells! That actually is the entire point I am trying to make…. Stay with me.
We have recently seen where many RSIG members (and we are certain many others in the repossession industry) have been individually contacted by a producer who wants to highlight the repossession industry again – but is saying they are taking a different approach to highlight the asset recovery industry – focusing on the agent and not the debtor.
The email sounds enticing – but actor participant beware! The repossession industry has always been best served when it can operate in anonymity, which is why we have always encouraged as little debtor contact as possible. When clients started refusing to pay for keys which pushed repossessors to door knock to try to get the keys in order to do a proper inventory and save money – it increased debtor contact and lawsuits. Door knocks and increased debtor contact has led to repossessors being injured or killed, debtor’s claiming injuries like their foot being run over by the truck or repossession, being hit by the side mirror of the truck, being wedged between the lift and the repossessed vehicle etc.
While this new series seems to want to focus on the repossession of unique and unusual items it will still depend on ratings and advertising dollars and the uneventful repossession just won’t sell. Negative attention to the industry may be an unintended consequence, but to keep advertisers happy, the show must have viewers and to get viewers there has to be mass appeal and usually mass appeal comes from drama or confrontation. Most people don’t turn in to “Must See TV” to be bored and that’s where the problem comes in.
Another issue is that the series wants to showcase the unique and unusual – mentioning construction equipment, medical equipment, restaurant equipment, jets, yachts, private jets etc. Much of this type of equipment may be subject to commercial contracts that are not necessarily handled the same way as a standard retail agreement. A lot of this has been done before in the media and failed.
Repossessors are encouraged not to share their business dealings with the media – for fear of the unintended and unexpected consequences. We’ve heard many say that the license plate or address was blurred out, but what about the film crew, producers, directors, narrators who always seem to be on-site? They certainly weren’t blindfolded during the entire process. Repossessors are strongly encouraged NOT to share their repossession activities on social media, which seems to be happening more and more as people try to get their five minutes of fame; but in those five minutes when adrenaline is pumping, commentary is made and all of that becomes part of the public domain and can then be found on claim or trial day and entered into evidence and/or becomes a factor in settlement. The practices seen in these social media accounts show numerous acts of distracted driving which have now been documented and posted for the world to see, including those still shot photos from the driver’s seat showing the speedometer at 65mph. They also often exhibit “colorful” language that at times can seem threatening or intimidating.
Yet another issue that all repossessors should consider when reached out to by the media is the fact that most major clients now have very restrictive language trying to restrict debtor contact and discussions with media and dealings in social media in their contracts. Your participation in these activities could be a violation of that contract and you could find yourself cut off (a/k/a FIRED) by your clients and you could lose your livelihood.
RSIG cautions all of its members (and the industry as a whole) against being involved in these types of media exploitations of the industry. While to the outside world the repossession industry may seem mysterious and exciting and something that would garner ratings – those in the industry know that it is a hard and thankless job – potentially dangerous at every turn – and not something that the general public and their attorneys need to view on primetime or even late night TV. The troubles of the repossession industry are not going to be made better or solved by the media. Romanticizing the industry by showing the unique and unusual with repossession agency owners claiming to charge/earn big money for this type of activity will only serve to draw people into the industry who think they can do it too. Many of our members have reached out to us with a simple message “This type of publicity, we don’t need!”
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