Changing the Perception of the “Repo Man”

“Words create pictures in the mind, and the markings on the side of a tow vehicle or the words on a jacket or T-shirt create word pictures of who we are, of our level of professionalism, and our attitude towards the consumers with whom we are interacting.”

GUEST EDITORIAL

Social Media is here to stay… Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram… these and many more are out there sending messages, photographs, and videos to the entire world. Look around you, everyone is carrying a phone, but we know that a phone today is much more than just a phone. Today’s smartphone is a photo camera, a video camera, a voice recorder, a computer, and an instant connection to the entire world at large.

With this knowledge, common knowledge, I am surprised to see those who claim to be asset recovery professionals driving around in $60,000.00 to $100,000.00 plus specialized towing vehicles with company names stenciled on the doors like “LAST NOTICE RECOVERY”, “GOT YOU AUTO RECOVERY”, TIME IS UP REPOSSESSIONS, “NO PAY NO PLAY RECOVERY”, and wearing company jackets and t-shirts while working repossessions with provoking messages such as, “NO RIDE 4 U” and “RIGHT OUTA YOUR DRIVE”, “YOU CAN DRIVE IT, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE IT”.

Is this really the image we desire? Is this the way we want the financial lending community, the lawmakers in Washington DC and the general public to view us?

The Repo Alliance, a fundraising body that has brought together several industry associations including Texas ARP, CALR, ARA and Harding Brooks Insurance, is spending thousands of dollars of donated funds with a goal to change the negative image of the repossession industry by educating state and federal legislatures and improve the industry’s image with lawmakers can have all of their efforts negated by one or two negative social media postings.

“Repossession” is recognized as the most invasive and dangerous segment of the entire lending process and it is the action which may, and in many cases has, provoked violence resulting in injury and even death to consumers, recovery agents, and third parties.

Please ask yourself, “Is this the way I want a jury to view my agency and my employees?”. “Am I the person the lender desires to stand beside in a court of law?” “Would I and/or my employees go into a courtroom dressed as they are dressed when going to a consumers residence or place of business to repossess a vehicle?”

As a certified expert witness, I testify and write opinions related to breach of peace, wrongful repossession, and UDAAP, and I can assure you one of the first things I do, no matter which party I am engaged by, is to scour social media searching for photos and/or videos related to the involved parties, diligently looking for comments, photos, and videos. When I locate them, I pay close attention to how the recovery vehicles are marked, how the repossessors are dressed and how they speak and interact with the consumers and third parties.

Words create pictures in the mind, and the markings on the side of a tow vehicle or the words on a jacket or T-shirt create word pictures of who we are, of our level of professionalism, and our attitude towards the consumers with whom we are interacting.

I would encourage all readers of this short message to take a step back, look at your vehicles, when you pull up to a residence or business will the name on your tow truck indicate to all of the consumer’s neighbors that you are repossessing the consumer’s vehicle? Take a look at how your employees are dressed and how their interactions with consumers or third parties would portray if viewed by judge and jury sitting on a wrongful repossession case.

Always remember that if … “PERCEPTION IS REALITY”, if we appear and act like a professional then we are empowered with the ability to “CHANGE THE REALITY BY CHANGING THE PERCEPTION”.