Repo company suddenly closes down, what happens to the cars?

It Could Have Been Worse

EDITORIAL

The repossession industry is one that is constantly changing and evolving. With many new technical and legal advances, it takes hard work and attention to detail in order to keep a company up to the high industry standards.

Here at USA Meridian International Inc., we are responsible for forwarding accounts out of state for a few of our larger clients. As members of Eagle Group XX, we have learned a lot about professionalism and compliance and all of our agents are reputable companies in their given area, who work diligently to provide repossessions that are handled are in a professional and timely manner. We also require our agents to carry extensive insurance policies and a dishonesty bond in order to protect all individuals involved in the repossession process.

At the end of November, we assigned a repossession order to one of our out of state agents. Two weeks after the unit was picked up, the customer paid off the loan and called about making arrangements to pick up the unit. A date was set, but when the customer arrived at the lot for his appointment, there was no one to release the unit to him. He called our office to see if there was any other way to contact the agent. Our immediate response was to attempt contact using the emergency numbers provided at the time the contract was signed.

Every number we had on file was disconnected or went to voicemail. We had previously attempted contact via RDN, email, and phone the day prior to request an update on a different case with no response as well. Since we were unable to get in contact with our client, our next step was to contact the local sheriff’s department to do a wellness check at the lot location. When nothing was reported out of the ordinary, agents here at USA Meridian began our own investigation to figure out why our agent was not at the lot to release the customer’s vehicle.

Through contacting other local agencies, we learned the repossession company had been closed with no notice to any of their clients. We were eventually able to contact one of the office administrators and she explained the situation in detail. The owner of the company had contracted COVID-19 and was in the hospital. Before she was put on life support, she had turned over the businesses via POA to her boyfriend. Even though he had been listed as one of the emergency contacts for the business, he had no professional experience running a repossession company. Once he became responsible for the company, the entire staff was laid off and all communication were cut off. The office administrator had said her email and online platform accounts had been shut off, so she was unable to notify us, or any of their other clients, of what had happened. No one could reach the boyfriend to get our customer’s vehicle released from the lot.

Calling on the advice and assistance from other members of Eagle Group XX, eventually we were able to get in contact with the bonding and insurance company that provided the policy for the agent’s company and asked them for assistance in locating and contacting the owner’s boyfriend. The bonding company was able to provide us new phone number for the boyfriend.

After multiple attempts to communicate with the boyfriend, we finally established contact and were able to make arrangements for the release of the unit.

Eight days after the customer paid off the loan, he was finally able to pick up his unit from the lot.

Looking back at this experience, there are a few major lessons that all repossession companies can learn.

When working with any outside agents, be sure to keep an updated emergency contact list.
If your agent leases or rents a lot from a third party, have the property owner’s as well as any lot attendant’s up to date contact phone numbers.
Keeping updated and thorough records will allow your company to have a constant line of communication when any type of emergency situation occurs.
Always protect yourself and your company with the proper and updated insurance and bonds.
Have a network of business associates to call on for information and advice when help is required.

There are too many uncontrollable variables in this industry that can leave your company vulnerable. Without that bond protection and the teamwork between Eagle Group XX members and the bonding company, it would have proven more difficult to reach the person responsible for releasing the unit to our customer.

An event like this was completely unheard of, so news of this occurrence quickly spread throughout the repossession industry. There were no guidelines to follow when it came to what actions USA Meridian should take. This event became an “Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome” situation and even though it took several days and countless phone calls, we are just thankful that the customer was able to redeem his vehicle…it could have been worse.

Tim Koskovics