Editorial
There has been a good deal of discussion about my retraction of Bill Alvarez’s “editorial” “A Letter to the Forwarders from Bill Alvarez.“ Many of you didn’t have the opportunity to read it, which is unfortunate and I apologize to you. Many of you did however read my subsequent retraction and did take notice of the threat of legal action that prompted these actions. This is, “IN MY OPINION”, and I will use this repeatedly to assure PAR’s attorneys have little trouble differentiating between my statements of fact and opinion, in many ways an unfortunate decision made on the part of PAR.
Prior to these incidents, I had a great deal of respect for PAR. As a lender and VP of a Collections department, I had used ADESA auctions for well over 10 years and had known them to be, “IN MY OPINION”, reputable, dependable and a standard of the industry. So much so, that when approached by PAR I actually took an objective consideration to using their services despite my low repossession volume.
The practicality and time efficiency of the facilitation, or forwarding model is not lost on me. But my major concern in repossessions, “IN MY OPINION”, has always been compliance and in professional representation. To make a long story short, I quickly chose not to use PAR. I preferred our personal relationship with our chosen agents. Regardless of this decision, at that time I still considered PAR, “IN MY OPINION”, to be amongst the most professional and reputable of the repossession forwarders.
My exposure to the forwarding companies through the years through CUCollector has been surprisingly good. Renovo, for as reviled and bad mouthed as they were, was actually a company I grew to respect. I still consider David Cowelbeck to be one of the brightest minds in the business and Kevin Flynn (rest his soul) was a very enterprising, astute and a good businessman.
Despite all of the bad mouthing they took on CUCollector, they never once threatened me or even alluded to threatening me with a lawsuit. They instead chose to use their minds and discuss the issues and allegations rationally and objectively like real men and not hide behind a war chest of funds developed for legal action as their only source of leverage. They showed a surprising amount of respect and maturity that most did not expect. Because of this, they earned my respect and that of many in the industry.
I likewise see a similar intellectual approach in managing detractors from Primeritus. They too take some heat, but they rise above it and show a maturity and reverence for honest opinion. To date, my interactions with Primeritus have been pleasant and professional and I look forward to continuing it as so.
But PAR is where I have to say, “IN MY OPINION”, Mr. PAR Lawyer, whoever you are out there that I imagine sharpening your legal knives and contemplating how shut up their detractors, it appears to me, “IN MY OPINION”, PAR and its lawyers, see the law as a tool to silence people like myself and others in the repossession industry by using laws which were created to protect free speech and ensure fair and equitable commerce.
In conversation with an executive at PAR, who I will keep nameless, they “had to do this to protect their name. They are a publicly traded company.”
“IN MY OPINION”, If ever there was a more shallow and cowardly reason to threaten others into silence, I haven’t heard it. It is clear, “IN MY OPINION”, that PAR has no interest in engaging the repossession industry or cooperating with them to assure professionalism and compliance are maintained in the handling of the recovery needs of the banking and credit union industry and that is “MY OPINION.” “IN MY OPINION”, making a healthy profit and promoting a “my way or the highway” attitude appears to be their strategy. At least that’s how it appears “IN MY OPINION.”
Forgive my overt usage of the “MY OPINION” lines. I want to assure PAR and their attorneys at PAR that these are my personal opinions of which I am granted the right to state under the First Amendment. While PAR has every right to object to them and to use their financial might to silence them, they are my right. My God given right and I shall yield no more than I did.
The forced retraction of Bill Alvarez’s editorial has created quite a whirlwind of conversation within the repossession community and has, “IN MY OPINION”, made many reputable repossession companies reconsider their affiliation with PAR. In addition, “IN MY OPINION”, PAR may be facing a full scale multi-association condemnation of their company and a major reduction in the number of reputable repossession companies within their network.
PAR can blame me or they can blame Bill Alvarez but ultimately, their, “IN MY OPINION”, disdain and contempt for the professionals in the industry and lack of respect for personal opinion and adult dialogue is, “IN MY OPINION”, to blame.
“As you sow, so shall you reap.”
Kevin Armstrong
Editor, CUCollector
Mr Armstrong,
Good for you and thanks for standing up for “your opinion”. I have often told you,and will again,thanks for looking out for my industry.
It is my “humble” observation,that PAR is trying to satisfy their customers. Unfortunately it is on the Agencies back. I do work for forwarders. I initially hated them like everybody else. I am coming to realize the are not leaving. I have always been of the opinion that the Repo Industry gave forwarders a market. That was true five years ago but not so much now. We as an industry are doing a pretty good job of policing ourselves. Forwarders will probably always be a part of our lives. Here is where “your opinion” matters. Let the market (the agencies) vet out the best forwarders. You have put several articles about positive moves on the forwarders part. I work for several, but I have also “fired” several.
I believe we are finally getting some of our voice back. Let’s not forget the flawed Chase contract. We did push back and it improved. I will finish with a final observation. Forwarders do fill a need for the lenders. They really need to understand that “compromise” is not a dirty word. Works us hard,make us accountable but pay us fairly. Please dont think this is just another whining rant about more $$$. Repo companies need to be efficient to survive. I think most that survived the last four years are pretty efficient.
Forwarders should take a realistic look at what is costs to secure a piece of collateral. All I hope is they figure out how to play fair and compromise. We have already seen progress. If they simply dont get it ,I do think the market will show them. (dont be afraid to say no to an unreasonable demand/request. Just remember to ask yourself if there is any room for you to compromise)
These are simply “my opinions” so please dont call the Lawyers. Kevin as usual, you rock!
Scott Patterson
BRAVO Kevin !
I too have an opinion and if PAR or Primeritus does not like it too bad so sad!
We should not fear big bad lawyers carrying the loaded lawsuit gun, heck we face debtors with real guns for a living.
I stopped accepting assignments from PAR due to the way they hand out work, feeding there preferred agents who just so happen to have free rent at the Adessa auction sites, and then they feed the rest of the agent network the second and third placement substandard skip work that there “Preferred” agents could not handle or find.
There is little or no recognition when an agent goes the extra mile and skips an account resulting in a successful recovery and they somehow think that by supplying us with and endless amount of substandard work at a substandard rate we can make a profitable living.
We also stopped accepting assignments from Primeritus for the same reasons but most importantly because they REFUSED to provide agents with a favorable Hold Harmless.
Let me say it clearly and loudly, NO HOLD HARMLESS, WE DO NOT WORK FOR YOU! GET A TRUCK AND DO IT YOURSELF!
Well that is MY OPINION and I know there are many more out there who also share the same opinion.
So fowarders, take a look at your active agent count and start charting it you will probably see a steady decline of qualified agents who are fed up and beginning to say very loudly, Enough is Enough!
Again, My opinion, that is guaranteed free speech.
Who was it that said” I may disagree with what you say but I ‘ll defend with my life your right to say it”?
Ed…
Kevin,
Once again you have proven to be a beacon of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. While I have always considered you to be a voice of support, reasoning, and understanding when it comes to the challenges we face to run a successful recovery agency in today’s environment, many may not realize how objective you have been regarding the many different forwarding models that have saturated our industry.
Thank you sir for your continued efforts and editorials as I truly value YOUR OPINIONS!
Lee McDaniel
Eagle Adjusters
Kevin:
I did get a chance to read Bill’s editorial and was shocked when I read the retraction. I kept my big mouth shut out of respect to you and CU Collector. I realized you were making a business decision and did not want to do or say anything which might weaken your position or add fuel to your file.
So, IN MY OPINION, I have never respected PAR or what they have done to the recovery industry. IN MY OPINION….PAR is an acronym for Pimping Another Repo and IN MY OPINION, anyone who accepts their assignments is a Whore.
I do not mean to disrespect, or to demean, the Whore community…please do not take this as an insult if you are a whore. I used it in the contents of a willingness to be used for little or no money, IN MY OPINION.
I applaud your actions Kevin. Please keep up the good work you do…we need you and more like you.
To PAR and their attorney’s…please save yourself the filing fees on any lawsuit against me…I will send you the 5 cents I have left to my pockets…..thanks for all that you do to help to destroy a once proud and profitable industry.
In my opinion forwarders are not going away either. They are business people who form a business model that depends on the recovery industries services at sub par pricing. I am sure that their bottom line is down also. There is only so much food in the water and several sharks seeking to eat. What I have always said is that you get what you pay for. They want compliance, they want to check out your yard to see how secure the free storage lot is. They want professionals to work for free so their stockholders can make a profit. Now certain companies want you to accept all liability, even for their or the lenders mistakes. A certain assignment center that we pay to get our work from does not even require the lender to provide a hold harmless in order to accept the work. Leaving you vulnerable. lenders are not stupid. They have saved BILLIONS using forwarders. They laid off most of their collections staffs. They think that they have another layer of insulation in case of disaster. Now Mr. Alvarez wrote a letter and then C.U.Collector put in on their blog. I had read the letter before, because as a member of Eagle XX group, I get a lot of information regarding our industry. When I saw the letter posted here as an editorial, I was pleased that it was being disseminated to the industry on a wider basis. When I saw the retraction, I knew it hit someone in the crotch. I have stated it before. Without credible recovery companies, the forwarders will have to come to terms or go into the recovery business themselves. You saw how fast Primeritus got rid of theirs. Time to really say no and mean it. Kevin, keep up the good work. In my not so humble opinion
Thank you Steve. Coming from a man that brought me into the industry, that means a lot.
Funny how the big corporations will get their tit in the ringer or egg on their face, and rather than sit down and negotiate a solution to an obvious problem, they would rather make threats, cry lawyer and throw good money away in an effort to maintain a failing practice to save a dollar or make a penny more in the long run.
PAR knows they are paying poverty wages. They are getting rich off stupid repo men that can’t say no and enjoy being used and abused. When in fact, that stupid repo man would be better off working at McDonald’s or Wal-Mart in the long run, but here again he’s just too stupid to figure it out, or he doesn’t have what it takes to hold a real job.
AND THAT IS ALL IN MY HUMBLE OPINION!!! We may be losing our freedoms one by one, but I think Freedom of Speech is still a constitutional right.
Funny how the big corporations will get their tit in a ringer or egg on their face, and rather than sit down and negotiate a solution to an obvious problem, they would rather make threats, cry lawyer and throw good money away in an effort to maintain a failing practice to save a dollar or make a penny more in the long run.
PAR knows the are paying poverty wages. they are getting rich off stupid repo men that can’t say no and enjoy being used and abused. When in fact, that stupid repo man would be better off working at McDonald’s or Walmart in the long run, but here again he’s just too stupid to figure it out, or he doesn’t have what it takes to hold a real job.
AND THAT IS ALL IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. We may be losing our freedoms one by one, but I think freedom of speech is still a constitutional right.
Yes, it is still our right! 9-11 or not, we did not lose that right.
In a separate email I sent Kevin a copy of an article that was published a couple of yrs ago by an investment analyst. The article compared Copart to KAR Holdings using “Intangible Asset Ratio”. The article gave a high rating to Copart and showed KAR with a 54% Intangible Asset Ratio. This article spawed a couple of other comments by Investment Advisors of which one predicted KAR to be a likely Bankruptcy candidate. NO ONE WAS EVER SUED.
Ya’ll know I give my 2cents which, to all you lawyers and wannabes, is my OPINION and Steve Dove knows my dad and I by reput in SF. We don’t suffer fools and we don’t work for forwarders . . .Period!!
Now, having seen the blog at the beginning I was happy to see it and glad to see all those folks who read it and stated their opinions. I was shocked to see and hear of the retraction. However within my realm of forwarder hating . . . WTF?
Let the attorneys sue, let them embarrass themselves in the court of public opinion. Would it hurt us the agencies, yes. In the pocketbook, yes.
I have been of the OPINION that all forwarders are bottom feeders, they need to be regulated, licensed and have their facilities checked for compliance just we the agencies should. Who knows what paperwork they leave out for anyone to see, we don’t know that all the confidential information is safeguarded, and whilst they continually use sub-par talent for their clients, why is it not them who are dragged through the mud? We are required to post insurance, security, deal with strangers on our lots who haven’t a clue as to what they are truly looking for, come into our domain and disrupt our business.
The lenders don’t care because they have so many lawyers and loopholes to keep them out court, and they see the forwarders as the new messiah. Well baby, let me tell ask you something . . . Remember the Gods of ancient Egypt, India, Rome and other great civilizations? Umm, of course not – they fell and then those believers publicly stoned them and drove them out of decent society. See any correlation here? Oh, no not a process server . . . for what – my 2cents? I mean my OPINION?
We will never work for forwarders, we are suffering, we are proud and truly independent and we will NEVER allow an outside company to inspect our properties. If you attempt it, you will fail and if you push a court mandated order – – well, let’s just say this – the rat race will have to go on with one less rat. We would rather close our doors, rather than bend over for these folks. You know the San Francisco saying . . .”If drop your wallet on Castro Street, kick it to Market street rather than bending over to pick it up” Bad humor…
Anyway, I have been off the blogs for too long … my apologies for my ranting. The idea of forwarders making money off our blood, sweat and tears is wrong. Sicking their dogs on us for our OPINIONS is even worse.
YEA THOU I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF EVIL FORWARDERS I SHALL FEAR NO SUCH EVIL…………………JUST KEEP SAYING NO TO SUBSTANDARD PAY SAY NO TO THE BIG BAD FORWARDER