Kent County, MI – September 25, 2012 – It is a slippery slope between repossessing and collecting in the repossession trade. It is this very differentiation between the two that is at the heart of allegations made against a Michigan repo forwarding company, Repocast.com, M&B Recovery, an alleged convicted felon subcontractor and their unfortunate client Grand Rapid Family Credit Union.
According to a lawsuit filed by attorneys on behalf of a Joel Andrade, Repocast, by virtue of their collection agency license and advertised regular sending of “Notice of Right to Sell” letters, is operating as a debt collector. As such, all of the activities that they conduct themselves under could be construed as collections activities and not mere repossession activities.
Michael G. Jebb, operating under the name M&B Recovery is not a licensed collection agency, but allegedly conducts repossessions, is alleged to be operating under the umbrella of Repo cast.com’s collection agency license as evidenced by his insurance certificate.
Also named in the suit is a Timothy M. Jannereth, a reported convicted felon and subcontractor for M&B Recovery who by virtue of aforementioned licensing and listing is also alleged to be operating as a debt collector.
The incidents occurring that lead to this lawsuit come from a cosigner , Mr. Andrade, on an auto loan financed by Grand Rapid Family Credit Union for a Ms. Garcia who defaulted on the loan and moved to Texas with the vehicle. The Credit Union the allegedly hired Repocast.com to either repossess the vehicle or “coerce” Ms. Garcia into paying current.
According to the complaint, on or about September 4, 2012, subcontractor Timothy M. Jannereth made contact at the residence of Mr. Andradein Michigan and demanded the vehicle or $782.39 to bring the account current within 24 hours or an arrest warrant would be issued against him.
Jannereth then allegedly left a “24 Hour Notice” which reportedly misquotes and paraphrases MCL 750.177 in threatening Mr. Andrade. Allegedly communication between the parties continued afterward which contained threats to repossess other collateral should the funds not be paid or the vehicle returned and misrepresentations that criminal charges would be filed against him which would be in violation of USC 15 1692e(2)(A).
Repocast Is basically a Auction company that got into the repo business a couple years ago with no past experiance. In addition they did not have repossession insurance, they were giving there clients garage keepers liability and passing that off as adequate coverage to the lenders that did not know any better.Michigan is a collection state and does require, collection agency liscence but that hardly qualifys one as a experianced repossessor.
All recovery agencies should pay close attention to this lawsuit for it is exactly what is coming at you if you commit any action which triggers FDCPA inclusion. There are numerous “triggers” which have been mentioned through the years and should be avoided at all costs for if you fall under the FDCPA you are subject to all of its provisions, interpretations, statutes and penalties. BEWARE !
Unfortunately this will be a very expensive lesson for the Credit Union. Perhaps they saved $50 or even $100 by doing business with these folks as opposed to a legitimate, professional Repossession Company. Certainly NOT worth the risk….and they will now pay-big time.
@detdav – Do you repossess collateral in MI?
Michigan Required State License(s):
Repossession of motor vehicles requires collection agency license.
The agency and the agency manager must be licensed. Contact the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Commercial Services at (517) 241-9288 for licensure information or visit our website at http://www.michigan.gov/collections.
Repossession license plates may be obtained from the local Secretary of State office.
@Dave Branch, Yes I do and have been licensed in the state of Michigan since it was required in 1980. Perhaps I should be more specific. In order to legally repossess in the State of Michigan you are required to have a collection agency licence. Our licence is geared towards(Collection) agencies not (Repossession) agencies, unfortunately.That being said one does not have to have any training in repossessions to legally repo in Michigan.
I couldn’t help but notice Repocasts contractor M&Js insurance declaration sheet, looks like nothing more than tow insurance, and to my knowledge State Farm does not sell repossession insurance.
@detdav Couple years? Repocast.com has been licensed collection agency for over 10 yrs and conducts nearly over 50 million in repo sales, etc annually. As for insurance you have that one wrong also. Not quite the fly by night your making them out to be. So what does it take to be experienced then? With that level of volume its not uncommon to have a suit filed against you, and that doesn’t make it a rightful suit. Taking the language of a lawsuit and treating it as fact is indeed a rush to judgement.