Page 101 - Microsoft Word - NEW 2017 Standard Program.docx

Impounded Collateral Assignments
Impounds are assignments on collateral that has been impounded and stored by a
municipality, body shop, tow company, etc. Voluntary Impounds must be handled
within twenty-four (24) hours. Such immediate action is necessary to prevent the
potential for the collateral being foreclosed and sold, or unnecessary accrual of storage
fees. Office staff should contact the impound facility and determine its procedures for
release and the type of acceptable payment. Most impound facilities require proof of lien
and a Hold Harmless from the lien holder.

When recovering the impounded collateral, the Recovery Agent must always obtain a
receipt from the impound facility. The receipt must clearly show the amount, date
and a description of the collateral recovered, including the VIN number. The receipt
should be included in all additional required information that is to be forwarded to the
client. Without proof of payment the expenditure likely will not be paid by the client.

Inter-Agency Assignments
If you are a recovery agency that is reassigning a repossession account to another recovery
agency it is critical that you obtain an Inter-Agency Hold harmless Agreement from the
recovery agency you are reassigning the repossession account to for the following reason;
in some states, if a lawsuit is filed against the recovery agency that you have reassigned
the account to, if you do not have a Hold Harmless Agreement from that agency you can
be held jointly liable in that lawsuit and not released from that litigation. You will find an
Inter-Agency Hold Harmless Agreement in the Forms Section, (Form X).

Notifications to Law Enforcement
Law enforcement must be notified upon the recovery of collateral, including involuntary,
voluntary, lease returns, impounded collateral, etc. Reporting of involuntary recoveries
should be done as soon as the Recovery Agent is safely away from the area.

In some areas, police departments or county sheriff’s departments require notification
prior to recovering the collateral. In such instances, an attorney may be consulted to
determine if such local ordinances violate that state’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
If so, a request should be made to the appropriate state agency to notify local officials
that such ordinance is in conflict with state law.

If you are still required to notify law enforcement before attempting recovery be
especially careful since there have been instances where law enforcement made the
debtor aware that his/her collateral had been assigned for repossession.

When notifying law enforcement of the recovery the Recovery Agent must always obtain
the law enforcement officer’s name and badge number and record it, along with the name
of the law enforcement agency and its telephone number, in his assignment paperwork.
Remember to always use your collateral recovery agency’s full, legal name.

Do not abbreviate it as this may cause confusion with your local/state regulatory agency.