Page 100 - CARS Standard Program

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.