Page 95 - CARS Standard Program

Recovering Collateral from Military Installations
Prior to repossession from any military personnel the Recovery Agent should be familiar with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) in order to ensure the repossession complies with the Act. SCRA commentary can be found in Applicable Federal Law; Section 1.
Procedures for recovering collateral from military installations are varied, with the appropriate final authority usually resting with the base’s officer of the day, or commanding officer. Following is a suggested procedure:
A. Recovery Agent proceeds to military installation and contacts security. When contacting security, the Recovery Agent must properly identify himself and show his identification card.
B. ThesecurityofficerwilleitherinformtheRecoveryAgentoftherequiredprocedure or possibly escort the Recovery Agent to base headquarters where the appropriate authority will explain proper procedure.
C. On occasion, it will be required that a military police officer accompany the Recovery Agent. In such cases, it is usually required that the Recovery Agent inform the debtor in writing that the military police officer is there only to ensure that no security regulations for the military installation are violated. A generic form for such notification is located in the Forms Section of this manual. If the Recovery Agent is located near a military installation and regularly recovers collateral from there, he should obtain a copy of any written procedures the installation may have regarding this process.
Recovering Collateral from Indian Reservations
Procedures for repossessing collateral from Indian Reservations may vary for each reservation and these procedures should be followed whether it is an involuntary or voluntary repossession. It cannot be overemphasized that failure to adhere to those specific procedures can be very costly. On Indian Reservations penalties are determined not be state or federal law but by tribal authority and can result in the Recovery Agent being arrested and having the tow truck confiscated.
Suggested procedures for handling such repossessions include:
A. Recovery Agent proceeds to the Reservation, identifies himself by name and identification card, and requests to speak with the tribal authority.
B. Upon meeting with the proper authority (usually the tribal chief), the Recovery Agent should again identify himself by name and ID card.
C. Recovery Agent produces assignment documentation requested and asks permission to take possession of the collateral.