Page 98 - CARS Standard Program

Debtor claims payment was made (and Recovery Agent is unable to secure possession of collateral)
Response: The Recovery Agent should determine the following:
1. Date payment was made
2. Method of payment (personal check, money order, Western Union, etc.)
3. Depending upon method of payment, Recovery Agent should ask to see check stub, money order number, Western Union transfer number, etc.
4. In the debtor’s presence, Recovery Agent should contact office staff or lien holder with this information.
Always remember when speaking to anyone regarding a delinquent account that federal or state laws apply, and that they apply differently depending upon whether the discussion is with the debtor or a third party. The Recovery Agent and office staff must be familiar with those federal and state regulations while conducting business. Failure to understand and comply with these regulations can be very costly to all parties involved and may result in suspension or termination of employment.
Voluntary Recovery Assignments; Processing
A Voluntary Recovery Assignment results when contact is made between the debtor and the lien holder and the debtor agrees to voluntarily surrender the collateral. Voluntary Recovery Assignments require immediate attention by the office staff and Recovery Agent. If possession of the voluntarily surrendered collateral is not effected immediately, the debtor may change his/her mind and hide the collateral. The debtor may also be influenced by friends or an attorney to refuse to surrender the collateral. In such cases, the end result may be that the lien holder has to take costly legal action.
Voluntary Recovery Assignments are to be approached with the same degree of caution and awareness as an Involuntary Repossession. In some cases, the lien holder’s collector may have misinterpreted the debtor’s intentions and, as a result, unintentionally given incorrect information on the assignment regarding the debtor’s agreement to give up the collateral voluntarily. Liability is decreased in a voluntary recovery only after the Recovery Agent has determined from the debtor, verbally, that the debtor is voluntarily surrendering the collateral. From that point, the process of transporting the collateral to storage, preparing the documentation and reporting the recovery to the client, etc. follows the same procedure as an involuntary (self-help) recovery.
1. Prior to recovery the Recovery Agent should contact the debtor by telephone and determine that the debtor is completely agreeable to giving up the collateral. The Recovery Agent should listen to the debtor very carefully for any sign of anger or resentment.