Repo America with J. Patrick Altes

Its great when a client can tell you where the car is located. GPS tracking technology has come a long way, and is generally a benefit to the repo industry...until it becomes a way to "beat the price" of our services. Pat, Joel, and Kevin discuss how this technology can help those in financial need secure auto loans, and how it intersects with the repossession business.

Often the legal landmines in an industry are NOT where you think they'd be. In the repossession business, its not primarly a breach of peace. And how foolish is it that our industry allows our clients to refuse to offer repossession-related indemnification?

In most instances, the repossession business can be pretty boring. But in a small percentage of repossessions, thing and go wrong in a big way. This is the story of David Sullivan, former VP of Allied Finance Adjusters, who was attacked and nearly killed by an uninvolved third party while simply scanning license plates with an LPR camera car.

Pat's often-guest-host Bryanna interviews John Fountaine, an individual with a long history as a skiptracer and working with forwarding agencies. John talks about areas of health and personal growth, and an exciting new concept for the future of the repossession industry.

A new CFPB chief, Rohit Chopra, was picked yesterday....President and Biden promises to bring the CFPB back to life. What kind of action should auto lenders expect, and how will it effect the auto repossession industry? Should be a concern for repossessors across America. Pat discusses it with Hudson Cook's Eric L Johnson.

What a crazy week. But the point of this podcast is to discuss how a revived CFPB might effect the repossession industry...and it definitely will. What's the best way for us to be "at the table" instead of "on the menu"? Pat Altes and industry blogger Kevin Armstrong discuss how things might play out.

Pat Altes' family ran one of the national trade associations for nearly 50 years, a "competitor" to the America Recovery Assocation. The voices condemning ARA were loud and persistent. But was it true? And, if so, was it still true today?

Bryanna interviews best-selling author Bob Burg about mentorship, sales, person growth, and the contents of "The Go-Giver"

I've always wondered if the industry's love affair with LPR camera systems is a result of our penchant for chasing shiny objects, without assessing their true ROI (if any exists). Pat and co-host Bryanna Cox talk to Jeremy Cross about their thoughts on this whole high-tech idea.

Successful recovery agency owner Corey Cox shares how working together, with and not against his so-called "competitors" in the infamous Houston repo market, has revitalized the culture in one of America's busiest hotbeds for automobile recoveries.

Tired of hearing the same old ideas from the same old voices? Yeah, us too. Especially since some of us ARE the old voices. In this episode, Bryanna Cox talks with Elite Collateral Recovery's Brandon Pineiro, son of legendary industry entrepreneur Max Pineiro.

Never has our industry faced anything like this....a 120+ day moratorium on repossessions across the nation. This would put many, many agencies out of business, and severely damage the rest. Pat and lobbyist Matt Henken discuss politics, the CFPB, the race for the White House, and the possibility of the Senate responding to the HEROES act with a compromise that would throw us under the proverbial bus.....

Weird stuff coming down the pike from the Federal and state governments which could really crush our industry. California has tried, and recently introduced their own version of the CFPB. And we're still battling the devastation that could be caused by the HEROES Act in Congress. Rather than sit around and whine, some forward thinking repossessors in Georgia recently formed their own state association to represent their interests. Pat talks to their new president, John Newberry.

Repo "reality" shows have done a number on the repossession industry. It has effected insurance companies' willingness to insure us; it has effected how state and Federal governments view us; and the fears these shows project find their way into the abusive, unfair contracts clients want us to sign. Champions like Renee Low, working with insurance carriers and the Repo Alliance, are trying to paint a different, more realistic picture of who we are and what we do.

Often a creditor's car winds up someplace they never intended...and in some cases, in Central America countries like Panama. Pat talks with former repo associate in Panama, private investigator Brett Mikkelson.

It all changed in 1959. Fidel Castro was installed as the leader of the island nation of Cuba, and immediately began a reign of terror and intimidation on the Cuban people. People used home-made rafts, small boats, and even sheets of plywood to try and cross the 90 miles of the Florida Straits. Thousands died in the effort. Many of that made it arrived penniless, yet worked hard to fulfill the promise of the American dream. The Pineiro's were some of those, and this is Max's story.

Guess host Bryanna Cox talks with Wendy Camara about forming a new state repossession association, crazy repo restrictions by the state, and working with "competitors" to create hope for the future

Born out of the needs of the US logging industry, Curtis Hassell's' family leveraged an invention from that business into a patented, industry-standard tool for towers and repossessors worldwide...the self-loading tow dolly.

You know its true...people generally don't know what we do. They think its violent, confrontational, and abusive to the consumer based on "reality TV". Its one thing trying to convince your friends of the truth. How about members of Congress?

Lots in the news about the HEROES Act before the US Senate. Language in the House bill would have shuttered the repossession industry for 180 days....effectively killing much of the industry. The Repo Alliance is being represented in DC by a very savvy and engaged lobbyist...and Pat and Mike Peplinski talk about that.

There's a handful of people that are known nationwide as skiptracers, and Alex Price is one of those. With his Alabama drawl, Alex draws upon 35+ years as one of the leading skiptracers for the repossession, bail-enforcement, and private investigation industries.

Every few years a new repo-specific truck builder comes along. Mike Farrell and Pat Altes talk trucks, especially the "Lil Hercules", the nearly invisible repo unit.

A law proposed to California's legislature would have help off all repossessions until January 2023....and thus destroying the states repossession industry while also hurting the state's consumers. A bunch of repossessors pulled together a winning team that won the day...and saved their industry.

NAF President Joel Kennedy explains how and why the organization is one of the repossession industry's biggest ally.

Social media influencer Bryanna Cox talks about the Texas ARP, the Repo Alliance, building cooperation in Houston, social media, and a host of other issues.

Mike Peplinski from Harding Brooks talks about unfair indemnification in contract, overreaching insurance requirements, and being on the proverbial hook for the loan payoff on a loss.

Vaughn Clemmons is a seasoned recovery expert from Houston, Texas. He has analyzed his business during the COVID-19 shutdown and has realized that something HAS to change in the repossession industry....or none of us will survive.

It's maintaining the 99% of the performing loans that we find our true value...yet get paid nothing for doing so.

Shane and Pat talk about how the Coronavirus is the catalyst that will demand that the repo industry make changes...the first of which is to document and detail the scope of our services. These changes will show themselves on repossession invoices and in contracts with clients. Finally there is a group of leaders that are discussing how to make this happen...for the survival of the industry,

Social media influencer Bryanna Cox tells the story of getting into the business, surviving the worst natural disaster in American history, and challenging dinosaurs in the repossession industry.

Thanks to Mike Peplinski for walking us through some ideas about what insurance to carry on our trucks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Serial entrepreneur Scott Jackson shares his rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story in the repossession industry, and his views about what the industry faces next.

With all the crazy changes in the repossession business, a long-form discussion format is super important. This trailer describes more.