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T & R Footnotes x June 2013 x 13 Train With c.a.r.s. Coffee Compromise A rational response thwarts an armed debtor’s threat BY JOE TaYLOR Collateral recovery spe-cialists recognize that two of the most important professional skills to em-ploy when confronting an angry debtor are psychol-ogy and communications. They know their very lives may depend upon these assets and that they must continuously work to improve those skills. Psychological and communication skills were on full display in the following incident, during which a dangerous confrontation was turned into a routine repossession: the collateral recovery specialist had been given an assignment on a debtor who had ap-parently skipped town and could not be found. it was a strange case in that the husband had had a good job as a supervisor and the wife was very active in a local church. the specialist was successful in contacting one of the debtor’s former fellow employees who provided the following explanation: the debtor had been a long-time, excellent em-ployer and supervisor who never drank except for special occasions and never used drugs. However, one Sunday afternoon the debtor was visiting friends who were watching their favorite football team in action. they were smoking pot and convinced the debtor to take a couple of hits. the debtor’s workplace had just made drug testing a part of their standard operating pro-cedure, and the following Monday morning after the big game, the debtor was randomly chosen for a drug screening. He was caught and his employment terminated. embar-rassed, the debtor and his wife moved to an-other city in hopes of making a new start. had a locked gate. the specialist stepped over the four-foot-high fence and knocked on the door. the debtor answered and the specialist advised him that he was there to take possession of the vehicle. the debtor said “Just a minute” and walked back inside the home. He appeared a moment later holding a shotgun, pointed it at the recovery specialist’s chest, and said, “You have two minutes to get the hell off my property!” the specialist realized that if there were ever a time to use his psychological and com-munication skills, it was now. He looked at the shotgun and then calmly sniffed the air, saying “is that coffee i smell?” the debtor — we’ll call See COFFee COMPrOMISe, page 21 Statistics very clearly show that professional training and certification in communication skills and knowledge of the various federal and state laws that affect the self-help repossession process are paramount for long-term success in an indus-try that has, as courts have ruled, “inherent” risks. in our litigious, not-my-fault society, it is more important than ever for the collateral recovery specialist to avail themselves of training and professional certification. the collateral recovery specialist in my column is a graduate of the Certified asset recovery Specialist (C.a.r.S.) program, which was created exclusively in 1999 for those who service self-help repossession assignments and is accepted in all 50 states as the premier certification program for professional practitioners. the certification program covers all aspects of the self-help repossession process and is designed to maximize risk management for specialists. to learn more about the C.a.r.S. program, recovery specialist continuing education, and repossession industry compliance issues, see www.riscUS.com. — Joe Taylor Confrontation the recovery specialist’s skip-tracing efforts were successful and the debtor was located in a city some 100 miles away. After leaving his office at four am, the recovery special-ist arrived at the debtor’s new residence at six am. the subject vehicle was parked in the debtor’s driveway inside a fenced yard that
Coffee Compromise
Joe Taylor
<br /> A rational response thwarts an armed debtor’s threat<br /> <br /> Collateral recovery specialists recognize that two of the most important professional skills to employ when confronting an angry debtor are psychology and communications. They know their very lives may depend upon these assets and that they must continuously work to improve those skills.<br /> <br /> Psychological and communication skills were on full display in the following incident, during which a dangerous confrontation was turned into a routine repossession:<br /> <br /> The collateral recovery specialist had been given an assignment on a debtor who had apparently skipped town and could not be found. it was a strange case in that the husband had had a good job as a supervisor and the wife was very active in a local church.<br /> <br /> The specialist was successful in contacting one of the debtor’s former fellow employees who provided the following explanation: the debtor had been a long-time, excellent employer and supervisor who never drank except for special occasions and never used drugs. However, one Sunday afternoon the debtor was visiting friends who were watching their favorite football team in action. they were smoking pot and convinced the debtor to take a couple of hits.<br /> <br /> The debtor’s workplace had just made drug testing a part of their standard operating procedure, and the following Monday morning after the big game, the debtor was randomly chosen for a drug screening. He was caught and his employment terminated. embarrassed, the debtor and his wife moved to another city in hopes of making a new start.<br /> <br /> Confrontation<br /> The recovery specialist’s skip-tracing efforts were successful and the debtor was located in a city some 100 miles away. After leaving his office at four am, the recovery specialist arrived at the debtor’s new residence at six am. the subject vehicle was parked in the debtor’s driveway inside a fenced yard that had a locked gate.<br /> <br /> The specialist stepped over the four-foot-high fence and knocked on the door. The debtor answered and the specialist advised him that he was there to take possession of the vehicle. the debtor said “Just a minute” and walked back inside the home. He appeared a moment later holding a shotgun, pointed it at the recovery specialist’s chest, and said, “You have two minutes to get the hell off my property!”<br /> <br /> The specialist realized that if there were ever a time to use his psychological and communication skills, it was now. He looked at the shotgun and then calmly sniffed the air, saying “is that coffee i smell?” the debtor — we’ll call him Mr. Smith — was clearly thrown off-guard by this response and answered, “Yes, it is.”<br /> <br /> Conciliation<br /> The specialist then said, “Mr. Smith, i have just driven over 100 miles to get here. i haven’t had any breakfast or my morning coffee. Obviously, under the circumstances, i have no intention of trying to take your car but if you could share a cup of that coffee with me, i will tell you what to expect next from the lien holder. i think you will find it important.”<br /> <br /> The debtor went back inside and came back with two cups of coffee. the two men sat down on the front porch. the recovery specialist said, “Mr. Smith, when i call the lien holder and tell them you are refusing to give up the car, their next step will be to file an order with the courts to have a police officer come out with me and force you to give up the car. Can you imagine, if at that time your wife has the car at her new church, the embarrassment it would bring to her and to you?<br /> <br /> “However,” the specialist continued, “if you allow me to take the car now, not only will this not happen, you will have the opportunity to work out an arrangement with the lien holder and redeem your car.”<br /> <br /> There was more discussion, but in the end, the recovery specialist left with the vehicle.
Train With C.A.R.S.
Joe Taylor
<br /> Statistics very clearly show that professional training and certification in communication skills and knowledge of the various federal and state laws that affect the self-help repossession process are paramount for long-term success in an industry that has, as courts have ruled, “inherent” risks. in our litigious, not-my-fault society, it is more important than ever for the collateral recovery specialist to avail themselves of training and professional certification.<br /> <br /> The collateral recovery specialist in my column is a graduate of the Certified asset recovery Specialist (C.a.r.S.) program, which was created exclusively in 1999 for those who service self-help repossession assignments and is accepted in all 50 states as the premier certification program for professional practitioners.<br /> <br /> The certification program covers all aspects of the self-help repossession process and is designed to maximize risk management for specialists. to learn more about the C.a.r.S. program, recovery specialist continuing education, and repossession industry compliance issues, see www.riscUS.com.