Top TFA Exec Believes Forwarders & Repossessors Can Operate in Harmony Thanks to Increased Demand for Strong Service

Sometimes mixing together veteran repossession agents and forwarding companies can create a combative situation. But that’s not the approach Time Finance Adjusters’ executive director takes.

In fact, Ron Brown told Auto Remarketing that he has “no problem with forwarders. I admire them as a matter of fact.”

For example, Brown shared that he counts David Cowlbeck, president of Renovo Services, among his close acquaintances. Renovo Services is one of several larger forwarding companies that have sprung up in recent years.

“I know their business strategy. I understand their business strategy. They went out into a market that we couldn’t do because we’re so fragmented,” Brown acknowledged.

Instead of auto lenders working with a host of repossession companies directly to provide service in a particular area, forwarding companies have stepped in to serve as s single point of contact to facilitate the process.

“The large lenders at the time, such as GMAC, they were looking to go just to one place and one price and know nationwide what’s going on, what it’s going to cost and everything,” Brown explained.

“The problem is the forwarders went in there at such a price that they couldn’t get legitimate operators to work for them,” Brown emphasized. “They had to hire what I would call sub-level operators; not all of them, but enough to cause problems.

“I have no problem with forwarders at all as long as they’re willing to pay a fair price for a fair job,” he went on to say.

That’s when Brown believes reputable repossessors such as TFA members can step in and be the trustworthy operators who have the proper knowledge of protocol to execute vehicle recoveries legally and effectively.

“In the beginning, the demand was from the repossessor to the forwarder,” Brown recollected. “We needed business and they had the business. If you were willing to work, you had to work for their price."

Now the forwarders have realized, ‘Hey, these people that we’re using are causing us problems and we’re losing clients because of those problems.’ They’re moving on to other places,” he continued. “There’s competition in the forwarding market. In the beginning, there was no competition. There were maybe three major forwarders. They could dictate to the repossessors what they were going to pay.

“Now the forwarders have competition. There’s at least over a dozen that I know of. They’re out there competing for the business and what are they going to sell? You can only cut the price so low so they’ve got to start selling service,” Brown added.

So where can they find the service they need? 

“From TFA members, from the other association members who are well trained at everything,” Brown stressed. “(Forwarding companies) are learning that to stay out of the courts, to stay out of these wrongful death cases, they’re going to have to use professionals. They’re moving in that direction because the competition created within the forwarding market.

“The worm has turned in essence,” he added.

Auto Remarketing recently offered more about the ongoing debate between repossessors and forwarding companies.