Louisville, KY – 19 June 2018 – After a closed door, member only meeting at Allied Finance Adjuster’s 82nd annual convention held in Louisville, Kentucky on June 19th, the long desired goal of unification of the repossession industry under one association banner appears to have, once again, come to an end after a majority “No” vote against the merger was cast.
For those who forget, similar discussions were held in 2011, but had also met with disappointment. The most recent had gotten much further than any previous and had some degree of promise in passing.
After months of discussions on the issue, the proposal to dissolve the existing associations and establish a new one, was fraught with many questions and concerns by the AFA members who finally, by majority, felt the proposed merger plan was not in the industry’s nor AFA’s best interests. This decision was not unanimous and there were some AFA members who were very disappointed with the decision.
Among the contributing factors of this vote, was the membership of repossession forwarding companies in this new proposed association. There appeared to be no definition or limits to the volume of repossession companies that acts as forwarders to limit which forwarders can and can not be members.
James Ossleburn, President of the Allied Finance Adjusters stated “Last week at our annual convention the question was posed to our membership and they voted to continue on with Allied Finance Adjusters. We are still very excited to work alongside other groups to improve our industry.”
In response to our request for a statement from the ARA, Dave Kennedy, President of the American Recovery Association went on the record stating;
“Last week I received a lot of encouragement from agency owners across the nation. Les, I and the board have been encourage by the calls, and emails received about the unity initiative. Momentum and synergy are growing in the industry and between ARA and TFA and we are going to continue united towards the goal of ending industry fragmentation.”
Are we at ARA disappointed by the outcome of the vote at the AFA , convention SURE, but we understand and support the right of individuals and organizations to make decisions they feel are best.
ARA believes this a critical time in the industry, we believe a strong united voice is the only way to overcome the obstacles that beleaguer our industry today. ARA looks forward to working with everyone in the collateral recovery community who desires to move our industry forward and we believe unity is a necessary step in the process.”
Also involved in the merger discussions was Time Finance Adjusters (TFA), who had already decided to merge with the American Recovery Association (ARA). Patrick Altes, President of the TFA stated;
“TFA continues to be very excited about the strong momentum that is growing in the initiative to unify the associations that represent the repossession community, and for the positive synergy that has been developing with ARA towards that goal.
While we are disappointed to hear that AFA has chosen not to participate any further in this initiative, we respect the right of each organization to make the decision they feel is best for their group.
As for us, we believe that now more than ever it is critical to our survival to have strong united voice that can effectively and powerfully represent our repossession community in today’s marketplace. We are hearing from people inside and outside TFA, and from all over the industry, that this is the type of forward thinking that will make a difference.
Because of this, TFA will continue to fully and whole-heartedly participate with those who want to bring unity to our associations and our industry.”
EDITORS OPINION
It is the opinion of myself, CUCollector, that based upon my discussion within the AFA, this effort is not dead, but rather needs some further adjustments to create conditions that would make the AFA members more comfortable with such a merger.
It does not appear possible to make everyone happy, but regardless, in my opinion, as negative as all of this ended, I do still see opportunity for this to revisited and perhaps with new revisions to the proposal made, a more favorable outcome may still be possible.
The absence of malice over the decision and the demonstrated civility between the association leaders through all of this, is evidence that despite this decision, there is still great interest in unity.
Regardless, whether or not you are a member of an association, I urge you all to get engaged in your industry. Join one of these fine associations, meet with your local competitors to seek solutions to common problems and become part of the solution. Unity is still possible, but it starts with putting aside the usual industry skepticism and opening yourself up to the fact that working together you can accomplish far more than you can alone.
Be Safe,
Kevin
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