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RISC is happy to announce that Bogdan Rentea, of Rentea & Associates has agreed to represent RISC as our outside legal counsel. Mr. Rentea, whose office is in Austin, Texas, has been involved as legal counsel to several collateral recovery organizations and has more than 25 years of legal experience in the self-help repossession field.

Mr. Rentea is known throughout the country as one of the foremost legal authorities on the self-help repossession process and we are truly privileged to have him represent RISC as we move forward in serving the collateral recovery industry.

Bogdan has helped design our RISC CAN (Compliant Agent Network) contract and will extensively review our Compliance and Operations Manual which includes procedures for complying with current CFPB compliance requirements and best practices. He will also review other RISC documents that are designed to assist collateral recovery agency owners in complying with contractual and legal requirements for long term success.

Joe Taylor, Vice President of RISC remembers first meeting known Bogdan Rentea in 1999. “I have listened to many of his presentations on the self-help repossession process and legal decisions attached to the process. I was also privileged to have him review the C.A.R.S. National Certification Program. Bogdan is eminently qualified to serve as legal counsel for RISC and to help RISC advocate on behalf of all industry professionals. Equally important is the privilege to know him as a friend.”

“I am well acquainted with Bogdan Rentea’s extensive knowledge and expertise in the industry and am delighted that he has agreed to serve as our outside legal counsel and look forward to a long and strong relationship” states Stamatis Ferarolis, President of RISC.

Recovery Industry Services Company (RISC) is proud to announce the formation of our RISC Compliant Agent Network (RISC CAN).  We would like to take this opportunity to explain why we feel the need for such a network of professional collateral recovery specialists and to assure all our RISC Agent Alliance members that they are automatically members of CAN.  RISC CAN membership is open to any professional collateral recovery agency owner who can meet the stringent requirements of our network and adhere to the RISC Code of Ethics.

Since its inception in 2009, Recovery Industry Services Company (RISC) has provided compliance training and forms to the collateral recovery industry.  As the provider of the only nationally recognized certification program, CARS®, (pub. 1999) along with Continuing Education courses, RISC has elevated the training standards across the industry.

In 2011, the RISC Agent Alliance was formed to provide further benefits to the recovery industry, including; a $1 million Client Protection Bond, Red Flags Rules training, Data Security training, HR documents, discounts on all RISC training programs, discounts on keys and key codes and a unique, on-line profile of our members.  RISC continues to bring affordable quality products and training to an ever changing and challenging industry.

As the concept of compliance grew from a “buzzword” to a permanent presence in the collateral recovery industry RISC developed the first comprehensive Compliance and Operations Manual that has become a template for compliance and best practices.

With compliance mandates here to stay, the decision has been made to highlight the efforts of RISC to its members by identifying our RISC Agent Alliance members as the RISC Compliant Agent Network (RISC CAN).

Q. Why was RISC CAN (Compliant Agent Network) formed?

First and foremost RISC was formed to help collateral recovery agents improve their bottom line through a variety of services which includes risk management training, agency vetting, agent compliance tracking, agent compliance training, collateral recovery training, professional certification, locksmith training, locksmith supplies, key codes, job placement and recruitment services, and business consulting.

Q. How are RISC CAN members different from trade association members?

RISC is not a trade association or marketing association.  Industry trade associations do an outstanding job in marketing and advocating on behalf of their members, and we encourage all agents to participate and be active in available organizations.

RISC CAN Members are vetted based on objective compliance criteria.  RISC CAN Members are complementary to industry trade associations as they have met criteria to be a RISC CAN Member and can showcase their company via their trade association or online via the RISC website.

Q. Will RISC market and advertise my business if I become a RISC CAN member?

The answer is that you, as a RISC CAN member, have the ability to market yourself via your RISC CAN profile.  Your company can be searched and found on the RISC website by a lender and with your permission the lender can access your unique RISC CAN profile.

Our goal at RISC is to provide the agency owner the tools needed to showcase their professional competency to your client and prospective clients.  It’s up to the agency owner to differentiate his operation from competition.

Q. What services does RISC provide me as a RISC CAN member?

As a member you will receive the following benefits:

• $1 million Client Protection Bond

 

Company Compliance Profile – a comprehensive profile of your company designed to keep your company compliant with current client/lender mandates. The company profile includes:

• Company information
• Services the agency provides
• A copy of your insurance Acord and Workers Comp certificate (if applicable)
• Copies of applicable licenses
• A list of storage lots
• Storage lot inspection reports
• Listing of all your employees

Compliance Documents – compliance made easy by RISC. All necessary compliance documents are within the member dashboard area. You will also have access to the RISC Compliance and Operations Manual designed to make your business compliant in all areas of CFPB lender requirements.

Discounts on all RISC services including:

• The C.A.R.S.® National Certification Program
• The Skip-tracers National Certification Program
• Continuing Education courses
• I-Repo Vendor Comply
• Locksmith training
• Key Codes
• Key Blanks

Best Practices & Business Forms Area – Documents designed to improve your company’s top and bottom lines.  The forms encompass:

• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Operations
• View Screenshot

 

Educational Seminars – as RISC conducts webinars and seminars across the country, these webinars are put online within the member dashboard to access at any time.

Marketing Brochure and Link to Profile – a brochure is created for marketing your company and is updated immediately as your comprehensive profile is updated.  A link to your profile can also be emailed to a prospective client.

Repossession Case Law – specific case law and opinions for every state

Repo’s by Dummies – repossession articles specific to wrongful repossessions.

Benefits Area – discounts on products and services from various vendors

Risk management training and consulting

Expert opinions on legal questions and issues.

Licensed insurance consultant on staff to assist members

Business Consulting

Legislative Template and Industry Synopsis for those who are interested in state regulations

Q. What does it cost for an agency to qualify for RISC CAN membership?

To become a member of RISC CAN you must apply as an agency.  Once you become a RISC CAN member you receive; a $1 Million Client Protection Bond, 15% discount off the retail price to any service we offer including the Certified Asset Recovery Specialist® (CARS®) Program and Continuing Education Programs, Key Codes, Key Blanks, Locksmith training, etc.  By utilizing our services your membership will pay for itself.

Pricing –

The annual subscription fee is now only $795.00, which can be financed monthly.  There is a one-time initial application fee of $295.00 to determine qualification.  The $295.00 application fee also includes one lot inspection and one background check.

Remember our primary goal is to provide our member’s education and training in areas of compliance and risk management.  Once compliant, our goal is to keep you compliant through our use of technology and updated compliance documents.  We are the best value in the recovery industry as no one can match our services and value.

Following the completion of a four market pilot program, American Recovery Service, the original nationwide automotive repossession and skip-tracing firm, has selected RISC – Recovery Industry Services Company as their partner to perform compliance inspections for the entire ARS collateral recovery agent network. RISC has performed in-depth inspections on ARS Agents in Miami, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston. Inspections are currently being prepared in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, with the remainder of the country to be completed shortly thereafter, all at no cost to the repossession service providers.

ARS is the market leader in nationwide repossession services, which means setting the bar high with respect to their agent network. As part of their industry-leading risk management platform, ARS is dedicated to the ongoing vetting of their entire network of collateral recovery specialists through a well qualified, independent third party. ARS chose RISC for the compliance inspection portion of their vetting process due to RISC’s expertise in the repossession process, knowledge of current compliance requirements, as well as their ability to deliver a superior inspection product. Steven Schelk, Chief Risk Officer of ARS, explains, “RISC is a natural partner for this undertaking; as the recovery industry expert in professional training and certification programs, we can ensure that the inspections are performed by quality, well informed inspectors who understand the businesspeople they are interacting with.” Patrick K Willis, Founder and Chairman of PK Willis adds, “We feel it is our responsibility to partner with our repossession service providers and assist them in understanding the changing regulatory landscape while also providing them with a cost-effective tool they can use to prove that they are compliant.”

While the costs of some compliance programs are significantly impactful, ARS and RISC believe that compliance should be a manageable cost and a shared responsibility. ARS and RISC have negotiated a very low rate for these inspections, which will be performed biannually, while ARS has also committed to covering the cost of the first inspection for each one of their collateral recovery specialists. Stamatis Ferarolis, President of RISC stated “We are excited to see ARS’s proactive approach. They understand that compliance and training will mitigate risk for their clients and their commitment shows how serious they are about partnering with their vendor network. Those vendors who are interested will also have access to RISC’s Agent Alliance Program, a full compliance management suite.”

About American Recovery Service & Patrick K Willis Company (http://www.pkwillis.com) ARS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Patrick K Willis Company Inc., provides nationwide asset repossession services, skip-tracing, impounded asset retrieval, license plate recognition (LPR) recovery, and online remarketing to the country’s largest banks, auto finance companies and credit unions. From the 1970s, when founder Patrick K. Willis built his company from the ground up, often performing repossessions himself, to the 1990s, when ARS originated the National Repossession business model, to more recent times when ARS pioneered the LPR Staging model and improved accessibility with ARS Mobile technology; ARS has been a constant leader the Repossession Industry. Through superior technology and business processes ARS’s success translates into $2B in recovered wholesale asset value for their clients each year. ARS repossesses a vehicle every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In keeping with our goal of providing professional certification and compliance training documents to the collateral recovery and lending industries, RISC has been working with the National Alliance of Buy Here, Pay Here Dealers (NABD) to provide these services to Buy Here, Pay Here (BHPH) automobile dealers.

BHPH automobile dealers are required to meet mandates of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just as lending institutions do. If BHPH dealers also perform their own in-house repossessions they must face recovery compliance mandates as well.

In working with NABD it has been our intention to address the CFPB compliance mandates and assist BHPH dealers in the areas of self-help repossession activity and protecting Non-Public Personal Information (NPPI). This information enables BHPH dealers to make more informed choices on whether they will handle their own repossessions in-house or assign those repossessions to certified, insured independent collateral recovery specialists.

Courts across the country are holding creditors liable for the acts of the collateral recovery specialists they utilize, so the decision of whether to train and use their in-house employees or independents is very important. Further, BHPH operators must train their employees to protect their consumers’ non-public personal information from third party disclosure. For all these reasons it is recommended that only certified, insured, independent collateral recovery specialists be used in recovery. As this is not always feasible, RISC offers two important training guides to mitigate risk: the BHPH National Certification Program and the BHPH Compliance and Operations Manual. These programs are designed to train and certify BHPH employees who service in-house repossessions of their employer and assist BHPH operators in compliance.

RISC plans to participate in the NABD National BHPH Conference in Las Vegas May 21-23. Operators are encouraged to discuss their particular needs with RISC during that conference or call us at (866) 996- RISC (7472) for further information.

RISC is very pleased to be the sole provider of vehicle key codes within the iRepo Assignment Management Solution to all Ally Financial vendors! We invite all Ally Financial and non-Ally vendors to use this quick, efficient service.

MBSi has designed the process to be easy and expedient. Key code requests take place post recovery, at the time and convenience of the recovery agent. RISC has seasoned locksmiths on staff that not only provide the key code quickly, but who can also troubleshoot and offer technical support. Key codes are available for all makes and models to include GM vehicles.

Our goal is to provide quick, seamless service through iRepo.

With the advent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the operative words in today’s world of self-help repossession services are “compliance” and “risk management.” To meet the new compliance and risk management requirements RISC is excited to announce the new Collateral Recovery Specialist Compliance and Operations Manual.

RISC’s goal in creating this manual is to assist RISC Agent Alliance Members in making their business become “unassailable.” Our manual is uniquely designed to meet not only the compliance requirements of the CFPB and the lending community, but also to address risk management training that meets accepted Industry Standards. This new “tool” is designed to help ensure long term business success for RISC Agent Alliance Members.

The documents and forms contained within this manual have always been available to RISC Agent Alliance Members but our goal in creating this manual was to provide an easy to follow guide to meet today’s compliance standard. As these standards evolve RISC will assist its members and the Industry to continually meet new compliance standards.

Members have access to the documents and forms at any time just by logging into their personal dashboard.

View Dashboard

To view what other documents and forms are available please visit our website at: RISC Agent Alliance Membership.

The latest on the CFPB and their reporting requirements:
CFPB Outlines Plans to Share Complaint Data with State-Level Agencies

In keeping with its goal of serving all professionals within the collateral recovery industry, RISC has formally introduced the BHPH (Buy Here-Pay Here) Collateral Recovery Certification Program on October 22, 2012, at the National Alliance of Buy Here, Pay Here Dealers (NABD) East Coast Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

This comprehensive certification program has been endorsed by the NABD and is designed for Buy Here-Pay Here auto dealers that service their own in-house repossessions. The program covers all aspects of the self-help repossession process, including applicable federal and state laws.

Courts are holding lenders directly liable for the acts of individuals they hire to service repossessions. It is vital that those who offer automobile financing and those who perform self-help repossession services have the knowledge and professional expertise to manage the inherent risks associated with the self-help repossession process.

As an advocate for those involved with the self-help repossession process, RISC wishes to see that only certified, insured recovery agents handle recoveries. That is paramount to ensure the safety of the employee and general public, and will only happen through proper training.

For BHPH automobile dealers and those dealers considering handling their own in-house repossessions, the BHPH Collateral Recovery Certification Program will be vital in ensuring they make the right decisions to mitigate the inherent risks.

NABD

After many requests, RISC is proud to announce that it has designed a program for businesses that offer services to the collateral recovery industry.

RISC originally designed its services around the needs of collateral recovery agents and agency owners. Since inception our purpose was to improve the Industry through each of our services and strive to continually do so.

However, with great success and word of mouth RISC has gained notoriety in different Industries that revolve around the collateral recovery Industry. And since much of what we’ve designed is meant to improve a business it bridges many industries.

Therefore with much excitement RISC has now opened up our membership to ‘associates’. The membership documents, training, compliance, and services will be offered to the business owner regardless of the type of Industry you’re in. As an associate member you will receive the following benefits:

• Access to the seminars and webinars as they are given across the country
• Business Documents to include: View Screenshot
  • Disaster Planning
  • CFPB complaint handling
  • Red Flags Rules
  • Best Practices Forms related to: Human Resources, Marketing, and Operations.
  • State Specific Case Law Commentary
  • News Articles
• 15% discount on all RISC services including the C.A.R.S. educational course, Continuing Education courses, Locksmith training, key codes and key blanks.
• Job placement and recruitment services.
• Risk management training and consulting
• Case law information for every state and expert opinions on legal questions and issues.
• Licensed insurance consultant on staff to assist members in understanding the complex nature of recovery insurance.
• Business consulting in “branding” your company and written procedures for marketing your business. We also provide business building articles designed to assist members in growing their business.>
• Membership is annual at a fixed rate. We do not prorate your membership if you become a member mid-year. You have one year from the start date of your membership to take advantage of our services at the discounted rates.

For more information please go to: https://www.riscus.com/riscAgentAlliance.aspx

C.A.R.S. Has Been Approved In Illinois

RISC is proud to announce the Illinois Edition of the C.A.R.S. – Certified Asset Recovery Specialist certification program has been approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC is responsible for enforcement of the new Illinois Collateral Recovery Act.

Illinois is the third State to endorse the C.A.R.S. program as ‘home study’, with Florida and Louisiana being the other two. RISC Continuing Education courses have also been approved for ‘home study’ by the State of Louisiana.

Both the Illinois Edition and the standard C.A.R.S. programs meets all the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) compliance requirements.

The C.A.R.S. certification program was first introduced in 1999 and has since certified more than 4,000 collateral recovery specialists. Bogden Rentea, one of the most knowledgeable lawyers of the self-help repossession process states, “I have reviewed your National Certification extensively and I am convinced that it is a most valuable “tool” in dealing with the ever rising litigation and insurance claims within the Asset Recovery Industry. The comprehensive curriculum contained in this program should be required study for not only those seeking to enter the Asset Recovery Industry, but also for those who are already a part of this profession. I commend you for the thoroughness and professionalism you have shown in developing this unique product.” There are numerous additional endorsements and recommendations by well-known collateral recovery industry leaders which can be viewed on our website, RiscUS.com.

It is most gratifying to know these consummate professionals understand the real reason for the creation of the C.A.R.S. program; to help collateral recovery specialists better manage the “inherent” risks associated with the self-help repossession process and make it a little safer for these men and women that “work the streets”. The program was also designed for the collateral recovery business owner to avoid costly litigation, insurance claims, and reduce client liability.

RISC has also developed numerous compliance documents required by the CFPB and the lending community, including important documents and training manuals such as Complaint Handling, Red Flags Rules, Data Protection, Best Practices, and many others. RISC is a dedicated advocate of the collateral recovery industry and is the only national organization that has a state licensed training facility that develops training curriculums and business building documents for the collateral recovery profession.

Agent Alliance Membership Info | CARS Program Info

Gain valuable knowledge, training and become nationally certified through the only accredited skip-tracing certification program in the country: the Skip-Tracers National Certification Program.

The Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) has added a new benefit for its active members. The Skip-Tracers National Certification Program, voted in the top 25 continuing education programs by PINOW.COM, combines tried-and-true, old-school skip-tracing techniques with the best of today’s technology. The course builds a solid foundation for someone brand new to the industry, yet it also equips a seasoned veteran with new tools and relatively unknown tricks of the trade.

PBUS has joined forces with Master Skip-Tracer, Alex Price, to utilize his nearly 30 years of experience in the industry to offer this national educational curriculum to advance their members’ skills and success.

For those who don’t know Alex Price, he is a nationally-recognized expert on the Art of Skip-Tracing, with over 25+ years of experience in skip-tracing, collections and educational training. Currently he is the National Sales and Training Manager for MasterFiles, the nation’s leader in front-end validation and skip-tracing data.

In addition to receiving national certification, those who enroll in the certification program will also receive two additional and invaluable e-books: the Military Locator Guide and the Florida Records Guide.

Due to the mass and complexity of various Federal Laws affecting data security, pre-texting, rights of military personnel, etc., the training provided through this course is essential to the work of skip-tracers in any phase of their career. We are convinced that the Skip-Tracers National Certification Program will be an invaluable tool to enhance the ability of skip-tracing pros to serve their clients/employers with competence and professionalism.

Alex will be offering the certification course at the 2013 PBUS winter conference at the Mirage. Don’t miss the opportunity to become a nationally certified skip-tracer!

To order your program today, use this convenient link: https://www.riscus.com/Education/SkipTracing Or call: 866-996-7472