Repossession agents history

Everyone has their vision of repossession agents. Images showing hard arse repo men and woman taking securities from wherever they find them. TV shows depicting agents arguing & fighting with people and generally putting themselves in a dangerous situation, shown as normal agent behaviour. These shows have a lot to answer for, see Repo man. It is correct to say in some countries, this is still the way they repossession agents operate; however, in Australia, repossessions are a whole other story!

 Repossession agents in 2020

Todays Australian repossession agent looks & sounds a whole lot different. It remains essential for agents to be street smart to be able to deal with difficult and stressful situations. Gone are the days of big burly men using scare tactics to intimidate people into handing over an asset.

In our SWA’s offices, (Link) our typical repossession agent is usually a female in her thirties, educated, a mum, a great communicator, negotiator, tech-savvy & committed to getting results. Basically, a superwoman or man.

Clients expectations

In 2020 clients have an expectation the repossession agent possesses the ability & skills to be able to negotiate with customers. Agents need to be able to identify customers who require hardship consideration, capacity to pay and mental health. These are all areas that need to be taken into account when dealing with customers. 

Training and compliance

More than ever, training and compliance are critical. Moden repossession agencies are struggling to comply with new requirements requested by clients covering data security and quality control.

SWA Group is still (to our knowledge) the only repossession agency operating in Australia to achieve both ISO 27001 and ISO 9001. SWA compliance

This article has only touched on the main essential changes to repossessions. To see more go to ACCC

Click here for more information. Australian repossession services 

or call us on 1300 557 864