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E s t . 1 9 6 1 Essential reading for those involved with Collections, Investigations, Process Serving and Repossessions in Australia AGENT December 2015/January 2016 | Volume 48 Issue 6 www.imal.com.au Season’s Greetings

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Page 1: AGENT - IMALimal.com.au/images/agent/agen1215.pdfbankruptcy (unless such action is likely to occur). ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, “Creditors and collectors are entitled

Est. 1961

Essential reading for those involved with

Collections, Investigations, Process Serving and Repossessions in Australia

AGENTDecember 2015/January 2016 | Volume 48 Issue 6

www.imal.com.au

Season’s Greetings

Page 2: AGENT - IMALimal.com.au/images/agent/agen1215.pdfbankruptcy (unless such action is likely to occur). ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, “Creditors and collectors are entitled

Call 07 5630 6517 for a free consultation. Download a free trial: CollectSoftware.com.au

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www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT | 3

CONTENTS

AGENTDecember 2015/January 2016 | Volume 48 Issue 6

17

10

6

No part of this journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views contained in articles by contributing authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or directors of the Institute of Mercantile Agents Limited. Articles and content may have been edited, but remain the copyright of the author. It should be noted that articles are of a general nature and are not a substitute for appropriate professional advice. Although all reasonable attempts have been made as to accuracy of submitted advertisements and their bona fides, no warranty is given to any party. The right is reserved to accept or reject any articles or advertisements.

MEDIA & NEWS 4

FORUM Flying high 8 Identity frustrations 10 Keeping up 15 Unlicensed persons 17 Compassionate response 18

MEMBER INFO Structure confirmed 9

INSTITUTE From the President: Basil Faulkner 20 From the CEO: Alan Harries 21

The AGENT also appears online at www.imal.com.au. While essentially the same content, the online version will include any updated information at the date of posting.

AGENTDecember 15/January 16 Volume 48 Issue 6AGENT is the official bi-monthly journal of the Institute of Mercantile Agents Ltd.17B Denney St Broadmeadow, NSW [email protected]: 94 000 514 483ISSN: 1443-3443Editorial DirectorAlan Harries Phone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected]

Editor Contributions, articles, letters and comments from readers should be directed to:Institute of Mercantile Agents17B Denney StreetBroadmeadow, NSW 2292Phone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected] material deadline is the 1st of the month preceding publication.Design and ProductionAbigail ThompsonPhone (02) 4927 [email protected]

PrinterGreg Tapp PrintingMayfieldPhone (02) 4960 0700 Fax (02) 4960 0701General, Membership andService Directory EnquiriesInstitute of Mercantile Agents Ltd.Office hours: 8.30am-5.00pm [email protected] (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 0677PO Box 233, Waratah NSW 2298Advertising EnquiriesPhone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected]

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| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au4

MEDIA & NEWS

ASIC has reported in a media release that National Australia Bank (NAB) has made changes to its debt collection practices following

ASIC concerns that some of NAB’s collection letters may have been misleading, deceptive or unconscionable.

ASIC was concerned that NAB was sending debt collection letters to customers using letterheads for ‘Fairhalsen Collections’ and ‘Brunswick Collections Services’, which may have given the incorrect impression that NAB had sold, outsourced or otherwise escalated a debt when this was not the case. These letters only disclosed that the entity was a division of NAB in fine print at the bottom of the page.

ASIC was also concerned that letters sent to some customers during the collection process stated that if the debt was not paid, or contact made:

• legal proceedings for recovery of the entire debt might commence without further notice and that such proceedings could result in a judgment being entered and/ or bankruptcy;

• a debt collector might visit the customer’s home to collect the debt; or

• NAB might use any other legal action necessary to collect the debt.In fact, for the majority of recipients, such action was either unlikely or

would only be considered at a later stage in the collection process. In response to ASIC’s concerns NAB has removed from its collection

letters:• references to Fairhalsen Collections and Brunswick Collection

Services• representations in relation to face-to-face contact, legal action and

bankruptcy (unless such action is likely to occur). ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, “Creditors and collectors are

entitled to accurately explain the consequences of non-payment of a debt, but the consequences must not be misrepresented or overstated. The threat of legal proceedings and bankruptcy can be very stressful. Collectors must not threaten legal action if such action is not possible, not intended, or not under consideration.”

[Source: Media Release www.asic.gov.au - 26 October 2015]

NAB changes practicesAustralian Collectors & Debt Buyers Association

(ACDBA) recently announced the appointment of Mr Peter Boehm as its first independent Chairman.

Peter is a former Chair of the Finance Industry Standards Association (FISA) (London) responsible for setting, maintaining and monitoring ethical and commercial standards in the UK’s secured/unsecured personal lending sector, including dealing with member disciplinary matters and government lobbying and liaison. He has also been a director of other member based organisations including Relationships Australia Victoria and Frankston Regional Aquatic Centre.

A Fellow of the AICD, a Fellow of FINSIA and a 25 year+ member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Peter currently spends his time between board/consulting work and media activities, being a leading Yahoo!7 Finance columnist and video presenter; author of The Great Australian Dream: How to buy your first home (www.peterboehmbook.com.au); and the Finance Editor with ASX listed www.onthehouse.com.au.

As the Chairman of ACDBA, Peter will focus on assisting the association to:

• Establish and maintain a code of practice for the business activities of members

• Encourage the best practice of members • Engage effectively with members and stakeholders • Encourage public opinion and government policy

in relation to debt collection and debt buying• Represent the interests of members involved in

debt collection and debt buying

[Source: Media Release www.acdba.com – 4 November 2015]

ACDBA chair

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www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT | 5

MEDIA & NEWS

AAC PROCESS SERVERSAND INVESTIGATIONS

Process Serving Repossessions Field Calls Skip TracingLockoutsCourt Filing InvestigationsOccupancy Reports

Our reputation is built on over 27 yearsof excellent service and reliability

Providing mercantile services for the whole of Western Australia has its challenges due to the size of the state and the remoteness of its country communities. AAC however has the ability to service the entire state in providing field services for its customers.

Level 3, 231 Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6000 Phone: (08) 9325 3855 Fax: (08) 9325 3835

Mail: PO Box 6157, East Perth WA 6892Web: www.aacprocess.com.au

Email: [email protected]

According to blog.credit.com the activities of some skiptracers in the US are being exposed and concluded by regulators to

be less than fair.The issue being exposed is the masking of identity when

making calls to consumers with situations of caller ID displays sometimes displaying ‘Flower Shop’ or ‘Pizza Delivery’ or the name or number of a family member or in some cases ‘Repossession Services’ and when consumers answer the phone, the ruse continues with the caller giving the impression that flowers or pizza were on the way, but more information was needed - such as the consumer’s location or the location of their car.

In reality, despite the identity shown, the calls were reportedly generated by debt collectors working for auto lenders Westlake Financial Services or Wilshire Consumer Credit according to allegations raised by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

This tactic was among revelations made public in a consent order signed by the Bureau and the two collection agencies. Westlake which is based in Los Angeles, services auto loans often involving borrowers with poor credit history whilst its wholly owned subsidiary Wilshire offers and services auto title loans.

Apparently both firms were using a tool called ‘SkipTracy’* to falsify Caller ID data and thereby trick borrowers into answering the phone or returning calls.

According to CFPB the system was quite efficient and more than just telephonic hacking as it also allowed the collectors to keep their story straight as whenever consumers returned a call to one of the phone numbers associated with Caller ID information that had been changed using Skip Tracy, the collection firm’s system showed the collectors what Caller ID text had been associated with the original outgoing call. The consent order detailed that when employees put such phrases into the Caller ID information … collectors usually pretended during the call that they worked for businesses or departments matching those descriptions.”

The practice was conducted on a wide scale with the CFPB alleging Westlake/Wilshire used Skip Tracy to contact consumers for over 137,000 accounts from 2010 to 2014.

Chief Compliance Officer Robert Engilman in a statement emailed to credit.com said that Westlake consented to the issuance of a consent order “without admitting or denying any of the findings…and did so in order to avoid lengthy and costly litigation.” The statement also said the allegations related to practices “that were ceased long ago” and that the firm was committed to meeting all regulatory and legal requirements.

The practices alleged by CFPB against the two firms also included that they convinced borrowers that their cars were on the verge of being repossessed when that wasn’t true.

The consent order detailed. “when (Westlake/Wiltshire) made debt collection calls and changed the Caller ID text to display ‘Repo’, ‘Repossession Services’, ‘Asset Recovery’ or other names suggesting repossession, or when (they) told borrowers they were calling from repossession companies or similar third-party businesses, they gave borrowers the false impression that they were in the process of repossessing the borrowers’ vehicles”.

Misrepresentations such as this violated the US Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

There were a range of other allegations against Westlake & Wiltshire covered off in the consent order. The Bureau ordered the companies to overhaul their debt collection practices and to provide consumers US$44.1 million in cash relief and balance reductions. The companies will also pay a civil penalty of US$4.25 million.

* The company behind SkipTracy is Belles Camp Communications LLC – its website describes SkipTracy as a Virtual Disguise communications system specially designed for law enforcement and government entities, which allows officers to create virtual identities and disguise all voice, fax, text, and e-mail communications.

The SkipTracy system according to the developer provides phone and fax numbers, email accounts, web sites, and text messaging to support any ruse you create.

The website also details SkipTracy will now be marketed as BellesLink with existing SkipTracy customers to gain access to new BellesLink communication tools to help them find skips and close more cases faster. BellesLink is being described as a fully compliant cloud-based phone system with built-in skip tracing tools made exclusively for recovery, skip tracing and investigations.

[Source: blog.credit.com - 8 October 2015]

SKIP crazy

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| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au6

MEDIA & NEWS

The US Federal Trade Commission and consumer protection agencies

from 33 other countries including Australia are part of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) which recently unveiled an updated version of ICPEN’s econsumer.gov website to help law enforcement authorities around the world gather and share cross border consumer complaints that can be used to investigate and take action against international scams.

ICPEN is an international network of consumer protection authorities that aims to protect consumers’ economic interests around the world by sharing information about cross-border issues and encouraging

global cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

“Increasingly, we live in a cross-border world in which consumers buy goods and services from around the globe, so the econsumer.gov website is a valuable means of detecting and combating unlawful practices that are occurring across national boundaries,” said Nisha Arora, ICPEN President. “I encourage anyone who has encountered a problem that crosses national borders to send the details to econsumer.gov.”

Econsumer.gov is now available in eight languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish. The website also has an updated,

user-friendly complaint form and provides information for consumers on additional steps they can take to resolve their complaints, complaint trend data, and consumer news from ICPEN members.

Consumer complaints filed through econsumer.gov are entered into Consumer Sentinel, a complaint database maintained by the US FTC, and are made available to enforcers and regulators in countries with participating agencies. Those agencies may use the complaints to investigate cross-border issues, uncover new scams, pursue regulatory or enforcement actions, and spot consumer trends.

[Source: www.yumanewsnow.com – 13 October 2015]

FIGHTING international scams

A CSIRO scientist who had his home broken into has developed a new crime scene identification technique to

help fingerprint criminals according to research published in the Advanced Materials journal in October.

By adding a drop of liquid containing crystals to surfaces, investigators using a UV light are able to see invisible fingerprints “glow” in about 30 seconds.

The strong luminescent effect creates greater contrast between the latent print and surface enabling higher resolution images to be taken for easier and more precise analyses.

CSIRO materials scientist Dr Kang Liang believes that this technique could be used for more challenging evidence where conventional ‘dusting’ is not appropriate.

“While police and forensics experts use a range of different techniques, sometimes in complex cases evidence needs to be sent off to a lab where heat and vacuum treatment is applied,” Dr Liang said.

“Our method reduces these steps, and because it’s done on the spot, a digital device could be used at the scene to capture images of the glowing prints to run through the database in real time.”

CSIRO’s study shows that tiny crystals rapidly bind to fingerprint residue, including proteins, peptides, fatty acids and salts, creating an ultrathin coating that’s an exact replica of the pattern.

“Because it works at a molecular level it’s very precise and lowers the risk of damaging the print,” Dr Liang said.

CSIRO tested the method on nonporous surfaces including window and wine glass, metal blades and plastic light switches, with successful results.

Fingerprint identification has been used as a key investigative method by law enforcement and forensic experts for over 100 years. Adding CSIRO’s method to the mix could save valuable time, costs and enhance investigations.

“When my house was broken into I saw how common practice fingerprinting is for police,” Dr Liang said. “Knowing that

dusting has been around for a long time, I was inspired to see how new innovative materials could be applied to create even better results.

“As far as we know, it’s the first time that these extremely porous metal organic framework (MOF) crystals have been researched for forensics.”

MOF crystals have a number of benefits in that they are cheap, react quickly and can emit a bright light. The technique doesn’t create any dust or fumes, reducing waste and risk of inhalation.

The method could have other valuable applications including new biomedical devices and drug delivery. CSIRO is now looking to partner with law enforcement agencies to apply the technique.

[Source: News Release at www.csiro.au – 20 October 2015]

GLOWING evidence

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www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT | 7

Following the success of the 2015 Consumer Debt Forum hosted by ACDBA and a commercial conference partner, ACDBA will host on its own account a single day 2016 Consumer Debt Forum on Wednesday 16 March 2016 at Doltone House - Hyde Park, Elizabeth Street, Sydney.

The event’s program is being finalised and is aimed at addressing contemporary issues involving consumer debts facing ACDBA members, their clients, regulators and consumer representatives - details will be available at www.acdba.com.

DEBT forumACCC Chairman Rod Sims says the upcoming review of the Australian Consumer

Law (ACL) in 2016 provides an opportunity to reaffirm the benefits of what we have, and to make the law even better. At the recent Consumer Law Roundtable in Canberra, Mr Sims discussed some of the ACL success stories and noted “the general ACL provisions relating to misleading and deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct have served us well. They provide the ACCC with agility and flexibility, unlike prescriptive provisions which can easily become outdated.”

Mr Sims said “the ACCC backed the ‘one law, multiple regulators’ model which underpins the ACL” explaining “the model has fostered an unprecedented level of cooperation between consumer regulators…and has increased the effectiveness and responsiveness of consumer protection interventions. The general provisions enable the ACCC to think creatively when considering enforcement action and at times have enabled the ACCC possibly to push the boundaries.”

[Source: ACCC Media Release - 1 December 2015]

ACL review 2016

MEDIA & NEWS

The ACCC is urging businesses to closely review the standard form

contracts they use when dealing with other businesses following a new law taking effect on 12 November 2016 subsequent to a 12-month transition period which offers small businesses protections against unfair contract terms offered by other (usually larger) firms.

This law supplements the existing law on unfair contract terms for consumers. The ACCC, ASIC and state and territory offices of fair trading are responsible for enforcing the law.

“This new law is a positive step for small businesses that are presented with standard form contracts,” ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said. “For every business that deals with small businesses, now is the time to check that your contracts are compliant.”

The law applies to standard form

contracts between businesses where one of the businesses employs less than 20 people and the contract is worth up to $300,000 in a single year or $1 million if the contract runs for more than a year. Standard form contracts provide little or no opportunity for the responding party to negotiate the terms - they are offered on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis.

“The new protections will help address significant imbalances or disadvantages to small businesses in their dealings with other businesses by allowing the courts to declare void unfair terms within standard form contracts,” Dr Schaper said.

ACCC advice is that if you’re from a small business and offered a standard form contract that includes a term you think is unfair, visit the ACCC website to find out about your protections under the law. Information is also available on the ACCC website to assist big business.

Information at www.accc.gov.au details that the new law sets out examples of terms that may be unfair, including:

• terms that enable one party (but not another) to avoid or limit their obligations under the contract

• terms that enable one party (but not another) to terminate the contract

• terms that penalise one party (but not another) for breaching or terminating the contract

• terms that enable one party (but not another) to vary the terms of the contract.

If a court or tribunal finds that a term is ‘unfair’, the term will be void - this means it is not binding on the parties. The rest of the contract will continue to bind the parties to the extent it is capable of operating without the unfair term.

[Source: ACCC Media Release - 17 November 2015]

CONTRACT fairness

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FORUM

In Australia, a rare and unusual assignment for a repossession agent can

be a request to repossess an aircraft or a luxury yacht, however in other parts of the world it is possible to make a full time career out of such situations.

In a nation as populous and affluent as the US it’s not surprising that a company can specialise in the repossession of aircraft, is it?

A recent article in Fortune.com told the story of Sage-Popovich Inc of Valparaiso, Indiana which in 1979 first repossessed a commercial aircraft and has since grown to be the world’s largest specialist in the recovery of aviation related equipment, reportedly having repossessed more than 1,700 planes over the past 36 years.

Whilst the company does a lot more than just repossessions now (also undertaking consulting and fleet management), the network and resources the company and its President, Nick Popovich has developed is impressive: there is a full time staff of 42 plus 65 full time contractors mostly involved in maintenance and a database of roughly 7,000 pilots (capable of flying the whole range from a humble Cessna to

777s) who can be called upon to fly a plane out.

The task of finding the plane due to be repossessed can range from straightforward if the owner is cooperative and willing to say when and where it is flying through to extremely difficult and akin to searching for a ‘needle in a haystack’ given the existence of over 15,000 public airfields in the US, 1,400 in Canada and 1,800 in Mexico - the task gets harder still if the plane is flown beyond those borders.

When the location of a plane cannot be easily determined, Popovich says “he puts out word to airport employees he knows to keep an eye out” - he explains he has built a large network of contacts over the years and has the capacity to send an instant message to 30,000 people to advise which plane he is looking for and not surprisingly he says “people call us and receive a finder’s fee”.

Typically once a plane’s location is determined and especially if the jurisdiction is one where there is no obligation to involve a Sheriff or Marshall in the reclamation process, representatives

of Sage-Popovich will fly a company plane and land next to the plane to be repossessed, then quickly unload and board the plane to be recovered. Police and airport officials will be notified the plane is being repossessed and depending upon the circumstances, the plane will be either towed away or flown out.

Undoubtedly Nick Popovich has been successful in his career but he never set out to do repossessions! Instead in 1979 he was in the process of working with his bank to arrange financing so he could run his own airline when the bank asked if he might assist in assessing the airworthiness of planes owned by bank customers who were in default.

After delivering his report on the assessments of the planes, the bank had another request: “can you get the planes back for us?” Popovich agreed and after being paid for that first assignment he decided on a new career direction - he told Fortune.com, “I said to hell with the airline, I’m doing this!” ■

[Source: www.fortune.com - 29 September 2015]

FLYING high

to hell with the airline, I’m doing this!

| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au8

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For as many years as I can recall from my time on the National Board and as a participant in the Executive Council, the

future of the divisions has consumed a huge amount of time. Although the answer seemed inevitable, everyone has always been reluctant for nostalgic reasons to make a final decision but in fairness to the IMAs future and its limited member resources postponing the inevitable really cannot be further sustained.

As all members are aware the divisions have increasingly struggled for years to remain viable as a way to meet in the modern era where information is widely available to all on an almost instantaneous basis through the internet. Traditional style face to face meetings in today’s busy lifestyle have continued to fail to resonate with members across Australia - this is consistent with what many other organisations have encountered. The consequence of seeming apathy to come together in such meetings has been a source of disappointment for the many members who have served as volunteer executives trying to stimulate interest to keep these old values of meeting face to face on a regular basis alive.

It is evident members have voted with their feet preferring to attend the annual sector forums at the National Conference rather than driving across town to attend more regular local division meetings as in the main many have viewed those local meetings as failing in relevance.

At successive recent Executive Council meetings, Division Presidents have reported their divisions are not meeting for a business purpose if at all and where meetings have been held the purpose has been social to try and maintain industry friendships - this latter purpose is of course important and should be maintained but does not require the maintenance of a formal division structure and all that accompanies such a structure: the annual election of an Executive; access to the Divisions’ banking facility: and the need for review by the IMA’s auditor to check that if meetings have been held, proper governance has been followed.

Since January 2014, no division has had any transaction in the Divisions’ banking facility (the only transactions being bank fees)! In that same time period, most divisions had no meetings where business was transacted and minutes taken with only one division holding two minuted meetings.

The National Board acknowledging these realities have recently determined the division structure will be removed and instead for the IMA to commit to its national sector committees which meet at least annually through forum sessions within the annual National Conference. This will see the Divisions’ banking facility closed

and there will be no need to hold annual elections for each division executive and importantly from next year on there will be a streamlining of the annual audit program which will see a reduction in audit fees.

The National Board recognises and acknowledges the very significant and generous volunteer efforts of current and past executive members associated with the divisions – many have been long term servants and champions of the IMA. Moving forward, the IMA as currently in those states & territories without divisions, will now call for volunteers each year to act as a liaison point for each state and territory to assist in the event of any industry issue arising where the National Office requires some local based assistance.

Members will notice little if any effect from this structure change as the decision simply ratifies what the behaviour has been in terms of a lack of member support for division structures and meetings over recent years. Member interests will continue to be pursued through the national sector committees and through the activities coordinated by the National Office. Whenever state legislative changes arise, the National Office and/or sector committees will convene meetings (whether by teleconference, videoconference or face to face) of members in affected states to discuss and respond to the specific issue.

Although change can be difficult, the National Board believe this acknowledgement of an ongoing problem being in this case the long standing dysfunction of the failing division structure and taking appropriate corrective action to focus on the sector committees will position the IMA for continued ongoing success in the betterment of member interests. ■

STRUCTURE confirmedIMA National President Basil Faulkner explains the difficult and long expected decision to disband the historic division structure of the IMA and forward commitment to maintenance of the sector committee structure.

9www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT |

MEMBER INFO

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FORUM

This is our equivalent to the old challenging question of ‘what comes first, the chicken or the egg?’

Both the IMA and ACDBA offices receive regular calls and messages each week from members of the public expressing frustration in relation to contacts from parties they understand or suspect to be collectors who more often than not are seeking out someone unknown to that individual: sometimes it might be seeking a previous tenant of their address; or someone who reportedly lived next door; or perhaps someone with the same surname.

The most common thread to these calls and messages is a concern of what these individuals perceive to have been some attempt by the party initiating the contact to deceive or be tricky. Well you may ask, what were the deceptions or the trickiness allegedly being used by those making such contacts? The refusal to say on privacy grounds exactly who they are and why they are calling!

Therein lies the disconnect between the position embraced by legislators and interest groups justifying strict privacy regulations and what the general community actually want and expect in

their dealings in everyday activities such as someone making a telephone call to them. I’m sure many other Australians are frustrated by this overzealous ‘nanny state’ privacy protection which makes even the simplest of transactions more convoluted and difficult to navigate than is really warranted.

Ever received a call from your health insurer, your bank or insurer and been annoyingly asked “before I can discuss with you the reason for my call can you please properly identify yourself”? When this happens to me, my response is usually: “well yes I can, but you know who I am - can’t you remember, you called me on my mobile telephone number and I announced my name as I answered the call!”

Guideline requirementsThe ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline at Part 2: Practical

Guidance specifically provides what a collector should do when:

“1. Making contact with a debtor(a) Under the privacy laws, you have obligations to protect the

privacy of debtors. When making direct contact, your first task must always be to ensure the person you are dealing with is the debtor. This must be done every time you make contact before you divulge any information about the debt, the process for its recovery or before providing any other confidential information.

(b) If you consider it necessary to divulge your identity as a debt collector before being sure that you are dealing with the debtor (for example, if requested by the person you are dealing with), then you may do so if that would not have the effect of divulging that the debtor has a debt. Particular care should be taken when speaking to a person at a debtor’s workplace.

Example: Calling from or on behalf of an organisation with a descriptive nameIf you are calling from or on behalf of an organisation whose name is more revealing or descriptive in relation to debt collection practices (for example, ‘Collections R Us’) then revealing the name of the organisation is likely to divulge the existence of a debt.

(c) The limits on disclosing information to third parties apply to the debtor’s spouse, partner and/or family as much as they apply to other third parties.

(d) Having established the debtor’s identity, you should then identify who you are, who you work for and explain the purpose of the contact. Failing to clearly identify who is calling and the purpose of the call will most likely confuse the debtor and may lead to the debtor avoiding subsequent calls….”

IDENTITY frustrationsAlan Harries ponders the conundrum impacting our industry’s effective engagement with consumers that is, the role of identification during telephone contacts before the purpose of a call is disclosed.

| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au10

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FORUM

Privacy frustrationBelow as an example is a recent email

received by the IMA from a distressed individual:

I am receiving frequent calls from a debt collector on my personal mobile number regarding a debt that is held by a person a named ‘Wahid’ - a person whom I do not know, who lives at a different address, and whom I have never had any form of relationship with. These calls have been ongoing since the beginning of this year. The collector will not tell me how or why they believe I know this person or provide me with their contact details, and as such I have no way of knowing if it is the same agency contacting me on each occasion. The agency in these calls advise me my details have been obtained from a ‘public database’. I have an unlisted mobile number, which is not recorded in public databases. When I ask them to provide me with the name of the public database so I can have my details corrected, they refuse to provide it to me. The calls usually end with the agency refusing to answer any questions and hanging up on me. A number of months back the NSW Sheriff attended my residential address and spoke with my wife regarding this debt owed by ‘Wahid’. They were satisfied we had no relation to the debt or the person and left, but due to privacy reasons the Sheriff Officers could not disclose who had sent them. The calls (presumably from the agency) however, have continued. I have had my phone provider place a trace on my phone number to identify the details of the caller, however as the agency does not call more than the required times each month the phone company cannot provide me any further details. As the body representing debt collectors I am hoping you can assist me in some way with:- identifying the agency contacting me, and request they delete my contact details and cease contacting me; and - providing me with details of ‘public databases’ used by collection agencies who I can contact to have my details corrected.

Telephone contacts with consumers are problematic for many industries especially for those where any element of sales is involved but the situation for collectors making legitimate calls is much more difficult given the initiating party is restrained from being up front and open as to the purpose of the call until such time that the other party to the call has been properly identified!

Establishing the bona fides of any caller in order to have a meaningful communication with the other party is very much dependent upon explaining the purpose and the context of the call. This is simply achieved for most calls except for those made by collectors!

Consider these two typical business related calls: “Hello, this is Mary from Dr Smith’s office just calling to change your

appointment time for tomorrow” and “Hi this is John from Curtains–R-Us, I will be at your place at 9.30am in the morning to do your measure and quote”. In both examples, the party receiving the call can quickly understand the reason and recognise

the legitimacy of the call and is not confronted or positioned for a wary, guarded or hostile response to a request to provide personal identification details before the caller can properly identify himself and the purpose of the call.

The adverse response often encountered to a contact made where the collector was unable to divulge the identity of his or her employer and the reason for the call is capably demonstrated by a complaint an IMA member recently received - a simple contact quickly spiralled to a complaint all because the collector correctly followed the privacy requirements:

The call initiated in response to an updated contact point for a borrower in default on an account that was to a third party who took offence when the collector politely declined due to privacy reasons to name the company she was calling from.

The third party was insistent in wanting to know the identity of the company involved and would not accept that due to privacy reasons the caller could only say she was from a financial company and couldn’t provide the company’s name. The third party demanded the call be transferred to a supervisor and in the process of that transfer, the call connection was lost.

“something has to give to restore common sense to such simple everyday transactions as

a telephone contact”

11www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT |

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The collector’s supervisor recontacted the third party again, advised her name and apologised for the earlier call connection being lost. She attempted to assure the third party as to the need to make contact with the consumer - the third party however was determined to argue about the lack of identification of the company being provided. The third party asserted the first caller and now the supervisor had breached the privacy laws by not providing the company’s name and that she had previously worked in a government department so she knew!

The third party expanded that older people if contacted as she had been might give out information and so it was a breach of privacy! The supervisor attempted to acknowledge the third party’s perspective and to explain the onus in any conversation is always upon the person giving information not to breach another’s privacy.

The third party returned to insistent criticism of the initial caller’s refusals to identify the company she was calling from - the supervisor again explained she and the original caller were restrained from providing such information due to a specific regulator requirement. The third party asserted she knew who the regulator was and so the supervisor invited her to check the guidelines - however it was quickly apparent the third party was unaware of the identity of the regulatory agency involved.

Increasingly agitated she would not be provided with the name of the employer involved, the third party then asserted an intention to call Kochie (Sunrise) and Lisa (Today show) to see if it is allowed!

The supervisor explained a journalist with either morning TV show would be able to check industry requirements and confirm all the dealings in the telephone calls had been done correctly and again expanded it would be easier for the two staff to provide their employer’s name but the intention is to protect the privacy of the individuals they are attempting to speak directly with.

Finally the third party claimed that ‘calling’ is harassment - this was politely disputed with the supervisor noting she saw no evidence of any harassment. Several attempts to engage the supervisor in further argument were unsuccessful with the supervisor drawing the third party back to the reason for the call. At this impasse, the supervisor advised she was happy to stop calls to the third party’s number - the third party advised she would tell her fellow residents never to provide information to any

caller from financial companies and then terminated the call.If we were scoring this contact the result would have to be

judged as: Privacy frustration 1 vs Effective engagement Nil!

Pesky lettersWritten contacts can be problematic too. Another example of

the frustration of third parties encountering privacy restrictions was evident when the IMA office was contacted some months back by an elderly female who was very upset that she was receiving mail at her address for a previous occupant for whom she did not know a forwarding address.

Instead of simply returning the mail to sender with an appropriate notation such as ‘Not Known At Address’ - this third party explained she was so offended by the steady stream of mail being received in her mail box for the previous occupant that she googled the PO Box address on the back of one of the envelopes and discovered it related to a collection firm based in Sydney.

The third party then decided she would call that collection agency to get her address removed from their records only to discover she was met by a refusal on privacy grounds to discuss whether the company were chasing the previous occupant for a debt as the third party was unable to identify herself as the consumer concerned or as an authorised representative of the consumer.

The next call was to the IMA to complain about the collection company for writing to her and then refusing to discuss anything about the previous occupier of her address on privacy grounds.

Impact of contactsWhilst writing this article, a call was received at the ACDBA

Office from a female who had moved from Australia to Singapore and was having difficulties with repeated contacts from an Australian collection firm (which she named) asking her to pass on a message to her boyfriend who remained in Australia. She claimed she had received perhaps 6-7 calls over recent months from the same collector who was getting increasingly insistent that she pass on a message to her boyfriend to call the collector. She explained she had passed on the earlier messages but could hardly compel her boyfriend to call in response.

This female explained the collector seemed to believe her

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relationship with the boyfriend was much closer and more serious than it actually was and despite her explaining they were no longer living together but simply remained friends, the calls to her workplace in Singapore asking her to pass on messages had continued.

In response to the question of how the collector held her workplace number in Singapore she explained the collector had claimed to have tracked her down via her LinkedIn profile, established her new employment and then called through. According to the third party, the repeated calls to her workplace were now causing her embarrassment with those working in close proximity taking and interest such that she had to explain that she did not owe any money but the caller was asking for a message to be passed on to someone else.

Not a scam!Coincidentally, a male called through to the IMA Office around

the same time to complain about a call he had received from the same collection firm. He gave an account that he had received a call and then before the caller would proceed further to explain the reason for the contact, had asked for his personal identification details. The caller told him the company’s name but otherwise would provide no other details or the context for the call being made to him.

When he refused to provide his personal details, he claims the caller became “rude and hung up”. Upset by this call, this male then googled the company name and discovered it was a collection firm so he called that company as he believed he had no outstanding accounts and wanted to know why it was calling him. On this occasion he spoke with a collector and then a manager – neither would assist him and were again in his view rude – he admitted however he had again refused to supply any personal identification details as he was genuinely concerned the call to him may have been part of some elaborate scam

Frustrated by the discussion with the two persons at the collection firm, he then rang the IMA to complain. IMA staff explained the reason for the company’s request for him to personally identify himself was to ensure it did not breach privacy and collection regulatory obligations. After establishing the company concerned was a member of IMA and obtaining an alternate contact number for the company this male decided he

would again call back to the company and provide his personal details so as to get this matter sorted out. He apparently spoke to someone who he later said was polite rather than rude to him and so he provided all his identification details - in return he was able to establish the debt being chased actually belonged to a former acquaintance of his from 5 years earlier and as it happened, the male was able to provide a contact number for that acquaintance’s girlfriend.

The male subsequently called back to the IMA to advise the outcome of his further interactions with the collection company and to thank the IMA for the reassurance and assistance provided in response to his concerns.

Something has to giveUndoubtedly privacy and regulatory obligations surrounding

contacts made with debtors and third parties is well intended but from the industry’s perspective it seems those obligations are increasingly causing quite some collateral damage. Damage to the reputation of responsible professional collectors diligently meeting those obligations as they go about their work and more importantly, real and costly impediments to effective engagement between collectors and debtors to quietly, calmly and efficiently discuss an outstanding account.

The same regulators who have established the privacy and collection obligations surrounding contacts are amongst those which regularly implore Australians to watch for deceptive scams and to always avoid passing their personal identification details to persons they do not know.

This is the conundrum - the role of identification during telephone contacts before the purpose of a call is disclosed.

The reality of society today is that most Australians are aware of and have access to the power of the internet where search engines such as Google are so fast and helpful in returning results such as listings for specific telephone numbers or addresses. Leaving a nondescript message inviting a return call to a specific telephone number or a letter with just a return address on the reverse will not stop determined individuals from making their own online enquiries to learn more about the message left or the identity of correspondence received and intended for others.

The examples detailed above of individuals distressed by contacts received where the caller is refrained from divulging the context or purpose of the call made until first prevailing upon the receiving party to divulge his or her personal identification details clearly demonstrate the artificial regime prescribed under the privacy and regulatory guidance is increasingly unworkable as it fails to meet what contemporary Australia requires when a contact is made in this age of being on guard to the possibility of scams being perpetuated against them.

The industry is willing to meet and discuss the issue of appropriate contacts with legislators and regulators as clearly something has to give to restore common sense to such simple everyday transactions as a telephone contact. ■

Alan Harries is the CEO of the Institute of Mercantile Agents and Australian Collectors & Debt Buyers Association – he can be contacted at [email protected]

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www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT |15

FORUM

Over the past 3 months following a revision of best industry

practices with my business team (both administrative support and field agents) Sharon and I turned our focus to the task of once again updating our agency’s hardware and software infrastructure.

Whilst for many this may initially seem a fairly simple task as it did to us, we soon found it was not going to be as simple a solution as first thought given we had eight computers to service and the need to arrange replacement of very aged and expensive printing, copying and scanning hardware. Our decision to upgrade was motivated so as to move to a more paperless office, achieve cost savings and to improve our service delivery to our customers.

Our first task was to service our eight business workstation computers (such as de-fragmenting hard drives and removing unnecessary files etc) but no work was required for our server as this was already up to date and required no maintenance. The servicing of the workstation computers took one day over a weekend with our outsourced IT manager involved in the task of cleaning up and optimising each computer including installing all Windows and anti-virus protection updates - this process was undertaken so when it was time to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 we should not encounter too many problems.

Our second task was to get quotes for either purchasing or leasing our identified printing, copying and scanning solutions. This turned out to be quite an exercise as there is a need to compare

the per page leasing costs as opposed to purchasing outright costs including toner and stationery etc. In all, the research took a number of hours with personal consultations with various supplier representatives and then obtaining further information from several companies to finalise our decision.

We arrived at the decision to choose the purchase option as we felt this presented from our business and usage circumstances, the most economical option after we had creating several spreadsheets to evaluate all the variable options available to us.

Our third task was to then install our multifunction printer/copier/scanner and fax machines. These were network specific machines which required our IT manager to again attend our office to set all the machines up to be accessed by all in the office as well as setting the scanning of documents to be saved to specific folder destinations on our server for each staff member to be able to access.

This part of the update took another day on a weekend but once finished we were delighted to be rewarded with increased productivity of each of our personnel. Our previous setup involved only one high speed scanner and one photocopier for all to use, whereas now everyone has access to a high speed printing, scanning and copying option at their desk.

Our fourth and final task was to upgrade all our Windows 7 workstations to Windows 10. Another weekend day with our IT manager involving approximately 6.5 hours saw the upgrade to our eight workstations - all being achieved without

any hitch. This project to keep our business

computer infrastructure up to date with the latest available technologies took a total of approximately 5 days. I’m confident undertaking this project will save our business time, money and minimise technical problems into the future while at the same time allowing us to provide a better service to our clients over coming years.

My opinion is that no matter how big or small your business is or where it sits in this industry, it is both good business and essential to make sure all your business processes and infrastructure are kept up to date - this will deliver positive outcomes including keeping your business costs lower and ensuring a stress free business operation.

Important overall benefits I believe are your customers will be kept happy by you providing the best possible service you can deliver and you will have the peace of mind of knowing your business is not moving into the realm of being outdated and possibly seen as behind the standards now expected of our industry.

My tip to fellow members is to regularly test your business infrastructure and processes to see if they are at least current and furthermore ready for the future - investment in your business today will prevent possible costly problems tomorrow. ■

Basil Faulkner is the Managing Director of AAC Process & Investigations in Perth and the IMA’s National President

KEEPING upBasil Faulkner shares some thoughts on keeping business operations up to date.

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| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au16

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FORUM

The IMA Office during the past month has been contacted by several agents commenting on their recent experiences

with house evictions. Some of those members are private bailiffs working in regional Queensland and report an increasing trend of attending at house evictions only to discover the mortgagor is not represented by a commercial agent but rather by a local real estate agent.

As most members who are field agents will know the work of house evictions can be challenging at times. The members who have been in contact, report it is now increasingly commonplace to encounter eviction situations where firearms and illicit drugs are discovered as well as house occupants at times being clearly under the influence of substances such as ‘ice’ and consequentially unpredictable in their behaviours and abilities to communicate.

ConsequencesDifficulties encountered with on-site representatives of

mortgagors not being an experienced commercial agent have reportedly included:

• Real estate agents with zero knowledge of what the eviction process on the day will involve and what might be expected if persons are still in occupation and without any paperwork to prove their authority to act

• Real estate agents who arrive without any understanding as to how long the process might take if persons are still in occupation and claiming they are too busy to stay especially as they are not being paid to be there (apparently they agree to attend for the financiers in the hope they will be rewarded with a listing to sell the property)

• A real estate agent who upon attending and discovering what was required from a time commitment, quickly retreated off site and instead arranged an 18 year old inexperienced receptionist from his office to come and be the financier’s onsite representative

One member advises he was so concerned by the unnecessary elevation in difficulties of a specific eviction where an inexperienced real estate agent had been the financier’s representative that he initiated enquires with the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to determine whether a real estate agent was licensed to act in such situations. He reports he was informed by OFT that parties conducting vacant possessions and/or property evictions in Queensland need to be a licensed Field Agent under the Debt Collectors (Field Agents & Collection Agents) Act 2014.

Further the OFT representative invited the member to provide full details of the real estate agents and financiers he

had encountered who were involved in undertaking the vacant possessions and/or property eviction activities as the OFT would look favourably at prosecuting those persons for working unlicensed or else employing unlicensed or unregistered persons in respect to repossession activities - apparently the current relevant maximum penalty under the Queensland legislation for such offences is $23,560. The member who reported this to the IMA asked that the OFT’s request be passed on to other members so they too remain vigilant to such work being undertaken by unlicensed persons.

Other jurisdictions where repossessions are licensed activities generally have similar regulations providing for penalties where unlicensed persons undertake the work.

Putting aside the issue of persons being unlicensed for the repossession work, the examples cited above further illustrate the high risk particularly for their brand reputation financiers are assuming by going down the track of cutting out the use of experienced commercial agents to act as their representatives at evictions and lockouts. ■

UNLICENSED personsThe AGENT’s article in the October/November 2015 edition relating to the “Consequence of Negative Licensing” involving the bypassing of commercial agents for house evictions in some areas of Victoria seems to have resonated with members in other states and territories - although not necessarily for the reason of the introduction of negative licensing.

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FORUM

Alex had been contacted by one of his field agents who reported an incident in which a consumer he had just called

upon and interviewed, expressed a desire to commit suicide over his mounting debts and a situation of immense emotional turmoil associated with family law proceedings.

The field agent had recently completed a component of suicide awareness in Alex’s firm’s annual agent training and in accordance with that training immediately contacted the firm’s office and reported the situation. Alex’s team then immediately contacted its client, which in this case was Melbourne based Recoveriescorp, one of Australia’s leading debt recovery and insurance claims recovery organisations.

The time of this notification was 5.20pm in the afternoon - within 5 minutes of the team alerting the matter to Recoveriescorp that company responded to the information supplied and contacted the NSW Police indicating the consumer was reportedly in a personal crisis. In turn, the NSW Police Service despatched officers to attend the consumer’s address to carry out an urgent welfare check.

That same evening the consumer re-contacted Alex’s field agent and explained whilst he had informed many other creditors of his financial and personal struggles no one had previously responded as the agent and in turn Recoveriescorp had. The consumer

expressed his appreciation for the caring response.Potentially the actions of the agent and that of team at

Recoveriescorp may have saved a life and most certainly made a difference to at least one person in this world who seemingly felt no one cared.

Alex told the AGENT he shared this story because although we are all in the legitimate and necessary business of collecting outstanding debts there is an obligation to treat the people we deal with on a daily basis with respect and this includes having systems and procedures in place to deal with persons in financial hardship and those in the more extreme situations of threatening self-harm.

Alex’s recommendation to fellow members if they don’t have a suicide awareness procedure in place currently and do not provide suicide training to their team is that they consider adopting the same to allow field agents to best respond to the consumers they deal with in the course of their work.

Members interested in reading more about suicide awareness should refer to the article “Crisis Calls” which appeared at P10- 13 of the April/May 2015 edition of the AGENT. ■

Alex Caruana is the Director (Operations) of Sydney based Express Mercantile and is the Immediate Past IMA President.

COMPASSIONATE responseAlex Caruana shares with the AGENT an event recently encountered in the course of his work where training for suicide awareness allowed a compassionate response to be provided to someone at personal risk.

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20| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au

In an article earlier within this edition, I have detailed the recent decision

of the National Board to commit to an organisational structure for the IMA based upon the four sector committees: collections, investigations, process serving and repossessions. This structure will not surprise any member given those committees were formed almost 15 years ago when the IMA’s Constitution was last updated – the Board’s decision instead formally brings to a dignified close that chapter of the IMA’s history where its structure included state based divisions.

As noted in the article “STRUCTURE confirmed” the divisions have struggled to effectively engage with members over many years to the point where most divisions are either not meeting or else for those which continue to meet spasmodically the focus has shifted to a social get together rather than to address any specific business purpose. The National Board is supportive of members continuing to meet on a social basis given all the benefits such camaraderie and networking facilitates – its decision is simply to ratify what has in practice been happening: an abandonment of outdated formal meeting structures and obligations.

The decision really was inevitable, although not an easy one to make being a decision the Board over past years have been very reluctant to formalise – however, the realities of so few meetings now being held, generally low numbers of attendees at those gatherings and the infrastructure needed to maintain a non-viable structure meant the reasons for a decision to commit to a sector based structure were overwhelmingly compelling.

On behalf of all members genuine and heartfelt thanks are conveyed to all who over many years have served in a volunteer executive capacity within the divisions. The IMA will call upon members to volunteer to act as liaisons in each state and territory

for the situation where a state based issue arises and the National Office and sector committees require assistance.

Sector CommitteesFollowing the commitment to the sector

committees as the structure for the IMA to best represent the interests of members and to strive for the betterment of the environment in which members operate, ideally the focus can shift to laying on a clear agenda for each committee to address.

Two of the committees have significant work underway: the Process Serving Committee is well advanced in the drafting of the Best Practice Guide for Process Serving whilst the Collections Committee is about to embark on a similar project towards the drafting and ultimate adoption of a Best Practice Guide for Collections.

If members have issues or see opportunities which the sector committees can assist with please communicate directly with the Chair of the relevant Sector Committee – their contact details appear in the directory at the rear of the magazine.

When we meet in Hobart for the 2016 National Conference each of the Sector Committees will conduct a session/forum – these opportunities are intended to allow members to contribute their thoughts and ideas about their sector and matters which require a collaborative effort to secure improvements for their sector.

In closing, I extend my best wishes to you, your family and friends for a wonderful festive season and all the very best for 2016 which I trust will bring you good health, happiness and prosperity.

Regards

Basil Faulkner

the decision really was inevitable, although not an

easy one to make

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Basil Faulkner

IMA President Basil Faulkner comments on the inevitability of some decisions.

INEVITABILITY

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2121www.imal.com.au | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | AGENT |

In closing, on behalf of the team at your National Office, I extend my best wishes to all for a safe and happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Cheers

Alan Harries

Effective engagementMy article “IDENTITY frustrations”

at page 10 in this edition details what I see to be a real challenge for our industry - the barriers to opportunities for effective and non-combative engagement with consumers specifically in respect to telephone contacts as regulatory requirements governing such contacts and created for the reason of consumer protection are increasingly the actual cause of frustrations for many of the consumers our industry initiates contact with.

I believe those frustrations are now more acutely being encountered as Australians are increasingly aware of the potential risks of scammers making contact to try and harvest their identity details for fraudulent purposes and as a consequence, many consumers are much more guarded and less cooperative in providing their identification information when a contact by a collector is made.

Representatives of Financial Counselling Australia have in the past 2 years reported its members in surveys have indicated a preference to engage with third party collectors rather than in-house collectors of the banks and finance companies on the basis of effective engagement to resolve a consumer’s account - this outcome reflects the increasing maturity of the collections sector in Australia.

It is ironic then that achieving effective engagement with consumers direct is a lost opportunity and consequence of the regulatory requirements surrounding telephone contacts. Equally of concern is that complying with such restrictions which are clearly outside of community expectations, actually positions the industry for greater reputational risk. Respecting the limitations to not disclose the identity of the collector and the purpose of the call until the individual is fully identified is directly contributing to the view by many consumers receiving

such contact that the person initiating the call has actually engaged in deceptive and unscrupulous activities.

Unlicensed personsA challenge too for members engaged in

field agency work is the increased situation of unlicensed persons now representing banks and financiers at house evictions and lockouts. Obviously a concern from the perspective of a loss of work for the sector this is also another situation where the reputation risks for our industry are high, if such unlicensed persons fail to meet what consumers regard as being fair and acceptable standards when undertaking the work.

During November, there was prominent media coverage of a city based real estate agent being filmed by surveillance cameras entering a private home and taking photographs of the interior whilst the home occupier was actually inside albeit asleep initially.

The media reports mentioned the real estate agent was there for a bank but the reason for his attendance and entry to the property was not detailed. Watching this report, I was immediately suspicious in light of the calls received from members about real estate agents increasingly engaged by financiers to act in lockouts that here was most likely another example of an inexperienced person using initiative which did not accord with either the legal rights or the expectations of the financial institution.

As noted in the article at page 17 there are clearly reputational risks for the banks and financiers who look to cut out the expense of retaining an experienced and licensed commercial agent for such sensitive work but equally such practice exposes our sector to risk if unlicensed persons are engaged - the media and public will not necessarily make the distinction and simply refer to overzealous or inexperienced repossession agents.

FROM THE CEO

CHALLENGESIMA CEO Alan Harries outlines what he sees are emerging challenges ahead for the industry.

Alan Harries

the media and public will not

necessarily make the distinction

Merry Christmas

The National Office will be closed from 5pm on Wednesday 23 December 2015 and re-opens on Monday 11 January 2016.

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22| AGENT | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | www.imal.com.au

NETWORK

IMA NATIONAL OFFICE17B Denney StreetBroadmeadow NSW 2292PO Box 233 Waratah NSW 2298Ph: (02) 4927 0477Fax: (02) 4927 [email protected] www.imal.com.au

NATIONAL BOARDNational President Basil FaulknerPh: (08) 9325 [email protected]

National VP Administration Daniel TaylorPh: (02) 8568 [email protected]

National VP Finance David CombrinkPh: (08) 9409 [email protected]

Immediate Past National President Alex CaruanaPh: (02) 8833 [email protected]

CEO Alan HarriesPh: (02) 4927 [email protected]

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Comprises the National Board, President of each Division and Directors Emeritus.

EXECUTIVE

BUYING or SELLING?Have an opportunity and want to discreetly find and engage with interested members?Consider a broadcast email by the IMA with a masked reply email address - call 02 4927 0477 for details of this affordable and effective service.

Victoria DivisionVictorian President Michael NugentPh: 1300 228 [email protected]

Victorian Vice President/Secretary Derek ChallisPh: (03) 5277 [email protected]

WA DivisionWestern Australian President Phil BotsisPh: (08) 6296 [email protected]

Sector Sub-committees

Collections Chairperson Daniel TaylorPh: (02) 8568 [email protected]

Investigations Chairperson Peter HarkinPh: (07) 3862 [email protected]

Process Serving Chairperson Nick WrightPh: (07) 3868 [email protected]

Repossessions Chairperson Travis CarterPh: (07) 3868 [email protected]

NSW DivisionNSW President Frank FodorPh: (02) 9630 [email protected]

NT BranchNorthern Territory Liaison Grant JonssonPh: (08) 8927 [email protected]

Queensland DivisionQueensland President Nick WrightPh: (07) 3868 [email protected]

Queensland Vice President Liat WalkerPh: (07) 3034 [email protected]

Queensland Secretary Peter HarkinPh: (07) 3862 [email protected]

SA Division South Australian President Andrew SmithPh: (08) 8244 [email protected]

South Australian Vice President/Secretary Liam O’CallaghanPh: 1300 364 [email protected]

Tasmania BranchTasmanian Liaison Daniel SteersPh: (03) 6228 [email protected]

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