What perhaps could have festered into a messy situation involving organizations that have worked together so closely in the repossession world has smoothed over in recent days.

The American Recovery Association used a white paper to explain notable operational and safety concerns about exclusivity involving license-plate recognition technology. Then, DRN’s Jeremiah Wheeler crafted a reply and detailed plan to address those concerns.

What came next was a positive response from ARA, which said on Monday, “(we) want to extend our sincere thanks for taking the time to truly hear the concerns voiced by our association and the broader recovery industry. While there are areas where we may continue to differ in approach or perspective, we recognize and deeply appreciate the meaningful steps you’ve taken to respond with real solutions.”

Let’s get into how this development unfolded.

ARA outlines broad concerns

ARA said its LPR committee conducted structured interviews with key stakeholders, including forwarders, agents, and lenders as part of an ongoing examination of LPR exclusivity and its effects on the repossession industry

Jason Clark, managing partner at Resolution Management Group, said in the white paper, “Exclusivity made sense 10-15 years ago. Today, it no longer does.”

The committee outlined five key questions in the white paper, including:

—Who owns scanned data — agents or LPR providers?

—Should LPR hits be exclusive to scanners for a set period?

—How can third parties be prevented from selling scans to lower-cost providers?

—Should LPR providers dictate terms when lienholders own the paper?

—If agents pay for cameras, should they own the scanned data?

The committee then asserted LPR exclusivity is negatively impacting the repossession industry, leading to reduced recoveries, increased costs, and extended recovery times. Other negative impacts mentioned by the group were:

—A decline in plate-scanning agents and forwarders investigating leads that result in lower recovery rates.

—Data silos prevent interoperability, leaving many vehicles undetected.

—Delays increase repossession costs, asset depreciation, and consumer debt.

—LPR providers prioritize market control over efficiency, harming agents, lenders, and consumers.

In the white paper, an executive from a finance company who remained anonymous said, “LPR is a powerful tool, but its effectiveness depends on how it’s integrated into the repossession strategy.”

The committee also mentioned LPR technology has transformed vehicle location but at a cost to direct assignment agents.

“We spend hours skip tracing, conducting surveillance, and securing assets — only to have an LPR agent recover the vehicle last-minute,” Premier Adjusters president Brad Webb said in the white paper. “It’s a complete waste of resources and manpower.”

DRN response

Wheeler, who serves as president of DRN, MVTRAC and SCM, offered an initial reply to those concerns on Friday, beginning an industry letter this way.

“We have been listening to our affiliates regarding our agreement and are making some significant changes,” Wheeler wrote before detailing those adjustments that include:

—Change the non-compete from one year to 90 days following written 30-day notice.

—Once an agent opts to leave, they must sit out a minimum of one year to be eligible for rehire.

—Require all camera notes to be paid in full during the 90-day period.

—Increase minimum scan requirements to 100,000 per month across all agencies.

—Require agents to purchase at least two camera systems to join.

—Remove language around agents purchasing plates from DRN at $1 per plate because it is no longer applicable.

—Change language requiring an agent to have a 24-hour contact number to working hours Monday through Friday.

—Add suspension language that allows DRN to suspend pending investigation any agent / affiliate that is subsequently also suspended by a DRN partner company.

—Restrict BIN and AA from being sent through the DRN network from fixed camera locations.

—Create a geofence around an agent’s lot to restrict those scans from traveling though certain data pathways, so agents aren’t wasting time on advanced alerts.

—No fixed camera scans will be calculated for revenue share.

“The industry will see many more positive changes coming from DRN,” Wheeler wrote. “Over the past four years we have been listening and making changes that have major impacts to improving quality and quantity to all parties involved.

“I realize that we have to allow our product and service to speak for itself and not have others in the market blame our success on our agreement prohibitions. I also want to be sure that our affiliates know they can reach out to me anytime to discuss potential opportunities, questions or concerns,” he went on to say.

Safety of agents also prioritized

Both ARA through its white paper and Wheeler via his letter touched on repossession agent safety, which has been a growing concern since about a dozen agents have been killed while on assignment during the past couple of years.

ARA explained some of the challenges created by staged and dual-assigned recoveries, beginning with heightened volatility.

“If an LPR agent attempts recovery and backs off, the customer is immediately on guard,” Webb said in the white paper. “When a direct agent arrives later, they’re walking into an unpredictable, sometimes hostile, situation.”

ARA also pointed out there have been increased confrontations because adjusting schedules to counteract LPR interference has led to more customer confrontations.

The association touched out a trio of examples of escalating safety incidents, including:

—Customers driving units off tow trucks, endangering agents and bystanders.

—More prepared resistance from customers, alerted by prior LPR attempts or client notifications.

—Increasing cases of customers waiting inside their vehicles, creating dangerous face-to-face confrontations.

In the white paper, the committee said, “Recovery companies generate LPR data, yet it’s often used against them. LPR focus has shifted from direct partnerships to growing the forwarding model, reducing agent revenue. LPR remains a valuable tool, but without transparency and fair policies, it threatens the stability of traditional recovery companies.”

After seeing those concerns, Wheeler wrote this response.

“I want to address some items that we have been working on over the past few months. As many of you have seen, we have been making significant changes to our systems, data flow and processes. The main reason for most of these changes have been focused on agent safety,” Wheeler wrote. “We have put delays in place to allow for agents to have ample time to secure units without information being dispatched. We also limited information from being shared outside of the DRN Affiliate ecosystem. We continue to make tweaks to ensure information is controlled and not shared with multiple agencies simultaneously.

“I also want to ensure that the lenders and agents understand some of the current issues related to agents potentially showing up at the same location. Many lenders are using the LPR Staging function with multiple LPR companies (DRN and competitors),” he continued. “When a lender places a VIN number with a DRN Provider and at the same time places it with the DRN Competitor Provider, we are both sending agents advanced alerts and potentially driving agents to the same location due to similar historical data being produced by separate systems. With DRN being the largest LPR company, we typically get the blame for this being an issue within our control and it is the total opposite.

“My recommendation, which some lenders have already begun to implement, is to choose one LPR company to place your hotlist with,” Wheeler went on to say. “Once that VIN has been in the system for 45 to 60 days with no successful recovery, then place it with the competitor system. DRN’s LPR Provider Network is the largest with over 375 million scans monthly. With that being said, we will recover units fairly quickly and should be the best option for first placement of the LPR Staging files. We are pushing lenders to adopt this strategy to help ensure agent safety is top of mind for all involved.”

ARA appreciative of dialogue & solutions

ARA president Vaughn Clemmons and the association’s board of directors appreciated Wheeler’s pledges on Monday.

“The changes DRN has made, particularly those centered around agent safety, controlling data flow, and refining dispatch practices, mark a significant shift toward improving the day-to-day operations and safety of those on the front lines. Your leadership in making these adjustments speaks volumes, and we want to applaud you for it,” they said.

“We also appreciate your transparency in addressing the overlapping VIN issues caused by multi-platform placements and your recommendation to lenders to prioritize a single LPR provider during initial placements. This kind of clarity helps not only agents but also our lender partners make smarter, safer decisions,” they continued.

“Finally, and more importantly, the affiliate agreement demonstrates that you’ve been listening,” they went on to say. “The reduction of the non-compete period, implementing geo-fencing to avoid wasted resources on agent-owned lots, and the recognition that operational hours and equipment requirements must be better aligned with the reality of today’s field work—these changes are the result of real collaboration and thoughtful consideration.

“Thank you, Jeremiah, for your responsiveness and your commitment to raising the bar. ARA looks forward to this new season in our industry — one where open dialogue, fairness, and agent safety are foundational principles, not afterthoughts,” they added.