Field visits: what to check and what to record

Before you go

Read the case: the signals, the last three contacts and any promise to pay. Note the registration (masked on screen; the full number is on the loan file) and, for fleets, which vehicles to look for.

On the visit

• The vehicle. Is it there? Is it working? Look at the tyres, the dust, the odometer if you can. A parked truck with flat tyres has been parked for weeks.
• The borrower. Ask what has changed. Ask about the next payment date, and write it down with the amount.
• The paperwork. Insurance, fitness and permit papers in the vehicle. Photograph the expiry dates.

Record within 24 hours

Log the visit on the case: the outcome (met the borrower, vehicle seen and working, vehicle not at the address, and so on), what you saw, what was promised, and photographs. "Visited, will pay" is not a record.

Safety

Visit in daylight, tell your manager where you are going, and leave if the situation turns hostile. No recovery is worth an injury.