zuluzerosix
06-04-2009, 14:41
Recently we sold a vehicle to a customer financed by a subprime bank. He had a trade in and cash down. All of the information (as far as we could check) was valid. He even had 3 months of bank statements verifying his income.
When the paperwork reached the subprime bank, it landed on the desk of a discounter. It is the job of the discounter to verify the information on the application and to ensure the dealer’s paperwork is correct and accurate. Banks have powerful information systems that can instantly verify information and identity. His information did not check out. The bank returned the contract to us. So now we have to get the vehicle back.
None of his phone numbers worked. I could not reach the guy to demand that he return the vehicle. So, I put a map on the wall. Using his 3 credit bureaus I located on the map all of his known addresses, the addresses of his references and nearest relatives. I used colored push pins on every address. Red was his residence and yellow was family and friends.
This is the scary part!
I called his insurance agent, she was more than happy to help. She gave me all of the known address she had, and ran a new DVM report which gave me some new addresses. More pins in the map. Then I called his bank. I had copies of his bank statements so I had the account number. The bank turned out to be one I do business with regularly, so I spoke with our rep. Within a few minutes I had a new address in another town and one for his sister which is a beneficiary on his account in yet another town. Bingo, I thought More pins.
Then I interviewed all the employees here at work that had contact with the guy. He was particularly fond of one of the female employee and had invited her to his “new house” over in the next county. He even gave her the address. It matched the sister’s.
The last few pins went into the map and the circle was completed.
I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. But I was. I could not believe how much info I got from the bank and insurance agent.
It was an amazing pattern. It was a big circle with a little circle in the middle. The big circle was friends; the little circle was his addresses and in the middle, like a bull’s eye was the sister.
Using reverse address lookup services on the web I started calling neighbors at all the addresses to see if he had been there. Using the neighbors at the address listed on the credit application, I was able to find out he was moving to his sister’s house. I contacted the neighbor closest to his sister’s house and asked them to watch for the vehicle and call me with changes. There was $250 in for them if I got the truck back.
While I was making arrangements to seize the vehicle, the neighbor calls and says she can hear them talking out side about going to a friend’s house in the next town.
I recognize the name of the friend (it was a reference on the credit application).
Turns out there is a Wendy’s across the street from the friend’s house, actually it is an apartment on the main drag.
We have an employee in that town that is off today. So I call the employee and send him to lunch at Wendy’s promising to reimburse him for lunch and give him 50 bucks just to watch for the vehicle and fill me in on the layout of the complex. Is it a town home, is there a garage or covered parking, can tow truck get in and out, what floor is the apartment on etc…. The employee calls back later and tells me they are sitting behind him at Wendy’s discussing what to do for the rest of the day. He takes a picture of himself with his cell phone and sends to me. You can clearly see the guy sitting at a table behind him. They decided to go back to the sister’s house because according to the employee the “customer says to his friend out loud, “I got to be back by 4 ‘cause that dud, is commin’ over to get that thing, you know the dude from the other day.”
Drugs.
I go over all this with GM, he his now on his was to the sister’s house with an extra key and our tow truck (we keep the extra key for all subprime deals until the deal is funded by the bank). He has called the neighbors and for an extra $50 they will let him camp out at their place for a while. He will be there before the “customer” arrives. We should have the truck back by close of business today. If nobody gets shot.
Amazing. These folks who gave me info I have never met personally. The bank rep and insurance agent I have only spoken with over the phone a few times. Scary stuff what I was able to do......All in about 4 hours.
When the paperwork reached the subprime bank, it landed on the desk of a discounter. It is the job of the discounter to verify the information on the application and to ensure the dealer’s paperwork is correct and accurate. Banks have powerful information systems that can instantly verify information and identity. His information did not check out. The bank returned the contract to us. So now we have to get the vehicle back.
None of his phone numbers worked. I could not reach the guy to demand that he return the vehicle. So, I put a map on the wall. Using his 3 credit bureaus I located on the map all of his known addresses, the addresses of his references and nearest relatives. I used colored push pins on every address. Red was his residence and yellow was family and friends.
This is the scary part!
I called his insurance agent, she was more than happy to help. She gave me all of the known address she had, and ran a new DVM report which gave me some new addresses. More pins in the map. Then I called his bank. I had copies of his bank statements so I had the account number. The bank turned out to be one I do business with regularly, so I spoke with our rep. Within a few minutes I had a new address in another town and one for his sister which is a beneficiary on his account in yet another town. Bingo, I thought More pins.
Then I interviewed all the employees here at work that had contact with the guy. He was particularly fond of one of the female employee and had invited her to his “new house” over in the next county. He even gave her the address. It matched the sister’s.
The last few pins went into the map and the circle was completed.
I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. But I was. I could not believe how much info I got from the bank and insurance agent.
It was an amazing pattern. It was a big circle with a little circle in the middle. The big circle was friends; the little circle was his addresses and in the middle, like a bull’s eye was the sister.
Using reverse address lookup services on the web I started calling neighbors at all the addresses to see if he had been there. Using the neighbors at the address listed on the credit application, I was able to find out he was moving to his sister’s house. I contacted the neighbor closest to his sister’s house and asked them to watch for the vehicle and call me with changes. There was $250 in for them if I got the truck back.
While I was making arrangements to seize the vehicle, the neighbor calls and says she can hear them talking out side about going to a friend’s house in the next town.
I recognize the name of the friend (it was a reference on the credit application).
Turns out there is a Wendy’s across the street from the friend’s house, actually it is an apartment on the main drag.
We have an employee in that town that is off today. So I call the employee and send him to lunch at Wendy’s promising to reimburse him for lunch and give him 50 bucks just to watch for the vehicle and fill me in on the layout of the complex. Is it a town home, is there a garage or covered parking, can tow truck get in and out, what floor is the apartment on etc…. The employee calls back later and tells me they are sitting behind him at Wendy’s discussing what to do for the rest of the day. He takes a picture of himself with his cell phone and sends to me. You can clearly see the guy sitting at a table behind him. They decided to go back to the sister’s house because according to the employee the “customer says to his friend out loud, “I got to be back by 4 ‘cause that dud, is commin’ over to get that thing, you know the dude from the other day.”
Drugs.
I go over all this with GM, he his now on his was to the sister’s house with an extra key and our tow truck (we keep the extra key for all subprime deals until the deal is funded by the bank). He has called the neighbors and for an extra $50 they will let him camp out at their place for a while. He will be there before the “customer” arrives. We should have the truck back by close of business today. If nobody gets shot.
Amazing. These folks who gave me info I have never met personally. The bank rep and insurance agent I have only spoken with over the phone a few times. Scary stuff what I was able to do......All in about 4 hours.