Businesses must leverage every available advantage to increase sales and maintain profitability. One such advantage is the use of soft pulls, which quickly pre-qualifies customers without negatively impacting their credit score....
On a busy Saturday at a dealership, what is sometimes the first corner to be cut in the sales process can be the costliest. Something as simple as taking a photo of a customer’s driver’s license when that potential buyer is in a hurry to take a test drive can result in big fines. Beyond that, there are many other pitfalls from lead to sale. The newly expanded FTC Safeguards rule takes effect June 9, 2023, and requires administrative, physical, and technical compliance to ensure the security and confidentiality of consumer information, prevent unauthorized access to consumer information, and to protect against any threats or hazards to the security or integrity of that information. Whether you’re the owner, General Manager, Dealer Principal, F&I Manager, or General Sales Manager, the new guidelines impact you. These compliance requirements can have a huge impact on your dealership if you’re not prepared and will result in devastating fines. Most dealers struggle with what the sales team collects, creates, and controls, which is why they need a platform to enforce compliance across the four “Ps”: people, policies, paperwork, and process. Here are five of the top violations that involve those four Ps and that are putting your dealership at risk and how leading dealers avoid them. VIOLATION 1: Not having a way to enforce a consistent, compliant process on every single deal. The saying is “hope is not a strategy”, but that’s what many dealers rely on when it comes to compliance. Whether you have a busy dealership, staff turnover or haven’t consistently trained your staff, your dealership needs an enforceable physical and administrative compliance process that leverages technology to ensure your dealership is compliant. Bonus points if the solution is one that your team will love and will help them sell cars faster (like ours). VIOLATION 2: Sales staff storing consumer...
After a lull in synthetic identity theft during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of fake identification to commit fraud has started to "explode," an expert says....
86% of dealers think fraud is getting harder to prevent. Search Google and you’ll find story after story of criminals trying and often succeeding in stealing vehicles from dealerships by pretending to be someone else with the help of a fake ID.In the last year according to an eLend study, 79% of dealers had an identity fraud-related loss and 60% lost at least three vehicles due to identity fraud.“I would say just before the pandemic, it (identity fraud) started to explode, and it continues to be a bigger and bigger challenge for dealers,” said Doug Fusco, founder of Informativ’s Dealer Safeguard Solutions. “I think fraudsters are getting better and they're getting smarter. The IDs they're generating are very authentic looking and they're also not coming in on a Monday morning, they're coming in when the dealerships are at their busiest hoping that they can get through the hoops and the distractions and not get caught.”Add to that–fraudsters have unlimited time to work on this and when they win, they win big. All that has made preventing fraud a big challenge for dealerships.Informativ offers ID fraud detection technology that scans an ID, verifies it against 250+ unique state driver’s license barcodes, and instantly alerts you if the ID is fake or real.But beyond implementing tech to identify and prevent fraud, there are things dealers can look for to avoid getting ripped off.Money is no object: If the car buyer isn’t putting any money down, doesn’t care what the payments orterms are, you may want to take a closer look at that customer. “If it’s ‘yes, yes, yes, check the box andjust get me through the process’, that’s the first thing we see pretty consistently,” said Fusco. “They'renot putting any money down. They don't care what the payments are, they don't care...
On the Daily Drive podcast, Informativ's Doug Fusco shares the top five compliance violations putting dealerships at risk. Skip ahead to 06:17 for his insight. ...
Last week, Informativ announced a new, complete, and proactive credit and compliance offering. The service provider that includes Credit Bureau Connection (CBC), Dealer Safeguard Solutions and CreditDriver said this revamped solution brings together innovative, mobile-first consumer credit prequalification and lead generation....
New name reflects Informativ's unified approach to comprehensive credit and compliance solutions Frisco, TX – January 19, 2023 – Credit Bureau Connection (CBC), a provider of credit-focused lead generation, credit report and compliance solutions to automotive dealers, lenders, and other end markets, today announced a corporate rebrand to Informativ (“Informativ” or the “Company”). Informativ is backed by Capstreet, a Houston-based lower middle market private equity firm. Informativ brings CBC together with CreditDriver and Dealer Safeguard Solutions (DSGSS), companies CBC acquired over the last two years, under one cohesive brand. With a long history of dealership marketing, fraud protection, dealer compliance, and credit reports, Informativ is a complete and proactive credit and compliance solution that encompasses the customer experience from lead generation through a transaction. The Company helps to simplify the complex by providing trackable, enriched leads and qualified buyers, a protected and compliant sales process, and a fast, reliable credit partner. “Rebranding as Informativ is more than just a name change,” said David Carner, CEO of Informativ. “Over the last year, we’ve created a comprehensive solution that enables businesses to have a seamless and consistent credit and compliance process that benefits their operations and their consumers. We plan to continue to innovate and expand our capabilities to better serve our clients while providing the exceptional customer service for which we’re known.” “This is an exciting milestone for Informativ, reflecting the vision and strategy that David and Capstreet set out for the Company,” said Rick Pleczko, CEO, Operating Executive Group at Capstreet and Executive Chair at CBC. “David and his team have created an offering that enables customers to track and deliver qualified leads, reduce risk exposure and easily obtain credit reports all in one place, and we’re proud to continue to support Informativ’s development.” Informativ also announced it has relocated its corporate headquarters to Frisco, TX, while its former headquarters in Fresno, CA, will serve...
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, or “GLB” as it is more commonly called, is the law with the biggest impact on the dealership community since the Truth in Lending Act was passed in 1968....
How is your Regulatory Compliance Knowledge?...
What is a Soft Pull? In general, soft pulls are classified into two standard terms. Prescreen and Prequalification. Both do not affect your consumer credit report because they are not an application for credit. A prequalification soft pull is a request to be prequalified to apply for credit. A prescreen soft pull is a non-consumer-initiated offer of credit typically sent without your knowledge. Both do not affect your credit score and do not show other credit providers or lenders you have been shopping for credit. A soft pull or soft inquiry is used when a lender or finance source requires access to a consumer credit file to decide to extend credit. A consumer credit file consists of a consumer’s financial data collected over time and stored by one or more of the three major credit reporting agencies. In the United States, those are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Your data can be accessed when you apply for a form of credit from a bank, auto dealer, or other lending sources—the same way one would use a traditional hard pull or hard inquiry. The difference is, a hard pull or hard inquiry is used when an applicant is applying for a line or form of credit, whereas a soft pull is not an application for credit but an application to apply for credit. Your consumer credit file is used by lenders to determine a consumer’s creditworthiness or credit risk and is typically accompanied by a credit score. Your credit score is calculated by factors such as previous repayment history of financial loan obligations or debt. Those accounts and debt can consist of everything from your mortgage loan, car loans, revolving charge cards, etc. A stable repayment history shows creditworthiness, whereas a poor repayment history shows credit risk. Your credit score is like a summary of your credit history. There are many different types of credit...