From F&I Insight:
It's no secret that you can't continue to rely on just rate or Vehicle Service Contracts to bring in more money per vehicle. However, with pressure for even more profitability in F&I, how can you bring in $200 more per car?
Selling more ancillary products is the key to success. But, what seems like a no brainer requires a careful approach. The first step is to have five core F&I Products that you know can get you 20 percent or more penetration.
With the plethora of products and partners available out there, it may seem daunting to find the right mix. The thought of changing your line-up or or adding new products may seem like overkill right now. However, a customizable, comprehensive and competitive mix is what will bring in that extra $200 per vehicle.
Finally, you must deliver your menu presentations with confidence. When was the last time you participated in Menu Selling Training? Is your interview solid? Are you presenting the menu in the best way possible? And, what about objections?
With strong products, thorough customer knowledge and a solid, innovative partner, $200 more per car is definitely attainable.
Make 2009 your year! - AFI
Next Post: US Fidelis
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Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
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Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
US Fidelis Collapse Sparks Service Contract Debate
.
Remember those sickening comercials in 2009 with Rusty Wallace - smiling - "I would buy the extended warranty on all my family vehicles ONLY from US Fidelis".
It killed me too - as crappy a year in the F&I box that 2009 was - listening to customers compare the prices of my esc's with US Fidelis.
Anyway, check out a good article from Jim Henry: Automotive News
________________________________________________________________
The March bankruptcy filing for US Fidelis, the high-profile company that marketed extended service contracts directly to consumers, has rekindled debate over whether customers are best served by bypassing dealerships.
Customer-direct "is a growing business, to say the least," said, Marc Kamin, a spokesman for AA Auto Protection, of West Deptford, N.J., which markets extended service contracts online.
"Our position is a lot of people didn't know that a service like ours is available."
Saturation-coverage TV advertising for US Fidelis, including a NASCAR sponsorship, fixed that problem by raising awareness, Kamin said.
AA Auto Protection is a broker for the administrators that actually sell extended service contracts, Kamin said. He compared this to an independent insurance agent who offers policies from several companies.
"We're able to give the best prices directly because dealerships mark them up. We can sell them more cheaply," Kamin said.
He estimated that the average consumer could save 40 to 60 percent off the price of an identical service contract bought through a dealership, depending on how much the dealership marks it up. Kamin quoted a price of about $1,800 for "bumper-to-bumper" coverage for a couple of common used vehicles, a 2005 Toyota Camry or a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup.
Kamin said a broker such as AA Auto Protection also can offer service contracts for older used cars with higher mileage -- contracts that dealerships likely would not offer.
Apples to Apples
Larry Dorfman, CEO of EasyCare -- the trade name for Automobile Protection Corp., of Norcross, Ga. -- said in a separate interview that if you compare apples to apples, consumer-direct marketers are not necessarily cheaper.
"Most of these companies claim they are a lot cheaper than a dealer, and the fact is, if you price them for similar coverage, … they are more," he said. Dorfman was commenting in general, not specifically about AA Auto Protection.
EasyCare primarily offers service contracts through dealerships, but it also offers them directly to consumers through a call center, Dorfman said. He said his company first refers all customer-direct consumers to a dealer in EasyCare's network.
Dorfman said retail prices at dealerships, which are set by dealers, range from $1,500 to $1,800 for his company's best coverage, called TotalCare, for an average domestic or Asian vehicle. Contracts have a $100 deductible.Even EasyCare's own internal customer-direct call center would charge an average of $300 more for the same thing, he said. He estimated that competing call centers would charge about the same, maybe $100 more.
Dorfman said dealers and call-center service contract brokers both pay the same wholesale costs for service contracts. That means call centers are middlemen, just like dealerships.
He said a dealership has other profit centers, such as parts and service, which make money in the long run from a service contract customer.
But a call center has to charge more because it makes all its profit from service contracts.
"Over the years, a customer who purchases a [vehicle service contract] at the dealership has always been more likely to service there," Dorfman said.
Buyer (and seller) beware
Dorfman said the US Fidelis bankruptcy should serve as a warning for all service contract providers. No matter what the contractual obligations are, dissatisfied customers understandably blame whoever sold them the contract, Dorfman said.
"If the customer purchases from a dealer, there is brick and mortar to go back to," he said. "Claims and cancellations are a lot easier, and if a dealer is no longer in business, the vehicle service contract providers offered now at dealerships will step up and do what is right.
*** My Point exactly! - AFI
"On its Web site, US Fidelis, of Wentzville, Mo., tells customers seeking a refund that the service contract is between the customer and the third-party administrator, not Fidelis.
Those Bastards.
"US Fidelis has agreements with each of these administrators, and some of those agreements state that when a customer cancels, US Fidelis will reimburse the administrator for part of the amount refunded to the customer," the company says.
However, bankruptcy means US Fidelis may be unable to pay its part of such refunds, the company says.Without commenting on a particular company, Dave Robertson, executive director of the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals, said extended service contracts sold through dealerships can offer some advantages.
As a general proposition, a cheaper service contract may make it harder to make a claim that qualifies for coverage, Robertson said.
He also said that buying an extended service contract on the Internet with a credit card could be more expensive than it appears, if the buyer doesn't pay it off right away.
"The cost of the coverage plus the cost of credit likely makes the plan more expensive than one purchased in a dealership," Robertson said. "If I was an F&I manager, I'd put some hard numbers to this and use it when pitching vehicle service contracts in the store."
Moral of this story: You always reap what you sow.
Next Post: Road Hazard Tire and Wheel Protection
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Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va
Remember those sickening comercials in 2009 with Rusty Wallace - smiling - "I would buy the extended warranty on all my family vehicles ONLY from US Fidelis".
It killed me too - as crappy a year in the F&I box that 2009 was - listening to customers compare the prices of my esc's with US Fidelis.
Anyway, check out a good article from Jim Henry: Automotive News
________________________________________________________________
The March bankruptcy filing for US Fidelis, the high-profile company that marketed extended service contracts directly to consumers, has rekindled debate over whether customers are best served by bypassing dealerships.
Customer-direct "is a growing business, to say the least," said, Marc Kamin, a spokesman for AA Auto Protection, of West Deptford, N.J., which markets extended service contracts online.
"Our position is a lot of people didn't know that a service like ours is available."
Saturation-coverage TV advertising for US Fidelis, including a NASCAR sponsorship, fixed that problem by raising awareness, Kamin said.
AA Auto Protection is a broker for the administrators that actually sell extended service contracts, Kamin said. He compared this to an independent insurance agent who offers policies from several companies.
"We're able to give the best prices directly because dealerships mark them up. We can sell them more cheaply," Kamin said.
He estimated that the average consumer could save 40 to 60 percent off the price of an identical service contract bought through a dealership, depending on how much the dealership marks it up. Kamin quoted a price of about $1,800 for "bumper-to-bumper" coverage for a couple of common used vehicles, a 2005 Toyota Camry or a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup.
Kamin said a broker such as AA Auto Protection also can offer service contracts for older used cars with higher mileage -- contracts that dealerships likely would not offer.
Apples to Apples
Larry Dorfman, CEO of EasyCare -- the trade name for Automobile Protection Corp., of Norcross, Ga. -- said in a separate interview that if you compare apples to apples, consumer-direct marketers are not necessarily cheaper.
"Most of these companies claim they are a lot cheaper than a dealer, and the fact is, if you price them for similar coverage, … they are more," he said. Dorfman was commenting in general, not specifically about AA Auto Protection.
EasyCare primarily offers service contracts through dealerships, but it also offers them directly to consumers through a call center, Dorfman said. He said his company first refers all customer-direct consumers to a dealer in EasyCare's network.
Dorfman said retail prices at dealerships, which are set by dealers, range from $1,500 to $1,800 for his company's best coverage, called TotalCare, for an average domestic or Asian vehicle. Contracts have a $100 deductible.Even EasyCare's own internal customer-direct call center would charge an average of $300 more for the same thing, he said. He estimated that competing call centers would charge about the same, maybe $100 more.
Dorfman said dealers and call-center service contract brokers both pay the same wholesale costs for service contracts. That means call centers are middlemen, just like dealerships.
He said a dealership has other profit centers, such as parts and service, which make money in the long run from a service contract customer.
But a call center has to charge more because it makes all its profit from service contracts.
"Over the years, a customer who purchases a [vehicle service contract] at the dealership has always been more likely to service there," Dorfman said.
Buyer (and seller) beware
Dorfman said the US Fidelis bankruptcy should serve as a warning for all service contract providers. No matter what the contractual obligations are, dissatisfied customers understandably blame whoever sold them the contract, Dorfman said.
"If the customer purchases from a dealer, there is brick and mortar to go back to," he said. "Claims and cancellations are a lot easier, and if a dealer is no longer in business, the vehicle service contract providers offered now at dealerships will step up and do what is right.
*** My Point exactly! - AFI
"On its Web site, US Fidelis, of Wentzville, Mo., tells customers seeking a refund that the service contract is between the customer and the third-party administrator, not Fidelis.
Those Bastards.
"US Fidelis has agreements with each of these administrators, and some of those agreements state that when a customer cancels, US Fidelis will reimburse the administrator for part of the amount refunded to the customer," the company says.
However, bankruptcy means US Fidelis may be unable to pay its part of such refunds, the company says.Without commenting on a particular company, Dave Robertson, executive director of the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals, said extended service contracts sold through dealerships can offer some advantages.
As a general proposition, a cheaper service contract may make it harder to make a claim that qualifies for coverage, Robertson said.
He also said that buying an extended service contract on the Internet with a credit card could be more expensive than it appears, if the buyer doesn't pay it off right away.
"The cost of the coverage plus the cost of credit likely makes the plan more expensive than one purchased in a dealership," Robertson said. "If I was an F&I manager, I'd put some hard numbers to this and use it when pitching vehicle service contracts in the store."
Moral of this story: You always reap what you sow.
Next Post: Road Hazard Tire and Wheel Protection
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Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
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Friday, December 11, 2009
You Need a Solid Partner When it Comes to Tire & Wheel Road Hazard Protection
As Tire & Wheel Protection gains market share and program scope, it continues to be an evolving program for both third party administrators and underwriters.
However, due to recent developments in the industry, some providers may be leaving the Tire & Wheel business.
Others may not be offering a fully-compliant product.
You may have noticed changes from your providers and their insurers lately.
While this isn't a surprise due to today's challenging market, it makes it obvious who you want to partner with in the long run.
Where price in the short term used to be the key decision maker, sustainable relationships and coverage for your customers should be at the forefront of any decision process now.
Make sure that your Tire & Wheel partner and all of your F&I providers can provide the service and comprehensive coverage you expect for the long run.
Make sure your F&I provider:
* Offers free training for both agents and dealer personnel.
* Has solid relationships with A-rated insurers.
* Puts claims customer satisfaction first.
* Facilitates immediate credit card claim payments.
* Manages fully compliant programs.
* Offers the most comprehensive product on the market, not just a cheaper product that result in more exclusions (and less satisfaction).
Send an email to AutoFinanceInsider@yahoo.com with Tire/Wheel Info as the heading and I will send you information on the BEST tire @ wheel program in the industry. It's the one I use and recommend.
AFI
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
5 Ways To Kill Your Credit Scores
Here is some good information by Liz Pulliam Weston
One of the questions I'm asked most often about credit scores is exactly how much certain actions affect people's scores.
What good is a good credit score?
Until now, the best I could do was say, "It depends." That's because the company that created the leading credit score, the FICO, has been wary about releasing specifics.
Fortunately, that just changed. At my request and for the first time, the company (also known as FICO) has released details about how specific actions, from maxing out a credit card to filing for bankruptcy, can affect people with different credit scores.
I asked the company to compute the results of those actions for two examples: a person with a 780 score, which is an excellent score on the 300-to-850 FICO scale, and someone with a 680 score. The results:
Effect on a 680 score Effect on a 780 score
Maxed-out card
-10 to -30
-25 to -45
30-day late payment
-60 to -80
-90 to -110
Debt settlement
-45 to -65
-105 to -125
Foreclosure
-85 to -105
-140 to -160
Bankruptcy
-130 to -150
-220 to -240
Source: FICO
The results are given in a range because FICO is still a little nervous about revealing too much about its proprietary scoring. But the range is fairly tight, and we can clearly see the disparate impacts of the different actions.
A Guide, Not a Guarantee.
Before we go further, I have to make this clear: Your mileage may vary.
People with the same credit score can have very different credit profiles: more or fewer accounts, a different mix of accounts, a longer or shorter credit history, use of more or less of their available credit, etc.
Because of those differences, the same action -- maxing out a card, say -- can have different effects on people with the same score, depending on the details of their individual credit profiles.
For the sake of this exercise, FICO assumed both people had several active major credit cards as well as a mortgage, a car loan and student loans.
The person with the 780 score:
Has at least 10 credit accounts in total and a 15-year credit history.
Uses 15% to 25% of her credit card limits.
Has no late payments on her credit reports.
Has no collection accounts or other major negatives.
The person with the 680 score:
Has six credit accounts and an eight-year credit history.
Uses 40% to 50% of her credit card limits.
Was 90 days late on an account two years ago.
Was 30 days late on another account one year ago.
Here's what you need to know about each action and the effect it had:
1. Maxing out a credit card
Using 100% of your limit on any credit card puts you at risk of over-limit fees. It also takes a bite out of your credit score.
Our person with the 680 score might lose 10 to 30 points from this one action, while the 780 scorer could shed 25 to 45 points.
The difference points up an important fact: The higher your score, the more points you tend to lose from "bad" actions. That's because the scoring formula is sensitive to any sign you're getting in over your head. Maxing out a credit card is considered one of those signs.
You also should know that it typically doesn't matter to the formula if you carry a balance or pay off that maxed-out card as soon as you get your statement. What's usually reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on your last statement. Even if you pay the debt in full before the due date, the maxed-out card will hurt your score.
2. Skipping a payment
Mailing a payment a few days late normally won't hurt your score, although you may incur late fees and trigger higher interest rates. The big hurt comes when you miss a payment cycle entirely.
A 30-day-late report would shave 60 to 80 points from our lower-scoring person and 90 to 110 points from our higher scorer. In other words, one lapse of attention could plunge the 680-scorer into subprime credit territory, and our 780-scorer could find credit much harder to get and more expensive.
This is why it's so important to set up automatic payments to ensure your bills get paid on time, all the time. With credit cards, you can set up automatic payments that take the minimum payment out of your checking account to ward against a late payment. You can always make a second payment that reduces your debt or pays it off entirely. You can sign up for automatic payments on the Web site of your card issuer.
3. Settling a credit card debt
All the advertisements about "settling your debt for pennies on the dollar" make debt settlement sound like a great solution. But failing to pay what you owe a creditor will take a serious toll on your score.
The 680 scorer would lose 45 to 65 points with this maneuver, while the 780 scorer would shed 105 to 125 points.
Our scenario assumed that our borrowers would miss one payment before settling the debt with their credit card companies. In reality, debt settlement negotiations can drag on much longer, with each missed payment taking another chunk out of your score.
Settling a debt with a collection agency would hurt less, probably much less, because the FICO formula is set up to weigh more heavily what the original creditor says about you than what a collection agency reports. But if our borrowers were settling with a collection agency instead, their scores would be lower to begin with, because they would have collection accounts on their records.
Also, you should know that the amount of debt your creditor "forgives" in a debt settlement solution is typically added to your taxable income. So you may save some money by settling a debt, but you'll give some of it back to Uncle Sam in higher taxes.
4. Losing a property to foreclosure
Foreclosure deals a severe blow to your credit score: 85 to 105 points for our person with the 680 score and 140 to 160 points for the one with the 780 score.
Foreclosures have implications for your future ability to get a mortgage as well. Although your score may start to improve as soon as the house is gone, mortgage lenders may not be willing to extend you another home loan until two to four years have elapsed.
In an attempt to protect their credit, many people attempt short sales, selling their houses for less than what's owed, with the lenders' permission. Unfortunately, these transactions, even if successful, are often reported as settlements. And a settlement, as you've seen, is pretty bad for credit scores.
To lenders, a short sale isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure, though, and it may be easier to get another mortgage once you’ve rebuilt your credit.
5. Filing for bankruptcy
FICO spokesman Craig Watts once called bankruptcy the nuclear bomb of credit actions. Filing for bankruptcy would shave 130 to 150 points from the 680 score and 220 to 240 points from the 780 score.
This is different from the other black marks, where the higher scorer was still left with better numbers than the lower scorer. In this case, both would wind up near the bottom of the credit barrel. Getting new credit, particularly in the current credit-crunch environment, would be extremely tough.
Sometimes, of course, bankruptcy is the best of bad options. (See "Quiz: Should you file for bankruptcy?") But if you can't pay your bills, you should at least explore the other possibilities: forbearance, credit counseling or even debt settlement.
Finally, if you have any of these five black marks on your record, remember two things: The impact on your score may differ from what's shown above, and regardless of how many points you lost, you can rebuild your FICO score over time.
You can buy your Equifax
or TransUnion FICO score from MyFICO.com. (Experian no longer sells FICO scores to consumers, although it continues to sell the scores to lenders.) With paid scores, you'll get specific advice about how to improve your numbers.
myFICO May Sale - Save 20% on FICO scores & credit reports
In general, when you're trying to build a credit score, you should:
1. Pay your bills on time, all the time.
2. Reduce your credit utilization; below 30% is good, below 10% is better.
3. Have a mix of credit on your reports, including installment loans (mortgages, auto loans and personal loans) and revolving accounts (credit cards and lines of credit).
4. Refrain from closing accounts.
5. Apply for new credit sparingly.
BACK TO THE AFI TODAY HOMEPAGE:
Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Dealership Death Watch, Car Dealer Photos
One of the questions I'm asked most often about credit scores is exactly how much certain actions affect people's scores.
What good is a good credit score?
Until now, the best I could do was say, "It depends." That's because the company that created the leading credit score, the FICO, has been wary about releasing specifics.
Fortunately, that just changed. At my request and for the first time, the company (also known as FICO) has released details about how specific actions, from maxing out a credit card to filing for bankruptcy, can affect people with different credit scores.
I asked the company to compute the results of those actions for two examples: a person with a 780 score, which is an excellent score on the 300-to-850 FICO scale, and someone with a 680 score. The results:
Effect on a 680 score Effect on a 780 score
Maxed-out card
-10 to -30
-25 to -45
30-day late payment
-60 to -80
-90 to -110
Debt settlement
-45 to -65
-105 to -125
Foreclosure
-85 to -105
-140 to -160
Bankruptcy
-130 to -150
-220 to -240
Source: FICO
The results are given in a range because FICO is still a little nervous about revealing too much about its proprietary scoring. But the range is fairly tight, and we can clearly see the disparate impacts of the different actions.
A Guide, Not a Guarantee.
Before we go further, I have to make this clear: Your mileage may vary.
People with the same credit score can have very different credit profiles: more or fewer accounts, a different mix of accounts, a longer or shorter credit history, use of more or less of their available credit, etc.
Because of those differences, the same action -- maxing out a card, say -- can have different effects on people with the same score, depending on the details of their individual credit profiles.
For the sake of this exercise, FICO assumed both people had several active major credit cards as well as a mortgage, a car loan and student loans.
The person with the 780 score:
Has at least 10 credit accounts in total and a 15-year credit history.
Uses 15% to 25% of her credit card limits.
Has no late payments on her credit reports.
Has no collection accounts or other major negatives.
The person with the 680 score:
Has six credit accounts and an eight-year credit history.
Uses 40% to 50% of her credit card limits.
Was 90 days late on an account two years ago.
Was 30 days late on another account one year ago.
Here's what you need to know about each action and the effect it had:
1. Maxing out a credit card
Using 100% of your limit on any credit card puts you at risk of over-limit fees. It also takes a bite out of your credit score.
Our person with the 680 score might lose 10 to 30 points from this one action, while the 780 scorer could shed 25 to 45 points.
The difference points up an important fact: The higher your score, the more points you tend to lose from "bad" actions. That's because the scoring formula is sensitive to any sign you're getting in over your head. Maxing out a credit card is considered one of those signs.
You also should know that it typically doesn't matter to the formula if you carry a balance or pay off that maxed-out card as soon as you get your statement. What's usually reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on your last statement. Even if you pay the debt in full before the due date, the maxed-out card will hurt your score.
2. Skipping a payment
Mailing a payment a few days late normally won't hurt your score, although you may incur late fees and trigger higher interest rates. The big hurt comes when you miss a payment cycle entirely.
A 30-day-late report would shave 60 to 80 points from our lower-scoring person and 90 to 110 points from our higher scorer. In other words, one lapse of attention could plunge the 680-scorer into subprime credit territory, and our 780-scorer could find credit much harder to get and more expensive.
This is why it's so important to set up automatic payments to ensure your bills get paid on time, all the time. With credit cards, you can set up automatic payments that take the minimum payment out of your checking account to ward against a late payment. You can always make a second payment that reduces your debt or pays it off entirely. You can sign up for automatic payments on the Web site of your card issuer.
3. Settling a credit card debt
All the advertisements about "settling your debt for pennies on the dollar" make debt settlement sound like a great solution. But failing to pay what you owe a creditor will take a serious toll on your score.
The 680 scorer would lose 45 to 65 points with this maneuver, while the 780 scorer would shed 105 to 125 points.
Our scenario assumed that our borrowers would miss one payment before settling the debt with their credit card companies. In reality, debt settlement negotiations can drag on much longer, with each missed payment taking another chunk out of your score.
Settling a debt with a collection agency would hurt less, probably much less, because the FICO formula is set up to weigh more heavily what the original creditor says about you than what a collection agency reports. But if our borrowers were settling with a collection agency instead, their scores would be lower to begin with, because they would have collection accounts on their records.
Also, you should know that the amount of debt your creditor "forgives" in a debt settlement solution is typically added to your taxable income. So you may save some money by settling a debt, but you'll give some of it back to Uncle Sam in higher taxes.
4. Losing a property to foreclosure
Foreclosure deals a severe blow to your credit score: 85 to 105 points for our person with the 680 score and 140 to 160 points for the one with the 780 score.
Foreclosures have implications for your future ability to get a mortgage as well. Although your score may start to improve as soon as the house is gone, mortgage lenders may not be willing to extend you another home loan until two to four years have elapsed.
In an attempt to protect their credit, many people attempt short sales, selling their houses for less than what's owed, with the lenders' permission. Unfortunately, these transactions, even if successful, are often reported as settlements. And a settlement, as you've seen, is pretty bad for credit scores.
To lenders, a short sale isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure, though, and it may be easier to get another mortgage once you’ve rebuilt your credit.
5. Filing for bankruptcy
FICO spokesman Craig Watts once called bankruptcy the nuclear bomb of credit actions. Filing for bankruptcy would shave 130 to 150 points from the 680 score and 220 to 240 points from the 780 score.
This is different from the other black marks, where the higher scorer was still left with better numbers than the lower scorer. In this case, both would wind up near the bottom of the credit barrel. Getting new credit, particularly in the current credit-crunch environment, would be extremely tough.
Sometimes, of course, bankruptcy is the best of bad options. (See "Quiz: Should you file for bankruptcy?") But if you can't pay your bills, you should at least explore the other possibilities: forbearance, credit counseling or even debt settlement.
Finally, if you have any of these five black marks on your record, remember two things: The impact on your score may differ from what's shown above, and regardless of how many points you lost, you can rebuild your FICO score over time.
You can buy your Equifax
myFICO May Sale - Save 20% on FICO scores & credit reports
In general, when you're trying to build a credit score, you should:
1. Pay your bills on time, all the time.
2. Reduce your credit utilization; below 30% is good, below 10% is better.
3. Have a mix of credit on your reports, including installment loans (mortgages, auto loans and personal loans) and revolving accounts (credit cards and lines of credit).
4. Refrain from closing accounts.
5. Apply for new credit sparingly.
BACK TO THE AFI TODAY HOMEPAGE:
Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Dealership Death Watch, Car Dealer Photos
Monday, September 14, 2009
Guide to Handling Objections: Identity Theft Protection
Objection: I monitor my credit reports on my own. I don't need it.
Response: Seventy-one percent of fraud happens within a week of the theft of your personal data.
How often do you monitor your credit reports?
For a small increase in your monthly payment, wouldn't you want the peace of mind that Identity Theft Protection provides?
Objection: If this would happen to me, I could fix it on my own.
Response: Did you know that most victims of identity theft lose thousands of dollars and lost wages, not to mention legal fees, trying to deal with their cases? It's awful.
You can spend months trying to repair the financial damage caused by identity theft.
It's not easy to remove the negative information from your credit reports.
Doing it on your own is very time consuming and will make you angry, irritated and depressed.
With Identity Theft Protection, you are assigned a personal recovery representative to manage your identity theft recovery and follow up for a year.
Objection: Identity theft happens to people who shop online. I never shop online, and I am very protective of my Internet passwords.
Response: According to identity theft experts, the Javelin Strategy & Research Center, low-tech methods for stealing personal information are still the most popular method of identity theft.
Stolen wallets and physical documents accounted for 43 percent of all identity theft last year, while online theft only accounted for 11 percent.
This program I am offering to you protects you from ALL TYPES of identity theft.
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Monday, August 31, 2009
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy - 2
by Gil Van Over
This week’s news flash was not published in the conventional news media, rather in one of the online forums I periodically lurk on.
The poster, a finance manager, was extremely upset over a scenario at his dealership that day. The conflict was with a sales manager and the topic was whether to deliver a potential straw purchase.
The finance manager was adamant that the deal not go through while the sales manager was just as adamant that the car started moving down the road. The General Manager’s response? Defer.
This scenario could just as easily been the finance manager holding up a deal because of other potential bank fraud, such as power booking, credit application fraud or manufactured stipulations.
The sales manager kept pushing the “we’re all here to sell cars” theorem while the finance manager valiantly resisted with the “I ain’t doing the perp walk for anyone” argument.
In the end, the General Manager did not take a position, but rather deferred to the dealer’s attorney.
What should he have done?
I am not an attorney, but do occasionally get these type of phone calls, asking my opinion.
With the assumption that the information relayed by the poster was the complete story, my recommendation would have been to let the lender know the complete story and if the lender decides to buy the deal, document the decision and move forward (if the lender knows about the transaction, it is not technically a straw).
Otherwise, do not sell the car to a straw purchaser.
Sometimes we all need to just get back to the basics - AFI
Gil Van Over is the President and founder of gvo3 & Associates, a nationally recognized F&I, Sales and Red Flag Rule compliance consulting and training firm (www.gvo3.com).
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Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Auto Dealership Credit Repair Solution
This week’s news flash was not published in the conventional news media, rather in one of the online forums I periodically lurk on.
The poster, a finance manager, was extremely upset over a scenario at his dealership that day. The conflict was with a sales manager and the topic was whether to deliver a potential straw purchase.
The finance manager was adamant that the deal not go through while the sales manager was just as adamant that the car started moving down the road. The General Manager’s response? Defer.
This scenario could just as easily been the finance manager holding up a deal because of other potential bank fraud, such as power booking, credit application fraud or manufactured stipulations.
The sales manager kept pushing the “we’re all here to sell cars” theorem while the finance manager valiantly resisted with the “I ain’t doing the perp walk for anyone” argument.
In the end, the General Manager did not take a position, but rather deferred to the dealer’s attorney.
What should he have done?
I am not an attorney, but do occasionally get these type of phone calls, asking my opinion.
With the assumption that the information relayed by the poster was the complete story, my recommendation would have been to let the lender know the complete story and if the lender decides to buy the deal, document the decision and move forward (if the lender knows about the transaction, it is not technically a straw).
Otherwise, do not sell the car to a straw purchaser.
Sometimes we all need to just get back to the basics - AFI
Gil Van Over is the President and founder of gvo3 & Associates, a nationally recognized F&I, Sales and Red Flag Rule compliance consulting and training firm (www.gvo3.com).
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Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Auto Dealership Credit Repair Solution
Thursday, August 27, 2009
F&I Training Cash Conversion Video
Here is a good technique for cash conversions that is worth a look - but someone please tell this guy to throw away that chair!!!
BACK TO THE AFI TODAY HOMEPAGE:
Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Auto Dealership Credit Repair Solution
BACK TO THE AFI TODAY HOMEPAGE:
Tags: Automotive Finance, F&I, Finance & Insurance,
Credit Repair va, Auto Dealership Credit Repair Solution
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