A Letter to the Recovery Industry from DRN

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. 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 + Competitors). 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. Once that VIN has been in the system for 45-60 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.

On a separate but very important topic, we have been listening to our affiliates regarding our agreement and are making some significant changes as listed below.

Affiliate Agreement Changes/Additions

Change the non-compete from 1 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 100k per month across ALL agencies.
Require Agents to purchase at least 2 camera systems to join.
Remove language around agents purchasing plates from DRN at $1.00 per plate because it is no longer applicable.
Change language requiring an agent to have a 24hr contact number to working hours M-F.
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 Geo fence around an Agents lot to restrict those scans from traveling though certain Data pathways, so we aren’t wasting time on advanced alerts.
No fixed camera scans will be calculated for Rev Share.

Did you know:

DRN is paying Revenue Share back to the agents of approximately $1,000,000 per month and on pace for $15M this year.
You can buy a DRN kit for less than half the price of our competitor and OWN IT outright in less than 4 years. DRN affiliates have equipment on the road today that is 10 Years Old! Let’s do the math below: Seems like a no brainer of who the winner is here!
DRN Kit Cost over 10 years: (Avg Price: $12,000)
Competitor Cost over 10 Years (Avg Monthly Price $625 = $75,000)

The industry will see many more positive changes coming from DRN. Over the past 4 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.

A Letter to the Recovery Industry from DRN