License plate recognition (LPR) technology has been an important tool for the auto finance industry for decades, helping lending, collection, repossession, and insurance professionals track down vehicles and owners. DRN pioneered the unique combination of LPR data paired with powerful analytics to build full vehicle stories to help solve lending, collections, recovery and fraud challenges.
Now, we’re showing that LPR can be just as effective in the unsecured debt market, which is primarily credit cards, personal loans and student loans. Creditors, debt-buying agencies and law firms collect on unsecured debt using a waterfall process of both internal and external skip tracing to track down debtors. This typically uses public record data, which is often self-reported and frequently inaccurate – meaning returned mail and unanswered phone calls. This cycle of search and contact repeats itself, which is costly to collectors as each search takes time and carries a fee. Also, suits can’t be filed until the debtor’s location is verified – and often not until 30 days after contact. This also can be damaging to the debtors’ credit.
DRN merges LPR with public record data, then uses DRNsights Skip Trace to pull the best addresses to the top of the contact list. With real-time LPR data in addition to 20 billion historical scans, our platform can build a full, historical story on a vehicle and owner. This can produce a better address faster than using public records only – and an address that’s scored by DRN for accuracy. This helps collectors make right party contact faster.
The obvious benefit is helping collectors find debtors so they can collect on the debt or, in some cases, start the timeline to file suit. However, we’re also encouraging clients to use our data on the front end to try to contact the debtor, which can sometimes mean curing the account. This is always a better outcome for everyone than seizing property or filing a lawsuit. Using DRN at the top of the waterfall vs. at the bottom gives collectors the best quality data possible to pursue a timely and effective resolution.
Are you ready to learn more about how and when LPR data can work for you? Fill out our contact form and someone will reach out to you shortly.
– Fred Booker, Senior Channel Account Manager | Financial Services
