According to Jimmy Collins, owner of Casper’s Body Shop & Wrecker Service in Tennessee, Auto Data Direct (ADD) is a tow operator’s best friend. With two locations in Greenville and Whitepine, he works long days, but he says his account with ADD has simplified and sped up state requirements and allows him to focus on managing his trucks rather than processing paperwork. ADD’s suite of electronic online tools, featuring DirectPost-Office (DPO) combines letter creation with state record searches and certified mail sent from the comfort and safety of your office.
For those who are not familiar with ADD’s DPO certified mail product, it was launched in 2003 to provide Florida towing companies with an easier, more efficient, and cost-effective way to send certified notification letters to owners, lienholders, and insurers and its popularity has grown nationwide. Since its launch in Florida, DPO has expanded its state-specific letters to Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. Whether ADD has letters specific to a tow operator’s jurisdiction, its record access and letter services using custom forms are available either directly through an ADD account or through many tow management systems. ADD contracts with top integrators to provide easy access to its record service and letter tools.
Speaking of records, ADD is unique in providing real-time single inquiry access to title, lien, and registration data for qualified businesses. Under the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) tow companies are authorized to access records in order to accurately send notification letters, required by law, to all interested parties. Instead of needing to reach out to individual states for records that may not arrive timely or at all, ADD customers can access records electronically and receive the information in seconds using its DMV123 service. And because ADD only utilizes real-time records, you can be assured the record is the most recent available from that DMV’s database at the moment it is retrieved.
While Tennessee’s owner and lienholder notification statute requires the tow company to send the state one dollar for a Tennessee record from them, ADD’s DMV123 real-time vehicle records search provides the information instantaneously. “I have to send the dollar off to the state, but I can go ahead and pull the record through ADD and send my letter immediately. As long as the record that comes back from the state is the same as I received from ADD, which happens more than 95% of the time, I’m ahead of the game,” says Jimmy. “And if the vehicle is from another state that ADD offers, I can verify the record and send my Tennessee letter. ADD is reliable and their system has sped up the process, saving me time and money.”
Jimmy says ADD’s national title pointer is extremely helpful when the state of title is not obvious. “When we can’t identify where the vehicle is from, we use the national title pointer to find the last state of title. Then we can pull the record from the state if it’s available through ADD.” Once the record is accessed, DPO allows the data to be merged into the appropriate form, saving keystrokes and minimizing typing errors, and then electronically submits the certified letter into the USPS mail stream. DPO also allows for tracking the certified letter every step of the way, providing details on when the letter(s) was received, or if it was undeliverable. The DPO archive provided in an ADD account gives tow operators documented proof that notification requirements were followed if a question arises about whether appropriate actions were taken to find the owner/lienholder prior to holding a public sale.
ADD’s national title pointer provides a title history of the vehicle through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS.) In addition to the current and prior states of title, it offers information on any brands associated with the vehicle, and it alerts the tow company if it has been reported stolen through information provided by a national theft database. The National Title Pointer report also meets state requirements that call for a NMVTIS vehicle history to be run on vehicles prior to processing notification letters, as is the case in Florida.
ADD is also in the unique position of being the only NMVTIS history provider that is also a consolidator of JSI (junk, salvage, insurance) data for industry members, making both accessing a history and reporting data as easy as 1,2,3. Federal law requires that any entity dealing in more than five junk and salvage vehicles per year must provide specific vehicle information to the national database on at least a monthly basis. For companies who need to report junk or salvage vehicles to NMVTIS, ADD provides a solution from the same web-based account.
If your company already has an ADD account but is not using DPO, just click the orange DirectPost-Office icon in My Apps to begin processing your notification letters. If you are new to ADD, click on the sign-up button on its home page to take advantage of these valuable business tools. And, if you use the services of a tow management system, ask if you can access ADD services through your current provider. There is no monthly or annual fee. ADD allows its customers to pick and choose the services they need when they need them.
As Vice President of the Tennessee Tow Truck Association representing Middle Tennessee, Jimmy is well versed in issues facing the industry. “I highly recommend ADD to other tow companies throughout the country,” he said. “It’s easy to use, affordable, and their employees are very helpful and accessible. They listen to suggestions and are always available to personally answer questions and address issues that might come up.”
For more information or to schedule an online demonstration and training class, or to speak with one of our friendly and knowledgeable customer service representatives, call 866-693-4123 or email info@add123.com.
