Two big changes on Inspections and Missing Requirements letters
By Darrell W. Fuller, OVDA Lobbyist
OVDA, Oregon’s largest association for vehicle dealers, is aggressively advocating on behalf of all Oregon dealers. Those efforts have resulted in two significant policy changes at DMV in the last few months benefitting dealers.
Missing Requirement Letters
Dealers have been frustrated when “Missing Requirements” letters are sent to customers and lien holders, but not to dealers. Dealers frequently only learn of a problem when contacted by a customer. With the new year, DMV has created a new policy: Now, Missing Requirements Letters will ONLY go to the selling dealer, not to the customer or to the lien holder. This will save DMV money in postage, paper, and staff time, and resolve issues much quicker. THIS IS A BIG WIN FOR DEALERS.
Dealers will have 30 days to fix the paperwork and complete the transaction. If the paperwork is not completed in 30 days, DMV will then send a notice to the customer and the lien holder notifying them of the delay.
Inspections versus Investigations
When a DMV investigator arrives at a dealership, the dealer must drop everything to work with the investigator and provide requested documents. This has been true even when the investigator is only at the dealership for a routine inspection, and not investigating a complaint.
OVDA worked with DMV to distinguish between a complaint-drive “investigation” – when an investigator has a reason to believe a dealer is violating the law – and a routine paperwork “inspection”. Because of OVDA’s work (and DMV’s willingness to work in partnership), a new internal DMV policy was adopted. Investigators will now contact dealers in advance and schedule routine inspections rather than just showing up unannounced. THIS IS A BIG WIN FOR DEALERS. Investigators will – and should – continue to show up unannounced if they have good cause to believe violations are occurring.
DMV announced this new policy in the most recent Dealer Details which you can read here (on page five).
OVDA is at the table and on the field of battle
Dealers are important business partners with DMV. We are teammates in providing services to our customers. On the other hand, since about half of all DMV title and registration transfers come from dealers, we are also DMV’s largest customer. And we have the right to expect good customer service.
OVDA continues to work closely and aggressively with DMV to advance the interests of dealers. We are your eyes, we are your ears, and we are your voice at DMV. You can find up-to-the-minute news on other battles we are fighting at the OVDA website NEWS feed by clicking here. We suggest you bookmark the NEWS feed on your computer, tablet or phone, and check it often for new information that matters to your dealership.
If you would like to join OVDA and be part of our ongoing efforts to make changes benefiting dealers, you can join here. OVDA members can answer questions about information on the NEWS feed and receive continuing education credits required to renew your dealership certification.