BC Car Dealerships photocopying your DL/violating privacy rules

[white rocket]

If I'm about to give you the keys to a vehicle and you refuse to let me take a copy of your license then I don't want your business. Plain and simple. There is a ass for every seat and I don't mind waiting for the non-conspiracy theory tinfoil hat wearing paranoid person to buy it. However, the photocopier is right beside my desk which is close to the door so the client never loses sight of me. It's not like I'm going into a back room or something, which may be the case at a large dealership.

And if this is really for marketing purposes and they call or email you afterwards then just tell them to fuck off and remove your name from all mailing lists. It's not like the dealership is trying to fraud you or anything.

[Tone Loc]

Originally Posted by white rocket

If I'm about to give you the keys to a vehicle and you refuse to let me take a copy of your license then I don't want your business. Plain and simple. There is a ass for every seat and I don't mind waiting for the non-conspiracy theory tinfoil hat wearing paranoid person to buy it. However, the photocopier is right beside my desk which is close to the door so the client never loses sight of me. It's not like I'm going into a back room or something, which may be the case at a large dealership.

And if this is really for marketing purposes and they call or email you afterwards then just tell them to fuck off and remove your name from all mailing lists. It's not like the dealership is trying to fraud you or anything.

Exactly, I don't see why people are raising a big stink about it. It's like Google using your search data to get ads that are "tailored" to you; get Ad-Block and you won't have to deal with any of their crap ever again and keep enjoying their service.

I've never worked at a car dealer, but I sure as hell would photocopy the drivers' DL with their information in case anything happened to the car, it's common sense. I've sold cars via CL and I've always taken a picture of the would-be buyer's DL before they drive it just to cover my ass. And not once has anyone ever complained about.

Bunch of people just raising a stink to raise a stink. It just takes a simple call or email to get off their mailing list and people are acting like its some big violation of privacy. In this day and age, everything is - so do your due diligence and get over it.

[Ikkaku]

A good number of dealership require that the sales people get a copy of the test driver's DL. This is just for their own record in case somebody decides to just drive off with the car.

Half of the job of the sales people are to follow up on customers who have shown any interest. Pretty much anybody that has gone in for a test drive is created a profile, mainly because the idea is that people who test drive = potential customers, right?. The sales people do not solely live off of walk-in customers who purchase right away.

However, it is quite rare that they would obtain the information from the DL. For the most part, they ask for your information and the type of vehicles you may be interested in. They will look around to see if there are anything that may be of interest to those potential customers, and they call or email them about it.

If they do in fact try to follow up on you, just a simple "Sorry, I am no longer looking for a vehicle" is sufficient to stop them.

There is no need to insult them, as this is a part of their job.

[AzNightmare]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Why don't you post your name, address, SIN, and credit card numbers for us?

I don't have anything to hide, but what is my benefit from revealing that info to YOU (or on this public forum), and why do you need to know?

Please continue, because I'd like to see where you're going to go with this.

[bcrdukes]

This thread has taken a turn for the worse so I'll end my stance on it here.

It appears that some people do not value privacy. If that's the case, fine. It's a free country.

I, personally, do not have a problem giving up my DL to the dealership if and when I go test drive a car. What I do have a problem with is for to take my information, then spamming me with e-mails, flyers, junk mail and what have you, without my consent while at the same time, misleading me as to what the information is used for. As I said in my original post, had the sales rep told me it would be added to a CRM and to be used for marketing purposes, I would have no problem of it whatsoever. I would even take the further step to say, "Hey, I'd like to opt-out, please. Is that cool?" But that didn't happen.

It's really simple for any one of you to pull the, "It's your fault! You should have known better!" card, but how is it your fault if the sales rep doesn't tell you or ask if it's okay to take your information for marketing purposes?

The principle here is the misinformation or miscommunication between the dealer and the customer. Taking your drivers license and misleading you after they take your personal information is the issue at hand.

The whole legality about the dealer getting your DL/info is a whole other slew for discussion.

[slicrick]

the dealership I worked at when I was doing sales used a template sheet that would take their license and fill out yourself the customer was never allowed to fill a sheet out but were beside you when you did, an example would be like this

Time/Date 4:00 PM/June 3rd 2013
Name: John James Doe
Address: 9999 9th street, Vancouver
Height: 6 Feet
Weight: 200 Pounds
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Brown
License class: 5
DL #: 999999
2008 Dodge Ram SLT black STK # 99999
Plate # D4 9999
Phone # and E-Mail address (if they are willing to give it out)

Nobody went on a test drive without filling one these out first or without a salesperson/employee, these sheets were kept in a binder nobody was allowed to remove pages from this binder and it was locked in a safe at the end of the day and kept under supervision by a receptionist or sales/general manager during the day, the info of any test drive could be retrieved if needed and without a actual copy of their license

Most of the time the info would get enter into a CRM and used for marketing purposes unless the customer specifically asked not to have it used for that purpose

[- kT]

i no longer work at a dealership, but we still photocopy every license and credit card of people taking courtesy cars. cc incase they get any parking tickets that go unpaid. if we need to collect a deductible from the customer (with their authorization), we have all the necessary info already. the photocopy with both pieces of info are shredded a month after the customer picks their own car up. like jgresch said at the beginning, its not always for marketing purposes.. in fact most of the time it's the dealership covering their own ass. was no different at any of the dealers i've worked at either. unfortunately nowadays you just have to hope that when you give a dealer your license you just have to trust they won't put you on some spam list
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[white rocket]

I hear ya bcrdukes and totally agree. The misleading maneuvers are the basis for the report in the first place. I guess the dealership is afraid if they say it's for their database then the customer might say no and then they would not be able to obtain said info. They are most likely in breach of the Privacy Protection Act by those actions.

[bcrdukes]

[underscore]

I agree with dukes in that the biggest issue here is the dishonesty. I don't mind them creating the profile or whatever so long as they're up front about it and give people the option to opt out without them having to ask what the copy will be used for. Dumping peoples info into a database without them knowing sounds like some kind of shady used car dealer tactic, not something you should expect from a major dealership.

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

underscore, you seem like a good guy, which is why I think you're unable to view this from the other perspective.
YOU wouldn't do anything wrong with the cars, but you wouldn't believe how many people that aren't you,
test drive these cars and are potentially a big risk by stepping into those cars.

I can believe that people would do things I wouldn't do to a car that isn't theirs, but what I'm asking is a pretty basic question. Are there a significant number of actual recorded incidents of people stealing/damaging cars on an unsupervised test drive, or are they just being paranoid about something that *might* happen.

[dared3vil0]

If you're not paranoid about something that might happen, why don't you get rid of the collision insurance on your car, and just roll with basic only?

[kross9]

IMO, the idea of it is good, keep a copy of the drivers license with a consent form to track you down if you wreck the car, But keeping their information for marketing purposes I can see that being shady... But in sales though, I often call some of my old customers who purchased lots too see if their Computer or what not is working for them

Cliffs: Good idea wrong way of doing so.

[white rocket]

Originally Posted by underscore

Are there a significant number of actual recorded incidents of people stealing/damaging cars on an unsupervised test drive, or are they just being paranoid about something that *might* happen.

It is not a common occurrence however it has happened. I can think of a few stories(coincidently at Dueck) that have happened over the last couple years that made the news. I can tell you that all it takes is 1 incident that could send a dealer into a whirlwind of legal issue and costs if a collision occurs. It's just good business to keep your ducks in a row in case something happens, which is different than being paranoid.

[supafamous]

In Victoria I've never been asked for a license when I test drove a car and it appears to be standard practice to not ask. The dealers don't even lock their cars when the dealer is open.

In Vancouver it's the total opposite.

If it's a ride along I see no reason why a dealer needs to do anymore than see that you have a driver's license. For a salesperson free drive I can see the need to get a good level of documentation.