Vehicle repossession utilizing tracking device information

• US 10,289,968 B1
• Filed: 12/03/2014
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DriveTime Automotive Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: DriveTime Automotive Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Gersitz, John Patrick, Gade, Tamar Lynn, Sauder, Mark Graff, Needham, Maureen, Cook, Jodi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gurski, Amanda
• Application Number:
  US14/559,263
• Time in Patent Office: 1,623 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Methods, devices, systems, and non-transitory process-readable storage media for utilizing information related to tracking devices to support repossession and improve financing account management. In some embodiments, a server processor is configured to obtain repossession agent information corresponding to a plurality of repossession agents (e.g., GPS coordinates of tracking devices in vehicles of repossession agents), obtain account information corresponding to a plurality of accounts in-default (e.g., GPS coordinates of tracking devices in vehicles of in-default accounts, etc.), identify a last known location for a borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default based on the obtained account information, and identify a nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default to the obtained repossession agent information.

Claims

1. A method for a server to utilize information related to tracking devices to support repossession, the server in communication with a plurality of repossession agent tracking devices mounted in tow trucks of repossession agents and in communication with a plurality of borrower tracking devices mounted in vehicles, each of the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that repossession agent tracking device and both transmit and receive messages, and each of the plurality of borrower tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that borrower tracking device, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a processor of the server, repossession agent information corresponding to a plurality of repossession agents, wherein the repossession agent information includes the transmitted location information of the repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents;

obtaining, by the processor of the server, account information corresponding to a plurality of accounts in-default, wherein the account information includes the transmitted location information of the borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default;

identifying, by the processor of the server, a last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default based on the obtained account information;

identifying, by the processor of the server, a nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

calculating, by the processor of the server, a starting bid for the account in-default;

identifying, by the processor of the server, a plurality of nearby repossession agents for the account in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

transmitting, by the processor of the server to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents, an offer message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default and the starting bid for the account in-default;

receiving, by the processor of the server, a bid message from each one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents in response to transmitting the offer message, wherein each bid message is generated and received from the repossession agent tracking device of one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents;

selecting, by the processor of the server, the one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents submitting a highest of the received bid messages;

associating, by the processor of the server, the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents with the account in-default; and

transmitting, by the processor of the server, an award message to the repossession agent tracking device of the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents associated with the account in-default.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted location information of repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents and the transmitted location information of borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default include GPS coordinates.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default is any of a car, a truck, a motorcycle, a boat, a recreational vehicle (RV), an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a jet ski, and a plane.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining, by the processor of the server, repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents comprises obtaining, by the processor of the server, repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents having a preferred status.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the processor of the server, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default a message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with that respective account in-default.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising calculating, by the processor of the server, a route and a cost for repossessing vehicles for each of the plurality of accounts in-default.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the processor of the server, a notice for the account in-default; and

transmitting, by the processor of the server, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents the notice.

22. The system of claim 4, wherein:

each of the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices comprises its own respective wireless transceiver, GPS receiver, and display, the display configured to output text from the offer message and the award message; and

each of the plurality of borrower tracking devices comprises its own respective wireless transceiver and GPS receiver.

8. A system, comprising:

a plurality of repossession agent tracking devices mounted in tow trucks of repossession agents, each of the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that repossession agent tracking device and both transmit and receive messages;

a plurality of borrower tracking devices mounted in vehicles, each of the plurality of borrower tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that borrower tracking device; and

a computing device in communication with the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices and the plurality of borrower tracking devices, the computing device comprising;

a processor configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to a plurality of repossession agents, wherein the repossession agent information includes the transmitted location information of the repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents;

obtaining account information corresponding to a plurality of accounts in-default, wherein the account information includes the transmitted location information of the borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default;

identifying a last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default based on the obtained account information;

identifying a nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

calculating a starting bid for the account in-default;

identifying a plurality of nearby repossession agents for the account in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

transmitting to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents, an offer message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default and the starting bid for the account in-default;

receiving a bid message from each one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents in response to transmitting the offer message, wherein each bid message is generated and received from the repossession agent tracking device of one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents;

selecting the one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents submitting a highest of the received bid messages;

associating the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents with the account in-default; and

transmitting an award message to the repossession agent tracking device of the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents associated with the account in-default.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the transmitted location information of repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents and the transmitted location information of borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default include GPS coordinates.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default is any of a car, a truck, a motorcycle, a boat, a recreational vehicle (RV), an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a jet ski, and a plane.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents comprises obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents having a preferred status.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising transmitting, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default, a message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with that respective account in-default.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising calculating a route and a cost for repossessing vehicles for each of the plurality of accounts in-default.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

generating a notice for the account in-default; and

transmitting, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents, the notice.

15. A system, comprising:

a plurality of repossession agent tracking devices mounted in tow trucks of repossession agents, each of the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that repossession agent tracking device and both transmit and receive messages;

a plurality of borrower tracking devices mounted in vehicles, each of the plurality of borrower tracking devices configured to transmit location information of that borrower tracking device; and

a computing device in communication with the plurality of repossession agent tracking devices and the plurality of borrower tracking devices, the computing device comprising;

means for obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to a plurality of repossession agents, wherein the repossession agent information includes the transmitted location information of the repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents;

means for obtaining account information corresponding to a plurality of accounts in-default, wherein the account information includes the transmitted location information of the borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default;

means for identifying a last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default based on the obtained account information;

means for identifying a nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

means for calculating a starting bid for the account in-default;

means for identifying a plurality of nearby repossession agents for the account in-default by comparing the identified last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default to the obtained repossession agent information;

means for transmitting to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents, an offer message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with the account in-default and the starting bid for the account in-default;

means for receiving a bid message from each one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents in response to transmitting the offer message, wherein each bid message is generated and received from the repossession agent tracking device of one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents;

means for selecting the one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents submitting a highest of the received bid messages;

means for associating the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents with the account in-default; and

means for transmitting an award message to the repossession agent tracking device of the selected one of the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents associated with the account in-default.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the transmitted location information of repossession agent tracking devices associated with each of the plurality of repossession agents and the transmitted location information of borrower tracking devices within the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default include GPS coordinates.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle associated with each of the plurality of accounts in-default is any of a car, a truck, a motorcycle, a boat, a recreational vehicle (RV), an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a jet ski, and a plane.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein means for obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents comprises means for obtaining repossession agent information corresponding to the plurality of repossession agents having a preferred status.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising means for transmitting, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified nearby repossession agent for each of the plurality of accounts in-default, a message that indicates the last known location for the borrower tracking device within the vehicle associated with that respective account in-default.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for calculating a route and a cost for repossessing vehicles for each of the plurality of accounts in-default.

21. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

means for generating a notice for the account in-default; and

means for transmitting, to the repossession agent tracking devices associated with the identified plurality of nearby repossession agents, the notice.