From: Mark J. Blair (ke6myk_mvlist@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 06 2003 - 17:40:25 PDT
dwright@govliquidation.com wrote:
> Great thanks for the info. I have finished talking with Mark Blair and will
> see what we can do to get SF97's for him.
Yes, David and I spoke today. He told me that the wait for new EUC approvals
is generally around 114 days lately, not six months, and I'm a little under
halfway through that period. He explained that around March of 2001, the Trade
Security Council (TSC, the folks who handle the EUC clearances) canceled the
clearances of any folks who did not send in some new form within a particular
window, and that is the cause of the longer approval time for folks like me
who have prior approvals before that time. After the initial approval process
of around 114 days, the EUC clearance is good for five years, and during that
time DRMS will rubber-stamp later EUC forms without sending them to TSC for a
full background check.
David says that his EUC guy will call up TSC and see if there's anything that
can be done to speed up my approval, since I have been through background
checks before for other licenses and should be fairly well-documented. I'm not
holding my breath that anything will come of that, but at least they're trying.
David offered to allow me to cancel my bid without the 25% penalty, because I
explained that I felt that the situation that I should expect was not properly
disclosed on the GL web site at the time that I place my bid. I decided to go
ahead and suffer through the approval process, and suggested that GL should
explain the situation more clearly on their site. If I had known what was
going to happen at the time I placed my bid, I may or may not have placed it,
but I would have been able to make an informed decision. I'm passing this
information along to y'all so you will know what to expect if and when you
consider bidding on GL auctions which will require EUC approval, and I hope
that GL will clarify the process, and the reason the process is the way it is,
on their site.
With regard to possible cannibalization of the truck while I'm waiting for my
EUC approval, David stated that GL offers no recourse for that situation,
because the storage and security of the vehicle while it's on the DRMO lot is
completely outside of their control. I don't particularly like that, and he
admits that it places the little guy like me in the worst position, but I
guess that this situation is no different than it was back in the days when we
dealt directly with DRMS.
As far as the registration of the shelter dollies goes, it was explained to me
that DRMS never issued form 97's for them because many/most people don't use
those on the road, and thus they only issue the form 97's on request. I
thought that I had requested them a few times, but that's water under the
bridge. Because it's been over a year since I picked up the dollies, there
would need to be an inspection of them in order to issue the form 97's, and I
think that would be in addition to the VIN verification I'd need for initial
registration in CA. I opted to establish initial title through a title service
if and when I choose to register the dollies for on-road use, because GL
verified that there is no prior registration of them on file or in the queue
anywhere, and that seems to me like it'll be less hassle. That's my own
choice, and the registration lady I spoke with at GL (Christina Warren) said
that they'd be happy to drive DRMS to issue form 97's if I choose.
In summary, I am disappointed with the level of disclosure about the EUC
process prior to my bid, and with the way I was treated by one specific GL
employee, as mentioned in my previous posting. However, I have been given the
option to back out of the bid without penalty, I have chosen not to do that,
and there may yet be a happy ending to this story. I'm glad that GL monitors
this list, because they went out of there way to contact me promptly and reach
an amicable agreement very quickly after I made my initial posting about this
issue.
So, I guess I'll be waiting another nine weeks or so for my EUC approval, and
a week or two for future approvals if I choose to bid on any EUC items within
the next five years. I'll let y'all know if anything new develops. Thanks to
everybody for your suggestions and commiseration.
Keep 'em rolling!
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <ke6myk@sbcglobal.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://www.keyserver.net/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/
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