In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the December 2023 webinar....more
1/10/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Car Dealerships ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Information Reports ,
Lenders ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OCC ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Wages
I had a roommate in college who was extremely proud of his new stereo system with its three-foot-tall speakers. It was a state-of-the-art system at the time, with crystal clear sound and thumping bass. He'd often play the...more
So, the general consensus is that a Biden/Harris Administration will mean lots of change for automotive finance. But, exactly what types of change and how quickly will that change occur? And, just how bad for the industry...more
The buyer and a dealership signed a purchase agreement containing a dispute resolution clause ("DRC"). The DRC, in the middle of the purchase agreement, was the only provision in red ink, was in a smaller font and called for...more
A consumer saw a 2012 BMW 750i listed for sale for $15,900. After he visited the dealership, test-drove the BMW, and completed a credit application, the salesman told him that the car price was $16,500, explaining that the...more
As you know, the pandemic shelter-at-home orders forced the closing of dealerships across the country. I suspect that the new ways dealerships have developed to continue to move the metal have inspired some dealerships to...more
8/17/2020
/ Audits ,
Best Management Practices ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Purchase Price ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Social Distancing ,
Transparency ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule has been around since 1972 (it became effective in 1974), but generally has been a non-issue for dealers until the Coronavirus pandemic when dealers were forced to conduct...more
6/24/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Best Practices ,
Car Dealerships ,
Compliance ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Termination ,
Cooling-Off Rule ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Lenders ,
Remote Sales Transactions ,
Salespersons
This is my third article in as many months about remote sales, a topic that is suddenly hot, hot, hot with dealers and finance companies during the COVID-19 pandemic because consumers have been restricted from coming to a...more
I know it's been a long month, but you may remember that I wrote about the Federal Trade Commission's cooling-off rule in early April. That rule is just one of the many laws and regulations that a dealer should review and...more
5/12/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Business Closures ,
Car Dealerships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DMV ,
Identity Theft ,
Installment Agreements ,
Off-Site Sales ,
Online Advertisements ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Red Flags Rule ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Signatures ,
State Regulators
Let's say you want to drive the vehicle a customer is interested in buying to that person's home, let the customer see and test-drive the car, negotiate the price of the car, present and offer F&I products, and then have the...more
4/21/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Business Closures ,
Buyers ,
Car Dealerships ,
Cooling-Off Rule ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sales Restrictions ,
Salespersons ,
Sellers ,
Social Distancing ,
Statutory Violations
One of my all-time favorite sayings is “actions speaker louder than words.” Or, in other words, what you do has a stronger impact on people than what you say. I can think of no better application of that maxim than to the...more
I may be a little old-school on this, but I still like to pick weeds in the yard. It's good exercise, makes the yard look nicer, and gives my brain a little down time.
There's a particularly pernicious type of weed in our...more
I just finished up a very active conference season. I’ve been on the “conference circuit” as some would say, since early January. Being on the conference circuit has enabled me to re-connect with friends, colleagues, clients...more
10/7/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Repossess ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Do you truly know what the repossession agents you’ve assigned to repossess one or more of your cars for you are doing? I’m hearing more and more about a very disturbing practice in the repossession services industry that,...more
6/28/2019
/ Agents ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Class Action ,
Default ,
GPS ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Misdemeanors ,
Penal Code ,
Repossess ,
Stalking ,
Tracking Systems ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Without Consent
Do you have too much positive goodwill in the community and marketplace? Need to shed some so you can pump up your bad boy image? How would you like to engage in some illegal conduct that will result in claims of invasion of...more
Heard any good lawyer jokes lately? Having been in practice for almost 25 years, I've heard quite a few from friends and clients. How about, "What's the difference between a vulture and a lawyer? . .. The vulture doesn't get...more
6/20/2019
/ Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
False Documentation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
FTC Act ,
Identity Theft ,
Restitution ,
Settlement ,
Tax Evasion ,
Unfair Pricing ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites