U.S. targets 'deceptive' car dealer advertisements
Source: Reuters
U.S. targets 'deceptive' car dealer advertisements
Source: Reuters - Thu, 9 Jan 2014 10:47 PM
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Nine auto dealerships in six states have agreed to stop what the U.S. government called deceptive advertising, and the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it would litigate against another as part of an effort to convince dealers to make sure their advertising is accurate.
The dealers who settled with the commission were accused of behaviors that included advertising car prices that were $5,000 higher than real prices, advertising zero-dollar-down leases when there were actually substantial upfront fees, and advertising low interest rates when in fact rates went up shortly after a loan agreement was signed.
In one case, a dealership in Michigan sent mailers that claimed consumers had won sweepstakes prizes when, in fact, they had not.
"We hope that these actions not only stop the specific conduct that we have challenged in this instance but also put all dealers on notice," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "We have many other investigations ongoing. This is a priority area for the FTC."
Read more: http://www.trust.org/item/20140109222953-8yw5o/
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We sent out a mailer that told people they won a prize of either $10,000 dollars in cash or some other junk. I think there was like a two dollar watch we were giving away.
The stipulation was the person was required to only open the envelope in front of a dealership employee.
The envelope had safety paper so it was supposed to be non-readable when held up to light...
Except for the spot that made it look like the person won the $10k if they held the envelope up to the light.
I know I shouldn't laugh but it was kind of funny.
