In the last decade, the obligations of human resource professionals – those in charge of employee issues – have mushroomed. Your dealership probably has coped with this by assigning office staff to deal with these issues. The demands can be dizzying. You are properly concerned with personnel lawsuits. They are expensive to defend, particularly if
The Revised FTC Used Car Rule is Now in Effect
At the end of last year, we alerted you to the FTC’s revision to the Used Car Rule. The revised Rule does not change the circumstances and method for display of the Buyers Guide. It does change the Buyers Guide form. On January 27, 2017, the revised Rule went into effect. Unfortunately, there has been
Spot Delivery Quiz Answers
False. Under common law, once the dealer and the customer sign an agreement for sale of a vehicle, including a retail installment sale contract or a lease, the transaction is complete unless you protect yourself with a written condition subsequent allowing you to rescind the transaction. Virginia law provides the language to be used.. Make
Spot Delivery – A Quick Quiz
Spot delivery continues to be a hot button for federal and state regulators and particularly plaintiffs’ lawyers. To support their opposition, they have labeled all spot deliveries as “yo-yo sales”. That is nonsense. The phrase “yo-yo sale” implies a delivery of a vehicle with no intention to assign the retail installment sale contract on the
CFPB Wins a Battle, But Will it Win the War?
At the end of 2016, we wrote about an October 2016 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s structure violates Article II of the Constitution because the CFPB operates as an independent agency headed by a single director not subject
Labor Law Developments
Supreme Court to Hear Employment Class Action Waiver Dispute As we have previously reported, there is a split in the federal appellate circuits on the validity of arbitration provisions with class action waivers in employment agreements. The Seventh and Ninth Circuit courts of appeals have ruled that arbitration agreements with class action waivers for employment
Marketing Through Calls and Texts
Recently, you got a pre-recorded call to your cell phone from Amarillo, Texas trying to sell you an extended service agreement for your vehicle. You also received a text message advising you of a better credit card deal. Those rang a bell for you. Why can’t you do the same to advertise your vehicles or
Make Sure You Use Only Licensed Software
You buy a piece of software to test it. You like it. You believe your employees will find it useful and will aid in their productivity. You take the software to your dealership, and you have it loaded on a dozen computers. Seems innocuous, right? Unfortunately, this simple action opens the dealership to potentially crippling
17 Thoughts for 2017
Do you think 2016 was a tumultuous year? For car dealers, 2017 will make that look tranquil. Franchisors are threatening to evolve from vehicle manufacturers to mobility and technology companies, and state franchise laws are under attack. Tech companies say they want to be your suppliers but they also want your customer data and a
What Dealerships Can Learn from Wikileaks
We just got through one of the most contentious elections ever. Wikileaks’ hacking of various federal and political party officials played no small part in that turmoil. What does this have to do with car dealers? Every business should take lessons from the Wikileaks’ events. Nothing on the internet or in emails is really, truly