DISPUTE OVER AUTO LEASING NEARS END : CAR MAKERS EXPECTED TO REVISE PRICE POLICIES.Byline: Bloomberg Business News Four automakers are close to settling charges that they used deceptive practices in marketing their car leases. General Motors, Isuzu Motors, Honda Motor and Mitsubishi Motors Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (三菱自動車工業株式会社 reportedly have told the Federal Trade Commission that they will accept requirements to clearly disclose leasing costs to consumers. A settlement would end state and federal investigations that have lasted more than a year, and would come as car leasing's popularity soars. About 30 percent of all new cars are leased today - twice as many as four years ago - and this number is expected to grow as the cost of car buying rises. Consumer advocates say shoppers often are bewildered by complicated lease provisions and hidden charges that make it difficult to know how much a buyer will pay. Advertisements don't make it clear whether touted sticker prices apply to buying or leasing a vehicle, critics say. ``The manner in which the auto industry is conducting itself is reprehensible rep·re·hen·si·ble adj. Deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy. See Synonyms at blameworthy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin repreh ,'' said Howard Metzenbaum Howard Morton Metzenbaum (born June 4 1917) is an American left-wing politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate (1974, 1976–1995). , the former Democratic senator from Ohio who heads the Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, education and advocacy. According to CFA's website, its members are approximately 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, which themselves have , a nonprofit association of about 240 consumer-rights groups. ``It's impossible for any normal human being to understand the ads on television with 10 lines of printed material in less than 10 seconds,'' said Metzenbaum. Settlement talks are in different stages with different automakers. GM, Honda, Isuzu and Mitsubishi have already received draft complaints and consent decrees A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. , which the FTC FTC See Federal Trade Commission (FTC). routinely uses as starting points for settlement talks, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. participants in the talks. Others, including Ford and Chrysler, are still in the process of responding to FTC requests for car-leasing information. The settlements are likely to require automakers to agree to disclose the actual monthly cost of leasing a car in advertisements, promotional signs and lease agreements, as well as to explain how that figure is reached. It's unclear whether consumer-protection agencies will seek fines for violations of existing rules regulating deceptive advertising and trade practices. ``What makes this much more of a wild care is that across the board all of the states have much broader authority to get relief than the FTC,'' said Barry Cutler, a Washington attorney representing two automakers. Several states - including New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Florida and California - have enacted laws requiring certain disclosures in auto leasing agreements. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion