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FTC Finds Broad Compliance Among Auto Dealers with Rule That Protects Consumers with Car Loans

Agency: Federal Trade Commission Date: 16 May 2011

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that auto dealers’ financing practices comply with federal consumer protection laws, the Federal Trade Commission has completed investigations of nearly 50 automobile dealers across the country to assess their compliance with the FTC’s Rule Concerning Preservation of Consumers’ Claims and Defenses, more commonly known as the “Holder in Due Course” Rule. The FTC’s investigations found broad compliance with the Rule among auto dealers.

The Holder in Due Course Rule protects car buyers when dealers sell the buyers’ credit contracts to other lenders. Specifically, the Rule preserves consumers’ rights to raise claims and defenses against purchasers of consumer credit contracts – with automobile sales, it protects consumers who buy cars from dealers on credit. When dealers sell credit contracts to lenders, consumers are obligated to pay the lenders instead of the dealers. Under the Rule, if a dealer engaged in fraud or made misrepresentations in selling a car on credit, a consumer could raise the dealer’s conduct as a defense to the lender’s demand for payments.

Without the Rule, consumers would not have this protection in states that preclude them from asserting against lenders the claims and defenses they have against dealers if the lenders bought the credit contracts in good faith and without knowledge of these claims and defenses.

The Rule requires dealers to include in their credit contracts a notice that lenders who buy the contracts are subject to the claims and defenses consumers may assert against dealers. It effectively makes lenders liable for dealers’ conduct, and gives them an incentive to work with reputable dealers.

In November 2010, the FTC staff asked nearly 50 franchised and independent auto dealers in 45 states, and two large online automobile dealers, for copies of consumer credit contacts executed after October 1, 2009. FTC staff’s review of these contracts found broad compliance with the Holder in Due Course Rule. Because all of the responding dealers disclosed the required Holder Notice in their finance contracts, the FTC staff is closing its investigations of them.