So, obviously, you don’t want that…and neither does your dealership. In the current issue of Car Biz Today Magazine, Jim Radogna gives you a list of things to know about the unfair and deceptive acts and practices statutes.
Jim says that when you look at actual enforcement actions and court cases against dealerships, there is typically one common element: the perception that dealerships are less than completely honest with consumers. So if a dealer employee is accused of being dishonest, they may end up in a courtroom or worse.
So here is one example all customer-facing dealership employees should know about UDAP statutes: a common misconception by dealership staff is that only written agreements are enforceable and oral agreements are irrelevant once the customer signs a contract.
Jim says this is simply not the case with UDAP claims which can be founded on oral misrepresentations, oral promises made to the customer that the dealer fails to deliver upon, the failure to disclose, or ambiguous statements that are technically accurate, but deceptive as interpreted by the consumer.