The Federal Trade Commission hit a West Virginia dealership with an $80,000 civil penalty for violating a 2012 consent order regarding deceptive advertising of loan or lease costs.
The dealership, Ramey Motors Inc., agreed to pay the penalty to settle an FTC lawsuit that was brought in 2014, the FTC said last week.
The FTC had charged Ramey Motors violated the earlier consent order by concealing important terms of sale and lease offers, such as a required down payment, and failing to make credit disclosures clearly and conspicuously, as required by federal law.
In the latest consent order, which was filed earlier this month, Ramey Motors neither admitted nor denied the accusations in the complaint.
Since the 2012 order, according to the FTC complaint, the dealership continued to violate the rules for “clear and conspicuous” disclosures in advertising finance terms.
For instance, “Defendants frequently misrepresent the transaction by focusing only on a few attractive terms, such as a low monthly payment or a low annual percentage rate, while concealing other important terms such as a substantial down payments or a trade-in requirement,” the FTC complaint said.
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