FTC Answers Dealer FAQs With New Price Transparency Guide
The Federal Trade Commission has published a set of frequently asked questions designed to help U.S. auto dealers comply with FTC Act pricing requirements. The guidance clarifies that the advertised price of a vehicle must be the actual price any consumer can walk in and pay, excluding only government-required charges.
The FAQs cover such topics as what an advertised price must include, how to handle document fees, rebates and discounts, how to account for price negotiations and optional items, how to advertise vehicles in transit, and how to assist the FTC’s own enforcement efforts, according to a release.
“Price transparency is a priority for the Trump-Vance FTC, and today’s guidance is intended to help dealers and others in the auto industry better understand how the law applies to their advertising,” writes Christopher Mufarrige, director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a release.
The publication follows the March deployment and eventual publication of warning letters sent to 97 auto groups urging targeted dealers to review their advertising practices.
Mufarrige says his agency will continue to bring lawsuits against dealers that advertise one price and charge another. Last month, the FTC and state attorney general William Tong secured a $4 million settlement with a Connecticut Nissan dealer accused of systematically applying unauthorized fees.
