The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a rule on the books that applies to all used car dealerships that sell or offer to sell at least five used vehicles in a 12-month period. So, essentially, this rule—the FTC’s Used Car Rule—applies to almost all used-car dealerships.  One of the better-known provisions of the Used Car Rule is the requirement of dealerships to display a Buyers Guide on used vehicles. This guide Read More

Some Missouri residents have recently received letters, as well as checks, from megabank Wells Fargo with regard to auto repossessions that took place years ago. Notably, these letters have contained admissions by Wells Fargo that it conducted some number of unlawful repossessions, with the attached checks intended to provide compensation for those unlawful repossessions. More specifically, these letters have stated, Read More

By adopting comprehensive data privacy laws for consumers, Colorado became one of just a handful of states that have successfully updated consumer-protection statutes to reflect the importance of data privacy in the Information Age (see Int'l Ass'n of Privacy Professionals).  On June 8, 2021, Colorado’s legislature passed the Colorado Privacy Act (“CPA”), whose focus is the enhanced protection of “personal data.” Read More

Did you purchase what you believe to be a “lemon” vehicle? How do you know? How does the law protect you? A “lemon”, technically, is when you purchase a new car that turns out to be perpetually defective or unsafe to drive, which can be a source of great angst for many car buyers. For a car to actually be considered a lemon under Missouri’s lemon law, it must satisfy a specific set of criteria. Under Missouri’s Read More

“Buyer beware.” It’s just about the oldest adage in the book when it comes to routine monetary transactions and consumer rights. Many people take this to mean that once they drive a car off the dealer’s lot and provide the down payment, they’re stuck with whatever happens next. Fortunately for car buyers, that’s not always the case.  In part 1 and part 2 of our series on non-disclosure disclosure, we gave an Read More

Before reading Part 2, please see Part 1 of our series on non-disclosure disclosure to get an idea of what the practice is and how some dealers use it to get cars off their lots. Bell Law has helped lead the charge against this deceptive practice and, in the process, collected stories of honest consumers who fell victim to so-called non-disclosure disclosures. Three stories below lay out the concrete perils for car Read More

Few professions in the U.S. are held in lower regard than car salespeople — particularly used car salespeople. While the vast majority are honest professionals with integrity, the stereotype of the slick salesman giving deceitful answers to questions from potential buyers did not come from nowhere. Despite the numerous state, federal, and common law protections afforded to car buyers, there are still plenty of auto Read More

We understand the financial pain so many Americans are going through as a result of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a sizable minority of workers losing their incomes due to the pandemic, only piecemeal relief programs have been instituted.  Those who still have their jobs may have seen their hours reduced. However, with bills still to be paid, some of these part-time workers have been tempted to apply Read More

It seems like there’s a massive data breach in the news every other day now, affecting major companies with whom there seemed to be a sufficient amount of institutional trust, such as Target, Equifax, and Marriott. With nearly every transaction moving online, though, there is, unfortunately, a greater chance of having your personal information stolen or exposed due to a security failure.  Just as companies adopt Read More

One of the more sweeping and powerful laws designed to protect consumers’ information is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law, passed in 1996, is aimed at both modernizing and streamlining the flow of medical information and putting protections in place for patients as to their personal identifying information. The latter is what most people associate with the law; most everyone Read More