In this episode of Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast, hosts Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso break down a recent $4 million settlement between the FTC and the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office against an auto dealership accused of deceptive pricing, unauthorized add-on charges, and phantom vehicle certifications. They discuss the significance of naming individual owners and managers as defendants, the growing coordination between federal and state regulators using UDAP authority to enforce what amounts to the “ghost” of the vacated FTC CARS Rule, and why junk fees, price transparency, and express informed consent remain top enforcement priorities regardless of administration. The hosts close with practical takeaways for dealers and finance companies on aligning advertising, add-on sales practices, and compliance monitoring to avoid similar exposure, including private litigation risk under state consumer protection statutes and the Holder Rule.
Transcript: The Ghost of CARS Rule Past: FTC and Connecticut Team Up on Junk Fees (PDF)