Paul Bland, Senior Attorney at Public Justice, wrote a piece on Professor Imre Szalai’s new book on arbitration. Here’s what Paul has to say:
http://publicjustice.net/blog/important-new-book-proves-federal-arbitration-act-badly-distorted-by-supreme-court This post examines a recentlypublished book by an extraordinary law professor, Imre Szalai, who has goneback through the papers of the three men who drafted and lobbied for and pushedthe Federal Arbitration Act. In painstaking historical detail, reviewingall sorts of primary materials, he establishes convincingly that the FAA wasnever intended to (a) apply to employment contracts at all; or (b) apply totake-it-or-leave-it contracts. This book is an important development inthe historical scholarship on the Act, and demonstrates conclusively that theFAA has been distorted and mis-shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court in recentdecades. The Act now covers millions of people and transactions that itwas never intended to address.
The advocates of forced arbitrationare literally on the wrong side of history – the Court’s decisions fly in theface of what the authors and supporters of this statute had intended.
Learn MoreThe economic downturn caused the motor home industry to go stagnant. Auto Fraud Legal Center saw several manufacturers and dealership file for bankruptcy protection or go out of business. Now that the economy has recovered motor home manufacturers are once again beginning to sell their product. You should know that motor home dealers are subject to the same financing disclosure requirements as car dealers. Once again, our attorneys are beginning to see that the motor home dealers are failing to adhere to their responsibilities to make the mandated financial disclosures. These dealers are proving that they are as unscrupulous as car dealers. Find our more about our most recent case after the jump.
Our lemon law attorneys have just accepted a case against Thor and the selling dealer for failing to install seals on the slide out. Even though one dealership was an authorized Thor repair facility, it refused to work on the motor home, and ignoring the fact that poisonous carbon monoxide fumes and biting insects were filling the coach. We have also learned that the selling dealership steered this particular, defective motor home to our clients.
Typically motor home dealers require you to keep your motor home parked on their lot for weeks, if not months, at a time while waiting for parts, which is wrong and prevents you from using your motor home. Here, Thor’s authorized repair facility flat out refused to service the motor home.
Few attorneys will accept cases involving motor homes. We do! It is important to hire an attorney who has experience navigating the complex world of motor home litigation. This is because you frequently face warranty issues from both the end manufacturer, such as Tiffin, Forest River, or Jayco, as well as the chassis manufacturer, such as Ford or Freightliner. If you have problems with the generator, slide out, or leveling jacks, you may also have to address warranty coverage issues involving the corresponding component part manufacturer, such as Onan, Power Gear or HWH.
We also have experience in addressing the implications of an out of state delivery and how this may impact your rights under California and federal laws that protect you. Perhaps the selling dealer failed to mention this fact to you.
Recently bought a motor home? Please contact us to see how we may assist you with your motor home. You can reach us by filling out our contact form on the side bar or on the main page, as well as by telephone by calling (800) 466-5366.
Learn MoreA vehicle purchase contract is a complicated document. Over two feet long with hundreds and hundreds of words printed on the front and back, it is nearly impossible for the average consumer to digest all this information. Because of this, unscrupulous dealers have been able to insert fraudulent terms and charges without the consumer finding out.
In its nearly 30 years of existence, Auto Fraud Legal Center has found numerous cases of auto fraud hidden in the maze of the lengthy sales contract. The latest auto fraud dealers are committing is grossly overcharging vehicle license fees. Read more to find out how one dealer charged a consumer nearly 50 times the actual license fees!
License fees are one of the government fees collected during the sale of a vehicle in California. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) lists on its website that the vehicle license fee is essentially a property tax on vehicles. The license fees are due with the annual registration of vehicle, as well as anytime a vehicle is transferred. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/faq/faq_vlf.htm
The purchase of a new or a used vehicle from a California dealership is considered a “transfer.” This means that license fees may be owed at the time of the purchase.
If you purchased your vehicle after July 1, 2011, the vehicle license fee is 0.65% of the value of the vehicle. This is a decrease from the previous rate of 1.15%. The value of the vehicle is generally the cash price of the vehicle, prior to any other fees, accessories, or other charges. On the standard California form contract, this price can be found on Line 1(A)1.
To calculate your license fee, you simply need to multiply the cash price of the vehicle by 0.65%. You can also use the California DMV’s calculator, found here. To use the DMV’s calculator, you need the vehicle’s VIN and license plate. This can be found on your registration card.
The Fraud After you have calculated your own vehicle license fees, check this amount against the fees the dealership charged you. Going back to your sales contract, you can find this amount on Line 2A. If you bought your vehicle from a reputable dealer, the amount should be the same or very close.
However, if you purchased a vehicle from an unscrupulous dealership, you may see a license fee that is double, triple, or even 10 times the amount that was actually paid to the dealership! Auto Fraud Legal Center is currently handling a case where the dealer paid the DMV $19 in license fees, but charged the customer $897! This is nearly 50 times the actual license fees paid!
While all cases may not be this terrible, we have found it is not uncommon for dealers to severely overcharge license fees. It is only one line on a document covered in numbers and words. Further, license fees are a government fee, so the dealer may blame “bureaucracy” for the amount of the fee.
How Auto Fraud Legal Center Can Help Our firm has spent nearly three decades devoted to fighting car dealers and manufacturers on behalf of consumers. Our trained attorneys will be happy to review your contract to determine if you were overcharged license fees, as well as to look for any of the over 50 auto fraud violations our firm has sued dealers over in the past. Many consumers contact our office for one problem, yet our experienced auto fraud attorneys are able to find many other problems the consumer did not know about.
For a free consultation with an auto fraud attorney, call (800) 466-5366 or fill out our web contact form.
Learn More“Buying a car is a huge financial commitment, and people often calculate what they can pay down to the penny,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “They should be able to depend on the dealers to provide truthful information, and they can depend on the FTC to enforce consumer protection laws on the lot.”
More at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/09/autoads.shtm
Learn MoreIn 2011, the most recent year for DBO data, Californians took out 38,148 auto title loans, averaging $3,500 each.
Auto-title loan ads populate the Internet and airwaves with catchy names like “INeedCashNow.net,” “PinkSlipLoan.com” or “123FundMe.com.”
Their pitch is typically the same: Get fast cash with no credit check, based on the value of your vehicle. Bad credit or bankruptcy? Not a problem. No long-term job history? No worries.
Consumers hand over their cars’ pink slips as collateral. If they default, their vehicle is repossessed and sold by the lender.
“The biggest problem is that you are putting such a valuable asset – your car – at risk. Particularly in California, where public transportation is not readily accessible, having a car isn’t a luxury,” said Maria Asturias, of the Center for Responsible Lending in Oakland. “It’s a necessity to keep your job, get kids to school, drive to medical apppointments.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/25/5676395/personal-finance-high-rate-loans.html#storylink=cpy
Read More at: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/25/5676395/personal-finance-high-rate-loans.html
Learn MoreA former San Diego Superior Court judge who ruled against arbitration campaigner Jon Perz in his battle with a local car dealership has become an arbitrator.
Early on in the case, Denton ruled in favor of Mossy, which wanted to compel Perz to fight his suit within the arbitration system.
Then, in 2010, Perz sought to have the arbitrator assigned to his case dismissed after his attorney learned that she had sided with companies in 40 cases and never once ruled in favor of a consumer.
After the arbitration firm refused to dismiss the arbitrator, Perz appealed to Denton, who sided with Mossy again and said Perz must continue to battle the dealership in arbitration.
It’s not at all uncommon for retired judges to go into the lucrative field of private justice. But Perz said he was stung by the news that the judge in his case has essentially joined the team he’s been fighting against for years.
Learn MoreThe National Automobile Dealers Association is encouraging their members to lobby for the following anti-consumer changes in the law:
Preserving dealer-assisted financing: This refers to the way some dealers take your credit application and send it electronically to several potential lenders to see whether they want to give you a loan.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says this could lead to uneven and discriminatory interest rates, because the size of the dealer reserve — its commission from the loan — can depend upon the interest rate the dealer cites for a customer. The CFPB has not proposed eliminating dealer reserve, but NADA says it wants to limit it to a flat fee rather than a rate that might rise or fall at the dealer’s discretion.
No LIFO repeal: LIFO refers to “last in, first out,” and is a form of inventory accounting that auto dealers like. . .The International Accounting Standards Board does not allow LIFO for financial accounting purposes, and President Barack Obama has said LIFO across all industries cheats the government out of tens of billions of dollars. Rental car recalls: Dealers are attempting to stop a bill that would require rental vehicles to have all manufacturer recalls performed prior to renting a vehicle.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/08/car_dealers_see_congressional.html
Learn MoreSALLIE MAE INVESTIGATED FOR SCRA VIOLATIONS – The loan servicer expected to be hit with an enforcement action by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing released Monday. The company could face monetary penalties and be forced to pay restitution as a result. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires student loan servicers to lower interest rates on loans to 6 percent for active-duty members of the military if requested, and to apply the lower interest rate retroactively. The filing: http://1.usa.gov/12ZPIoe A Sallie Mae spokeswoman: “We’ve invested a lot in our compliance efforts but we understand some concerns persist, and we realize that the bar is getting higher. We will do what it takes to get this right under the enhanced standards of the new environment.”
Learn More“Just a few years ago, it was possible for consumers who’d been cheated by payday lenders to successfully pursue claims under consumer protection laws and recover substantial amounts of money wrongfully taken from them. But in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, courts are throwing out these cases and enforcing arbitration clauses even in cases where it’s been proven that the arbitration clauses guarantee that the consumers will not be able recover anything even if all of their legal claims are correct.” A few weeks ago, the Bureau took a new step in its study, announcing that it intends to conduct a survey of consumers. More at: http://publicjustice.net/blog/cfpb-surveying-consumers-see-what-if-anything-they-know-about-arbitration
Learn More
ES
