Table of Contents

Groups say yes to legislation that would prohibit auto insurers from discriminating based on socioeconomic factors
Advocates, including Consumer Action, wrote a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee expressing support for the Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination (PAID) Act (HR 3880), which would prevent auto insurance companies from using socioeconomic factors in their decision-making about customer insurability and rates.

Support for bill that would hold rental car companies accountable for overbooking
Consumer Action and allies voiced support for the Vehicle Rental Order Obligation Mandate (VROOM) Act, which would require rental card companies that fail to fulfill a confirmed reservation to compensate the customer.

FTC urged to strengthen protections for consumers who buy, finance or lease motor vehicles through dealers
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule to ban junk fees and bait-and-switch advertising tactics that can plague consumers throughout the car-buying experience. More than 100 advocacy organizations signed on to a letter to the agency applauding its efforts and urging it to strengthen the rule to incentivize fairness, encourage competition, address additional unfair and deceptive dealer practices, and give consumers meaningful relief when they have been defrauded.

Now is not the time to rush autonomous vehicle legislation through Congress
During this time of national emergency, Congress should be focusing on ensuring the health and financial well-being of Americans, not rushing forward with inadequate driverless vehicle legislation that puts the interests of the auto industry and tech companies ahead of people’s safety. Yet, House Republicans have recently called for the revival of an autonomous vehicle bill (arguing that self-driving vehicles can be part of the Covid-19 response). In a letter to Congress, coalition advocates urged legislative leaders to reject attempts to attach driverless car legislation to a must-pass relief bills, including any packages that address the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Any continued efforts to pass driverless vehicle legislation at this critical juncture would be a mistake.

Vehicle owners should have control over their vehicle’s data
Consumer Action signed on to the U.S. Vehicle Data Access Coalition’s comment letter regarding bi-partisan and bi-cameral autonomous vehicle legislation to members of Congress. The coalition has the federal legislative goal to reaffirm and codify a motor vehicle owner’s right to control the motor vehicle data generated by their vehicles.

Opposition to commercial driver labor standards puts California workers and drivers at risk
Advocates oppose the American Bus Association’s petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to preempt California’s longstanding meal and rest break laws as applied to passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles.

Last-ditch effort to prevent auto lending discrimination fails
Consumer Action and its allies wrote to Congress on April 16 to plead that it not interfere with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to prevent auto loan discrimination. The Bureau’s “guidance” to car lenders sought to end a common discriminatory practice to charge some borrowers more in interest and fees, regardless of their creditworthiness (“dealer mark-ups”). Even though these discriminatory violations still occur, the Senate on April 18 moved to eliminate the 2013 guidance document, allowing the practice to continue. These discretionary auto dealer mark-ups result, in some cases, in African Americans and Latinos paying more than similarly situated white borrowers.

Stringent safety requirements needed before driverless cars hit the road
In a March 5 letter to Senate leadership, coalition advocates conveyed strong objections to the lack of safety protections in proposed driverless car legislation and urged Senate leaders to make essential improvements to the AV START Act (S.1885). The groups warned that prioritizing the protection of private investments in unproven technologies instead of protecting public safety could have dangerous consequences, and there are numerous critical concerns regarding the rushed deployment of driverless cars. (Last week the earlier warning took on new urgency when an automated Uber vehicle killed a pedestrian in Arizona.)

Advertising recalled vehicles as ‘safe’ is bad business for consumers
Most recalled consumer products are illegal to sell until the product has been repaired or replaced. However, many recalled vehicles are allowed to continue operating on the road while a fix is pending. These cars and trucks may also be sold before the recalled repair has been done. We think that’s wrong and dangerous for consumers. Coalition advocates joined together in asking the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit auto dealers, including retail giant Car Max, from engaging in false advertising regarding the safety of unrepaired recalled cars.

Cars now safer to rent, thanks to mom-turned-advocate
A mother’s 11-year crusade resulted in President Barack Obama signing a bill that requires rental car companies to repair vehicles under safety recall orders before renting them to consumers. It is now illegal, under federal law, for a rental car company with a loaner or a rental car fleet of 35 vehicles or more, to rent, loan, or sell an unrepaired recalled rental or loaner car until the safety defects have been repaired.