CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -

Automotive Compliance Consultants general counsel David Missimer gave a strong warning to dealers stemming from what might be considered a small problem or incident blossoming into a significant issue that attracts the attention of federal regulators.

Missimer described many dealers’ attitude toward government laws regulating their business as unfortunate and likely to cost them dearly.

Why could such a stance hurt dealers badly? Missimer pointed to how easily it has become for consumers to register complaints against dealerships

“The compliance approach of some in our industry is that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission nor the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will take much interest in a single dealership, so why make compliance a priority,” Missimer said.

“This approach works well until someone is injured in a shop accident, a disgruntled employee decides to take on the title of whistleblower or a consumer takes their complaint to the government,” he continued.

Missimer reminded dealers that the government has made it very easy for consumers to register complaints against them.

“Have you logged onto the CFPB or FTC website lately? These agencies are begging people to contact them and complain about your business,” he said.

Presently, Missimer noted that CFPB posted complaints do not provide a consumer narrative, but the bureau is strongly considering changing that policy.

Given the CFPB’s eye on dealerships, Missimer believes that it likely won’t be long before consumer report narratives will also focus on dealerships as well.

Missimer said haphazard compliance is not an option in today’s business environment.

“Not a single reward is associated with noncompliance unless you consider the discount in attorney fees you get from your lawyer for frequent use,” he said.

“For those dealers,” Missimer continued, “their business risk-reward analysis should consider how much can it afford to pay for fines, lawyers, settlements and judgments — and still make a profit.”

Missimer reminded dealers the CFPB is not going away, and the FTC has taken more dealer compliance action in the past six months than it has in the last 10 years.

He also noted federal and state agencies now share consumer complaint information.

“To test your risk, type into Google ‘car dealer suit’,” Missimer said. “When I did this, I got more than 1.2 million results in 0.34 seconds, with the very first result being, ‘How to sue a used-vehicle dealer in small claims court.’”

For information on how dealers can sharpen their compliance strategy, contact Missimer at dmissimer@compliantnow.com or visit www.compliantnow.com.