Law and Rights
Last week, in a little publicized decision, car owners won against the federal government when a federal judge ordered the federal government to get to work and set up a system by March 2009 so consumers can find out if cars and trucks have been badly damaged by floods, fires or car crashes.
It's something the government was supposed to have done years ago when the US Congress passed a law saying that the public needed an open database of damaged vehicles that the public could access for free, so they could make good buying decisions of used cars and trucks and avoid being victimized by crooked car dealers and shady repair shops who rebuild wrecked cars, or worse, and sell them back into the marketplace.
Under the court order, insurance companies and salvage yards and junkyards will be required to provide information on damaged vehicles. We say it's about time.
It is shameful that Washington bureaucrats have stalled and delayed while private database systems have made millions of dollars by selling to consumers the very information that the government is supposed to have been making available for free years ago. It's no wonder consumers are fed up with lifer politicians and fat cat pencil pushers who do you and me no good at all while feeding at the taxpayer's trough.
In court, government officials actually told the judge that they didn't need a court order to comply with the law and that the court could trust them to get it done without imposing a deadline. Yeah, right, guys.
Now facing a final deadline, it only took the feds a week to begin the final process of getting the system in place. It's sort of like it took a federal judge to get the process started and then all of a sudden the feds were ready. Makes you wonder ...
This is a good example of why we need a change in Washington. For too long consumers have not been protected by congressional representatives who would rather take donations from industry sources to protect big business while consumers get ripped off. For too long lobbyists have had the inside edge while consumers have gotten the cold shoulder.
Maybe now the system can start to change. About time.
Subscribe in a reader
- Are Flood Cars Headed To Your Dealer?
A tip from an industry source warns us that as many as 10,000 damaged vehicles may come out of the recent Texas floods and insurance companies may be letting wholesalers buy these vehicles so they can end up at your neighbor dealer's car lot. Texas...
- Car Dealer Gets More Justice Than He Counted On
So, when you sell wrecked and badly-rebuilt cars to 52 consumers over several years and rake in $630,000 and all the cars are junk, what do you get? More than you're expecting apparently. This story comes to us from David Williams, an Ohio expert...
- Proof Car Dealers Over Charge
Want to save yourself $300? Of course. There's an easy way to do it. Just stay away from car dealers. That's the conclusion of AutoMD.com. By avoiding car dealership repair shops for non-warranty repair work and taking your business to independent...
- The Price Was Wrong On The Price Is Right
So you think when you win a brand new car on a tv game show, you'd actually get a brand new car, huh? Well not according to Donna Tillman. What she says she actually got was a wrecked and repaired car. Court papers filed in L.A. claim that she thought...
- Used Car Research Getting Easier
Online vehicle research for used cars is getting easier every day. The online title check companies are putting more and more info into their database records for millions of motor vehicles. That will make it easier for consumers to identify wrecked cars...
Law and Rights
Judge Orders Wrecked Records Made Public
Last week, in a little publicized decision, car owners won against the federal government when a federal judge ordered the federal government to get to work and set up a system by March 2009 so consumers can find out if cars and trucks have been badly damaged by floods, fires or car crashes.
It's something the government was supposed to have done years ago when the US Congress passed a law saying that the public needed an open database of damaged vehicles that the public could access for free, so they could make good buying decisions of used cars and trucks and avoid being victimized by crooked car dealers and shady repair shops who rebuild wrecked cars, or worse, and sell them back into the marketplace.
Under the court order, insurance companies and salvage yards and junkyards will be required to provide information on damaged vehicles. We say it's about time.
It is shameful that Washington bureaucrats have stalled and delayed while private database systems have made millions of dollars by selling to consumers the very information that the government is supposed to have been making available for free years ago. It's no wonder consumers are fed up with lifer politicians and fat cat pencil pushers who do you and me no good at all while feeding at the taxpayer's trough.
In court, government officials actually told the judge that they didn't need a court order to comply with the law and that the court could trust them to get it done without imposing a deadline. Yeah, right, guys.
Now facing a final deadline, it only took the feds a week to begin the final process of getting the system in place. It's sort of like it took a federal judge to get the process started and then all of a sudden the feds were ready. Makes you wonder ...
This is a good example of why we need a change in Washington. For too long consumers have not been protected by congressional representatives who would rather take donations from industry sources to protect big business while consumers get ripped off. For too long lobbyists have had the inside edge while consumers have gotten the cold shoulder.
Maybe now the system can start to change. About time.
Burdge Law Office
www.OhioConsumerLaw.com
Helping consumers protect themselves since 1978.
Click here to find a consumer law lawyer near you.
www.OhioConsumerLaw.com
Helping consumers protect themselves since 1978.
Click here to find a consumer law lawyer near you.
Subscribe in a reader- Are Flood Cars Headed To Your Dealer?
A tip from an industry source warns us that as many as 10,000 damaged vehicles may come out of the recent Texas floods and insurance companies may be letting wholesalers buy these vehicles so they can end up at your neighbor dealer's car lot. Texas...
- Car Dealer Gets More Justice Than He Counted On
So, when you sell wrecked and badly-rebuilt cars to 52 consumers over several years and rake in $630,000 and all the cars are junk, what do you get? More than you're expecting apparently. This story comes to us from David Williams, an Ohio expert...
- Proof Car Dealers Over Charge
Want to save yourself $300? Of course. There's an easy way to do it. Just stay away from car dealers. That's the conclusion of AutoMD.com. By avoiding car dealership repair shops for non-warranty repair work and taking your business to independent...
- The Price Was Wrong On The Price Is Right
So you think when you win a brand new car on a tv game show, you'd actually get a brand new car, huh? Well not according to Donna Tillman. What she says she actually got was a wrecked and repaired car. Court papers filed in L.A. claim that she thought...
- Used Car Research Getting Easier
Online vehicle research for used cars is getting easier every day. The online title check companies are putting more and more info into their database records for millions of motor vehicles. That will make it easier for consumers to identify wrecked cars...