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TLNK LLC D/B/A ROCKLAND FORD U.S. ROUTE 1 ROCKLAND ME 04841
August 22, 2018
NOW COME the parties and stipulate to the following facts:
The Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (the Bureau) is Responsible for administering and enforcing the Maine Consumer Credit Code, Title 9-A of the Maine Revised Statutes, and Regulations M and Z of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which have the force of law for creditors doing business in this State through Maine Regulation 02-030-240.
TLNK LLC d/b/a Rockland Ford (Rockland Ford), is an automobile and truck sales and leasing dealer in Rockland, Maine. It holds a registration as a new car dealer, NCD272, with the Bureau.
9-A M.R.S. § 3-201(1) prohibits false or misleading advertising in conjunction with consumer credit transactions.
Federal Regulation Z (truth-in-lending) and Federal Regulation M (consumer leasing) provide that disclosures required by such sections shall be made clearly and conspicuously. 12 C.F.R. § 1026.24(b) and 12 C.F.R. § 1013.7(b) respectively.
The Bureau alleges that on at least the morning of July 5, 2018, an advertisement was run on a local radio station and the electronic disclosure statement was not understandable because the voice was too fast.
On July 9, 2018, Jessica Honeycutt, Office Manager for Rockland Ford was contacted via telephone to request a copy of the advertisement for the Bureau to listen to and the advertisement was provided by Rockland Ford on July 12, 2018. The Bureau’s assessment of the advertisement was that consumers could not understand the required disclosure statement because the voice in the ad had been digitally altered to increase its speed.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties, pursuant to 9-A M.R.S. § 6-109, agree:
Rockland Ford neither acknowledges nor denies that its advertising, as specified in paragraphs 5 and 6 above, complies with state and federal truth-in-lending laws, but agrees to resolve this matter without the cost and uncertainty associated with a hearing on this allegation of truth-in-lending violation. See paragraph 4 above.
Rockland Ford promises to undertake appropriate measures to ensure that all future print, broadcast, and electronic advertising complies with such regulations. This is to include proof-reading all print advertisements before they are printed; listening to and/or viewing all broadcast advertisements before they are aired and; monitoring advertisements once published or aired, and entering onto its website that information required by truth-in-leasing and truth-in-lending laws.
Rockland Ford agrees to implement procedures to monitor more effectively its advertising to avoid errors which may result in a violation of truth-in-leasing and/or truth-in-lending laws. Rockland Ford will ensure that any advertisement for which it has contracted for publication, by print or broadcast media, or by electronic means, will be altered, as necessary, before publication to comply with state and federal truth-in-leasing laws and truth-in-lending laws.
Rockland Ford agrees that the Bureau may take this Assurance of Discontinuance, as well as previous Assurances of Discontinuances (if any), into account in assessing civil penalties and costs should there occur any violations of relevant truth-in-lending laws in the future.
The Bureau will post this Assurance of Discontinuance on its public website.
The Bureau otherwise agrees to close this matter upon Rockland Ford signing this Assurance of Discontinuance, paying a civil penalty of $200, payable to “Treasurer, State of Maine” and paying costs of $300 for the Bureau’s investigation and enforcement of this Assurance of Discontinuance, payable to the “Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection,” within 10 days of the signing of this Assurance of Discontinuance by the signatory representing Rockland Ford.
Date: August 22, 2018/td> /s/William N. Lund William N. Lund