ASA-Ohio

As a business owner you understand the importance of making sure you are covered from potential litigation. We are hearing more and more situations in which customers are coming to automotive repair facilities looking for loopholes that will allow them to get work done for free or to take the business owner to court. In most of these cases the consumer is better versed in the Consumer Sales Practices Act than our businesses are. With that in mind, ASA-Ohio would like to give you some important reminders that will help you avoid litigation and customer issues.

One portion of the rule that many businesses are unaware of is the requirement of a “reasonably anticipated completion date”. You can see the exact wording below taken from the rule. Most repair shops provide a repair order when the customer comes in with the rest of the information requested below. By leaving off the completion date a shop is violating the law and can get sued, we have heard of this happening, even in shops that are compliant with all of the other portions of the law.

“Fail, at the time of the initial face to face contact and prior to the commencement of any

repair or service, to provide the consumer with a form which indicates the date,

 the identity of the supplier, the consumer’s name and telephone number,

the reasonably anticipated completion date

 and, if requested by the consumer, the anticipated cost of the repair or service.”

 

 

The next portion pertains to providing a customer with the option of the type of estimate they would like to receive. Many shops are aware of this and a lot of consumers are as well. Being aware of the law and following it are two different things. It is important to make sure this information is presented to every customer when they drop their car off. Many shops include it right on the repair order so the customer is only being presented with one sheet.

The final section that will be covered in this article is in regards to notifying the customer of their rights. Most ASA shops are well aware of this component and have at least one sign posted in their office for customers to see. ASA-Ohio still has these signs available and if you would like one please contact Adam Lemke.

The law continues on to explain about working with customers outside of business hours, if a repair is not completed and even for repairs under $25. For more information you can contact the Attorney General’s office or download the entire text of the law.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 22, 2012 – The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade recently held a hearing to discuss the motor vehicle safety provisions in the House and Senate highway bills. Many witnesses expressed concern for overlapping themes that included standards for the use of new technology in vehicles, safety of passengers and importance of accountability for vehicle-related mishaps.

Witnesses included the Honorable David Strickland, administrator for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Strickland discussed the importance of NHTSA having more authority to ensure better safety on America’s highways. He said:

“The Senate has included several helpful provisions that would strengthen the agency’s capabilities. These include:

• Increased authority to address safety hazards caused by some imported motor vehicle equipment,

• Protection for consumers affected by safety defect or non-compliance recalls from manufacturers who file for bankruptcy,

• Increases in the total amount of civil penalties NHTSA can seek for safety related violations.

“Together, these enhanced authorities would permit NHTSA to ensure motor vehicle and equipment safety on a broader basis than we can today. The Senate bill also includes a number of rulemakings that the agency has under way. For example, we published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for keyless ignition systems last December and expect to issue a final rule in the near future. We are also considering Notices of
Proposed Rulemaking for Brake Override and Event Data Recorders and conducting research on Pedal Placement.”

Strickland went on to suggest that there are other areas in which NHTSA would like more authority:

“To strengthen our safety mission even further, we would seek additional authority in the following areas:

• Authority to require action by used car dealers or rental companies with regard to recalled vehicles,

• Clarification of authority over the safety-related aspects of portable electronic devices in vehicles to address the clear and serious distraction hazard they pose,

• Clarification of authority over devices external to vehicles that will be essential to ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of vehicle-to-vehicle communications in order to realize the enormous safety benefits these systems may bring, and

• Direct appellate review of recall orders to ensure that manufacturers have the opportunity to challenge orders while avoiding lengthy district court trials during which time no recall is in effect to protect consumers.”

Another witness included Ami Gadhia, a senior policy counsel with Consumers Union (CU), the public policy and advocacy wing of Consumer Reports. She made additional suggestions for the Senate version of the highway bill, including:

“First, as CU has discussed since the unintended acceleration concerns arose in 2010, NHTSA should mandate intuitive, clearly labeled transmission shifters in all new cars. If a car is accelerating out of control, our engineers have advised that hitting the brakes and shifting into Neutral is a driver’s best strategy. However, the advent of gated and electronic shifters can make finding Neutral difficult if the driver is in a panic. Shifters should be designed so that a driver can quickly identify the Neutral position and easily shift gears to regain control.”

Gadhia also suggested:

“Regarding distracted driving, NHTSA is currently in the process of finalizing its guidelines for manufacturers regarding “in-car” distractions, such as the streams of textual information that appear on dashboard screens. CU is pleased to see the development of these
guidelines. However, to ensure the widest application of these guidelines, CU recommends that the guidelines be incorporated into NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Once made a part of the NCAP, in-car distractions could be evaluated on a star-rating system, like other critical safety features, and consumers could utilize the ratings as they make purchasing decisions.”

Gadhia’s testimony also stated:

“CU would also like to see vehicle roof strength requirements strengthened. Specifically, we would also like to see a dynamic rollover test, not simply a static roof crush test as is currently the case. A static test gives us an idea of how strong a car’s roof is, but it does not tell us anything about the dynamics of the occupants in the vehicle in a rollover. Many fatalities occur when the occupants hit their heads on the roof of the car or on the ground once the car has rolled over, even though the roof has not deformed. CU therefore recommends that NHTSA adopt a test that would evaluate the complete vehicle system – as the agency does in frontal and side crash tests – so credit can be given for seat belt pretensioners
and side airbags that deploy in a rollover to help keep the occupant in the seat and away from impact with either the roof of the car or the ground.”

To view the full testimony from this hearing, visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.

The Automotive Service Association is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind dedicated to and governed by independent automotive service and repair professionals. ASA serves an international membership base that includes numerous affiliate, state and chapter groups from both the mechanical and collision repair segments of the automotive service industry.

ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representation and member services. For additional information about ASA, including past news releases, go to www.ASAshop.org, or visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.

COLLEYVILLE, TEXAS, Feb. 20, 2012 – A website supporting
the $40 million Security Shield Product Liability Protection benefit for ASA
members is now live. The site provides convenient access to the full program
content including background, coverage, a limited lifetime warranty statement
and a convenient “Certificate of Coverage” download feature. This blanket protection,
as co-insured under Diamond Standard Parts LLC, is automatically extended to
ASA members and does not require individual registration.

The website is a result of a recent ASA/Diamond Standard
strategic alliance to provide ASA members expanded product liability protection
from Diamond Standard. The significant member protection benefit of product
liability coverage is intended as added security against the unlikely scenario
of personal vehicle-owner injury directly related to use of Diamond Standard
parts in the repair.

ASA members may access the site at www.diamondstandardsecurityshieldASA.com.
Call (800) ASA-SHOP (272-7467), ext. 361, to speak with an ASA representative
about the benefit or to obtain access information.

About Diamond
Standard Parts, LLC

            Diamond Standard Parts brand and its associated manufacturers group, Reflexxion Automotive and
Production Bumper Stampings, supply a variety of “One Quality” – Original
Quality Parts – that include USA-made front steel bumpers and replacement
hoods, high strength steel and aluminum reinforcements, high-density and
dual-high-density foam energy absorbers, full-assembly step bumper systems and
face plates, bumper top pads, bumper brackets, braces and supports. These
branded parts replicate the safety and damageability characteristics of
corresponding OEM parts, and are dynamically and destructively third-party
tested vs. OEM service parts with certified test results validated by former
crashworthiness experts from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA). Offering precision parts based on exacting standards of material, fit,
form and function, Diamond Standard parts are certified on all measures of quality
by NSF and CAPA.

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has written a letter to Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; and Rep. Norman D. Dicks, D-Wash., ranking member; urging them to reconsider the proposed career and technical education cuts within the proposed fiscal year 2011 Continuing Resolution appropriations bill, specifically those cuts to tech prep programs in the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

House Resolution 1 cuts funding for the Perkins Tech Prep program by $102.9 million and completely eliminates funding for the 2011-2012 school year, an 8 percent reduction in overall Perkins funds, and makes significant cuts throughout other education and work force development programs.

These programs are essential for vocational education and training for the automotive industry, and it would be a mistake for Congress to keep these specific cuts in the budget proposal.

To view the letter, visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 4173, was signed into law in July 2010. One important insurance provision, included in the new law, was a requirement for an insurance modernization report to the U.S. Congress supported by the Automotive Service Association (ASA). The director of the Office of National Insurance is to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on how to modernize and improve the system of insurance regulation in the United States not later than 18 months after the date of enactment.

Included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was a requirement for the creation of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). The purpose of the FIO is to review international insurance agreements and monitor the industry from a federal level.

The bill enlarges the scope of the Federal Insurance Office’s authority regarding all insurance types except health. The bill mandates that the FIO report back to Congress on the modernization and improvement of insurance regulation in the United States. The report to Congress will address the following considerations:

• Systemic risk regulation with respect to insurance

• Capital standards and the relationship between capital allocation and liabilities, including standards relating to liquidity and duration risk

• Consumer protection for insurance products and practices, including gaps in state regulation

• The degree of national uniformity of state insurance regulation

• The regulation of insurance companies and affiliates on a consolidated basis

• International coordination of insurance regulation

The study and report will also examine additional factors:

• The costs and benefits of potential federal regulation of insurance across various lines of insurance (except health insurance)

• The feasibility of regulating only certain lines of insurance at the federal level, while leaving other lines of insurance to be regulated at the state level

• The ability of any potential federal regulation or federal regulators to eliminate or minimize regulatory arbitrage

• The impact that developments in the regulation of insurance in foreign jurisdictions might have on the potential federal regulation of insurance

• The ability of any potential federal regulation or federal regulator to provide robust consumer protection for policyholders

• The potential consequences of subjecting insurance companies to a federal resolution authority, including the effects of any federal resolution authority – on the operation of state insurance guaranty fund systems, including the loss of guaranty fund coverage if an insurance company is subject to a federal resolution authority; on policyholder protection, including the loss of the priority status of policyholder claims over other unsecured general creditor claims; in the case of life insurance companies, on the loss of the special status of separate account assets and separate account liabilities; and on the international competitiveness of insurance companies.

The study and report will also contain any legislative, administrative or regulatory recommendations, as the director determines appropriate, to carry out or effectuate the findings set forth in such a report.

With respect to the study and report, the FIO director will consult with state insurance regulators, consumer organizations, representatives of the insurance industry and policyholders, and other organizations and experts, as appropriate.

At least one insurance industry organization has targeted the elimination of funding for this study. It is requesting that Congress pass legislation to defund the study of insurance to be conducted by the new Federal Insurance Office and repeal the mandate granted to the FIO to make recommendations to Congress regarding insurance regulation based upon that study.

While speaking with stockbrokers in London in November, U.S. Department of Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin spoke about the Federal Office of Insurance, stating:

“The Office will monitor for problems or gaps in insurance regulation that can contribute to a systemic crisis in the insurance industry or the financial system; gather data and information on the industry and insurers; and coordinate policy in the insurance sector.” Wolin went on to say that insurance power would not be limited to the hands of the insurance office: “The act does not provide the Federal Insurance Office with general supervisory or regulatory authority over the business of insurance. The states remain the functional regulators. Through the office, however, the federal government will work toward modernizing and improving our system of insurance regulation.”

The Automotive Service Association supported the creation of the Federal Insurance Office and is against repeal of the mandate granted to the FIO to make recommendations to Congress regarding insurance regulations. ASA encourages independent repairers to go to the ASA legislative website, www.TakingTheHill.com, to send a letter to their senators and representatives encouraging them to oppose efforts to eliminate funding of the Federal Insurance Office modernization study.