Calling all golfers and crab lovers! MADA will host our annual Golf Outing and Crab Feast at Queenstown Harbor on the Eastern Shore on Wednesday, September 12, 2012. Registration forms will be sent out in the coming week or two. Everyone can expect to enjoy a beautiful day of golf, followed with delicious crabs and barbecue. We look forward to seeing our members in full swing. We'll see you in September!

Back by popular demand, MADA and Chip Thomas will offer two one-day sessions featuring all of Chip's valuable insight and sales training. Sessions will be offered on August 6th and 7th, 2012.

Hagerstown Honda Kia Vice President and GM, Bill Barnes, had the following to share, "Chip Thomas' presentation was outstanding!  His sales approach is real world, proven, and can be adopted by anyone. This is a must-attend seminar for someone interested in a career in automobile sales. I found it so valuable, in fact, that I'm sending all of my sales staff."

Chip's regular fee for attending his all day seminar is $695.00 per person; however, MADA has negotiated a special member rate of $350.00 per person (continental breakfast and lunch included).  Space is limited!  So, please complete the attached registration form and return to MADA immediately, or complete it online and return by email, to reserve an opportunity for your employees to create their own "business within a business."

In May, a Federal Court in Washington, DC ruled against NADA in a lawsuit challenging a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule that essentially requires dealers to pull a credit bureau whenever they offer vehicle financing.

The FTC policy is that if a credit bureau is ever pulled in connection with typical installment sales financing through a dealer, the applicant should receive a credit score disclosure. In most situations, the disclosure is given to the customer in the ordinary course. If the dealer pulls a bureau and credit is offered, the dealer prints the disclosure and gives it to the customer. If financing is not approved, the adverse action notice includes a disclosure of credit score.

The issue is when a dealer takes a credit application, submits it to a lender and waits for a financing decision. Some small dealers never pull a bureau, always relying on lenders to evaluate credit worthiness. Many large dealers may refrain from pulling a bureau if they know the customer or if the customer is concerned about multiple credit report inquiries. In these situations, the customer may never receive a credit score disclosure.

The law says that a dealer must make the disclosure if it "uses" a bureau. To cover the problem area, the FTC takes the awkward position that a dealer must provide a credit score disclosure in all situations where a bureau is pulled, even if not by the dealer. According to the FTC interpretation, a dealer has "used a credit report in connection with an application for credit because [the dealer] initiated the request that caused the financing source to obtain a consumer report..."

Last year, NADA initiated a lawsuit refuting the FTC's logic. It questioned how a dealer can "use" a credit score if it never pulls a bureau. NADA also questioned the feasibility of dealers obtaining credit score information from a lender.

In the written opinion filed on May 22, the Court sided with the FTC, essentially ruling that the word "use" is subject to different interpretations and that the FTC interpretation was not "arbitrary and capricious."

NADA plans to appeal the ruling.

Retreivex Inc. Providing records information management and document storage. 9101 Owens Drive, Manassas Park, VA 20111. Bob Fisher, 703.659.4921 or bfisher@retrievex.com.