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Changes To State Law
Date: Apr 19, 2005
Contributor: Rae Escudero
Wisconsin official urges law change to protect minority car buyers
Check by investigators found markups of as high as 4 to 6 percentage points for blacks, Latinos
Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager on Saturday called for changes to state law to allow her office to seek remedies for black and Latino car buyers who are charged higher rates than their white counterparts for auto loans from dealers in Wisconsin.
"Charging any citizen a higher rate because of the color of his or her skin is wrong, and it must end now," Lautenschlager said at a news conference in Milwaukee, where she was joined by a handful of Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee.
Lautenschlager said her office had received complaints from black customers that their loans were being unfairly marked up and obtained data from a class action lawsuit against the American Honda Finance Corp. showing the practice was particularly widespread in Wisconsin.
A preliminary check by investigators in her office found dealer markups of as high as 4 to 6 percentage points for minorities, she said, compared to generally much smaller increases for whites.
Lautenschlager did not release the names of any of the dealers. In lawsuits in other states, dealers have disputed any discrimination.
Auto finance companies allow car dealers to subjectively add percentage points of interest to customers' loans despite a person's credit score. Dealers usually get to keep most of the extra charges.
In a report last year, the Consumer Federation of America said such markups were costing American car buyers hundreds of millions of dollars per year in extra charges, or an average of about $1,000 per customer. The markups hit one in four of all American car buyers, but affected minorities disproportionately, the study said.
The auto lending industry has voluntarily capped the markup at three percentage points and taken other steps as part of out-of-court settlements, but continues to face class-action lawsuits alleging the subjective nature of the policy allows discrimination against minorities.
Just last month, a federal judge in Tennessee said plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit had proved a lending affiliate of the Ford Motor Co. discriminated against black customers by charging them higher rates on car loans.
Lautenschlager said the only recourse for Wisconsin customers now is for them to file federal lawsuits.
To bolster the state's ability to fight the problem, Lautenschlager called for:
-- A state law change proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle that would allow her office to bring lawsuits on behalf of Wisconsin residents who believe their civil rights have been violated. Several other states, including California and Illinois, already have such power.
-- The Department of Financial Institutions to demand financial documents from dealerships "to determine the breadth and impact of this practice."
-- The DFI to change an administrative rule to prohibit race-based discrimination in granting credit. The rules currently outlaw discrimination only on the basis of marital status and sex.
-- Changing state law so that all transactions are subject to regulations governing consumer credit transactions. Currently, all transactions over $25,000 are excluded, which includes many purchases of cars and homes.
Consumer advocates say car buyers should shop around to make sure they are getting the best price before signing loans with car dealers.
For more information relating to "Changes To State Law ", please visit our Changes To State Law page.
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