Monthly Archives: August 2012

Scams target military — where to complain

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Dear Servicemembers:

Have you been scammed by a company that claimed you were not in the military, when you were actually on active duty? Or that cheated you in some other way?

Such scams may be a violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or other state or federal law. If this has happened to you, please let us know, or complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The CFPB includes the Office of Servicemember Affairs, headed up by Holly Petreaus, wife of U.S. General David Petreaus — with the sole mission of protecting servicemembers and their families from financial scams.

Here’s where to complain:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

 

Old Tire Blows Out, Puts Teen Driver at Risk

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You could tell the father was upset, when he called CARS recently. He had purchased a 2005 Ford Excursion from a major franchised car dealership in Southern California. He checked the tires, and they had plenty of tread left, so he thought they were fine. They also looked nice and new.

But when his 16-year-old daughter drove the Excursion, one of the tires blew out. She almost lost control of the car, on a busy highway. She had barely started to learn to drive. and the experience was quite traumatic for her. Had she been driving faster, she might have lost control and crashed.

Her father had the car towed to a reputable tire shop. They informed him that the tires, which appeared to be nearly new, were in fact 10 years old. They had deteriorated to the point where the rubber was likely to crumble, when they heated up. All 4 tires had to be replaced.

When he confronted the dealer, at first the dealer refused to replace the tires. Then it tried to pressure him into paying half the replacement cost. It was only after he stood his ground and persisted that they reluctantly agreed to pay for four new tires.

Now he’s more wary, and will insist on checking the numbers on the tires before he agrees to have them installed on the Excursion.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 400 fatalities a year may have been attributed to tire failures.

Some experts recommend that you avoid tires that are 6 years or older. Even tires that have never been sold before and appear to be “brand new” might actually be old, after sitting on a warehouse shelf for years. To be safe, look for the DOT number on the inside of the tire tread. The last 4 digits are the month and year of manufacture. If the tires are more than 6 years old, it’s safest to avoid them.

NHTSA FAQs about the perils of aging tires

CA Senator Boxer and U.S. Rep. Capps: Stop Renting Unsafe Cars to Consumers, Federal Workers

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Are the rental cars driven by consumers and federal employees safe? Or are they prone to catching fire, having brake failures, or other serious safety defects?

CA Senator Boxer and U.S. Rep. Lois Capps call on Congress and federal agency to protect consumers and federal workers from unsafe rental cars

Lawmakers Urge Agency to Take Action Now While Congress Works on Legislation to Stop the Renting or Selling of Vehicles Under Safety Recall

Santa Barbara, CA – On August 10, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA23) sent a letter calling on Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients to take steps to protect federal workers from renting vehicles under safety recall while they are traveling on official business.

Boxer and Capps are the lead authors of House and Senate legislation – the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2012 – which would ensure the safety of America’s rental car fleet by preventing rental car companies from renting or selling recalled cars or trucks. The legislation is named in honor of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, who were killed in a tragic accident in 2004 caused by an unrepaired defect in a PT Cruiser rented from Enterprise that was under a safety recall.

The two California lawmakers wrote in the letter, “This terrible accident drew attention to the fact that car rental companies are not required to repair vehicles under safety recall before they are rented or sold to the public. We have written legislation to close this loophole and are working with our colleagues in the House and Senate to enact this measure into law.

“In the meantime, we believe it is imperative that we protect people from unsafe recalled vehicles,” the lawmakers wrote. “So today we are urging the Federal government to put in place policies that will ensure that no Federal employee rents a vehicle under safety recall until it has been fixed.”

Senator Boxer and Congresswoman Capps announced the letter at a press conference at Santa Barbara Airport today. They were joined by Cally Houck of Ojai, California, the mother of Raechel and Jacqueline, who along with Hertz and consumer groups has endorsed the new House and Senate rental car safety legislation.

The text of the letter follows:

August 10, 2012

Dear Acting Director Zients:

We are writing today to call on your agency to ensure the safety of all Federal employees driving rental vehicles while on official duty.

In 2004, Raechel and Jacqueline Houck of Ojai, California, were killed in a tragic accident caused by an unrepaired defect in a rental car that was under a safety recall. This terrible accident drew attention to the fact that car rental companies are not required to repair vehicles under safety recall before they are rented or sold to the public. We have written legislation to close this loophole and are working with our colleagues in the House and Senate to enact this measure into law.

In the meantime, we believe it is imperative that we protect people from unsafe recalled vehicles. So today we are urging the Federal government to put in place policies that will ensure that no Federal employee rents a vehicle under safety recall until it has been fixed.

On July 30, 2012, the California Department of General Services announced plans to amend the State’s contracts with Enterprise to include specific policies for recalled vehicles. The Director of the Department of General Services, Fred Klass, wrote “Under the terms of the amended contract, Enterprise will be required to repair all recalled vehicles prior to making them available to State employees. In addition, Enterprise will be required to call back any vehicles already being rented to State employees once a recall notice is issued so those vehicles can be exchanged for a non-recalled vehicle.”

We urge the Federal government to act now to protect Federal workers from the type of tragedy that this California family endured. We would be happy to work with you on this critical matter.

Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Lois Capps
Member of Congress

US Senators Boxer, Feinstein Introduce Rental Car Safety Legislation

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Boxer, Feinstein Introduce Legislation to Ensure Safety of America’s Rental Car Fleet

Legislation Would End the Practice of Renting or Selling Vehicles Under Safety Recall

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) today introduced the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2012, legislation that will ensure the safety of America’s rental car fleet by preventing rental car companies from renting or selling cars or trucks that are under safety recall.

The two California Senators introduced the legislation named in honor of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, two sisters from Santa Cruz, ages 24 and 20, who were killed while driving a recalled Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise in 2004. About a month before the deadly crash, Enterprise received a recall notice that the PT Cruiser had a defective power steering hose that was prone to catching fire and that it would be repaired by Chrysler free-of-charge. Despite the warning, Enterprise did not get the vehicle repaired and rented it out to three other customers before renting it to the Houck sisters. The defect caused the car to catch fire and crash head-on into a tractor-trailer, killing both sisters.

Their mother, Cally Houck, has joined with consumer groups in support of the new legislation, which would close a loophole in safety standards by requiring rental car companies to ground recalled vehicles as soon as they receive a safety recall notice and prohibit them from being rented or sold until they are fixed. Auto-dealers are already subject to these requirements and the bill would simply extend the same requirements to rental car companies.

“We cannot allow another family to go through the pain and loss that Cally and her family have gone through,” Senator Boxer said. “We will not rest until Congress has passed legislation that protects American consumers from these unsafe vehicles, and we urge all the rental car companies to join Hertz in committing to the safety of their customers.”

Earlier this year, Senator Boxer sent a letter asking the nation’s four leading rental car companies – Enterprise, Hertz, Avis/Budget and Dollar/Thrifty – to protect consumers from unsafe vehicles by making the following pledge: “Effective immediately, our company is making a permanent commitment to not rent out or sell any vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied.”

Of the four companies – which together control 92 percent of the rental car market – only Hertz agreed to the pledge in its entirety. Senator Boxer is continuing to urge the companies to take the pledge and fully protect their customers.

The Senate bill is the companion legislation to a bill introduced last month by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA), Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The new House and Senate bills are an updated version of legislation introduced last year by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

The new House and Senate legislation is supported by Hertz, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the Trauma Foundation.

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