Dear Governor Scott,

In spite of the best efforts of Consumer Advocates and others to have HB 55 reconsidered in light of it’s adverse impact on the average consumer who purchases a car we are faced with the reality that it may become law.

It is obvious that the purchase of an automobile is not only a considerable expenditure, but in this day of mobility, a necessity. When a purchaser answers the inducements made in the tremendous advertising campaigns carried on by the auto industry and purchases an automobile that purchaser has a right to rely on the advertisements and inducements that result in a purchase. Under the leadership of Bob Butterworth as AG Florida passed a compressive Lemon Law, which has served the auto industry and the purchaser well. The Lemon Law Section has provided the venue for the hearing and resolution of complaints.

The reasons to veto the bill are many and we here list some of the most obvious:

1. Vehicle purchasers as opposed to those deceived by any other business are singled out for less protection.

2. The 30-day notice period insulates dealers from suit w/o any exposure for damages.

3. Purchasers relying on transportation for work and family activities can ill afford to go through the process of filing with the dealer in 30 days and then awaiting resolution.

4. The pre-suit notice & documents to be prepared and served on the dealer is so complex that the average consumer will not be able to meet it’s conditions w/o the aid of an attorney which the consumer can ill afford and which attorneys will be reluctant to pursue. The economics speak for themselves.

5. The dealers exposure is only the actual fraud damages which alone makes it difficult for a purchaser to determine and to claim. Penalties should be severe enough to dissuade fraudulent business conduct.

6. Bills like HB 55 enable deceptive practices by dealers to keep their activities out of the public eye.

7. When a trade in is involved the dealer can wholesale or otherwise dispose of the trade in. This would make it almost impossible for purchase to seek injunctive relief prohibit a dealer from selling a purchasers trade in or seeking to prevent a repo by the dealer.

8. This process may allow dealers to “pick off” purchasers who would otherwise be able to get relief in a class action.

The law as it now stands has served both dealers and purchasers well. Arbitration can also be time consuming and expensive and the auto industry, with experience in arbitration of such cases has a substantial advantage over the consumer who does not know the arbitrators that are listed and probably has never had to be a party to an arbitration. How much time do you think the average purchaser has to deal with this kind of an issue when faced with taking time off work or taking care of their children.

I would suggest that this bill be vetoed. If the dealers can show clearly that the current law is an unaffordable expense then there may be other options such as allowing such matters to be handled by the Lemon Law program with enabling legislation. Nowhere in the staff analysis was there a cost benefit study as applied to the dealer and to the purchaser. If we are truly concerned about the cost of government then this bill needs such an analysis.

Sincerely,

Walter Dartland

Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast

Rod Tennyson

Former Assistant Special Consumer Counsel to Governor Askew

Keep Those Wrecks Off Our Roads

April 9, 2013

Walter Dartland

Tallahassee Democrat

A bill is making its way through the state House of Representatives that has serious consequences for all Florida consumers. Today, Florida law requires a total-loss vehicle that is damaged over 80 percent of its retail value to receive a Certificate of Destruction. This very important threshold keeps badly damaged vehicles from re-entering the marketplace and getting back on our roads and highways.

House Bill 7125 would eliminate this longstanding 80-percent threshold and replace it with a highly subjective definition of a nonrepairable vehicle. This replacement of a hard and fast standard with a definition that is open to interpretation and therefore difficult — if not impossible — to enforce will put each owner of a badly damaged vehicle in a morally hazardous situation. The owner, in the absence of a testable standard, will have the latitude to decide whether the vehicle will be sold as repairable or nonrepairable. A nonrepairable vehicle, sold for parts, typically brings a much lower price.

Many vehicles that are so damaged cannot be brought back to a safe, roadworthy condition. However, elimination of the threshold would certainly mean that many more badly damaged vehicles that should be destined for the scrap heap will instead end up back on Florida’s roads. A consumer who purchases such a salvaged vehicle that cannot be made safely operational will then have the daunting task of finding a remedy via the courts.

As a former Florida deputy attorney general and a longtime consumer advocate, I am acutely aware of the plight of consumers — especially minority and low-income consumers who would become the victims of the fraud imposed on them by the proposed change. The unfortunate truth is that navigating our court system will be an insurmountable obstacle for most consumers, which ultimately means they will have no alternative but to accept their loss.

The 80-percent threshold was established based on extensive meetings and discussion among consumers, law enforcement, the auto recycling industry, the insurance industry, the salvage auto auction industry and all stakeholders. When the Senate considered a similar bill, a great deal of documentation and testimony was provided showing examples of massively damaged vehicles with appraisal abuses by insurers designed to bypass vehicle branding as Certificate of Destruction vehicles. The abuses were designed to enhance the profits of the insurers and the auctions at the expense and safety of the public.

Documentation was also provided from other states that lacked the safeguards of the current Florida law, and which were similar to the changes proposed in the new draft legislation. These states showed many abusive examples of massively damaged cars with repairable titles or even clean titles.

Florida should not emulate such terrible examples.

Based upon the testimony and the evidence, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development responsibly declined to endorse this unsafe legislation. I urge Florida’s representatives to do the same.

Walter Dartland is executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast.

To read this article on the Tallahassee Democrat website, click HERE.

Consumers are highly suspicious of telemarketing calls, but most consumers don’t know their basic telemarketing rights, according to a survey released by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) earlier this month as part of National Consumer Protection Week. According to the survey, nearly 9 in 10 adults in the United States are concerned that telemarketing calls they receive from companies they haven’t done business with before might be scams, and more than three-quarters think that it’s hard for most consumers to tell if a sales call is legitimate or not.

To help address the problem, CFA is offering new resources on its website to help consumers avoid telemarketing fraud. They include a guide about consumers’ basic telemarketing rights, tips on spotting fraud, and a short, humorous video. This educational project was supported by a grant from Western Union.

“Knowing your rights can help you tell the difference between legitimate telemarketing offers and scams,” said Susan Grant, Director of Consumer Protection at CFA and leader of CFA’s Consumer Protection Institute. “Simple things such as understanding when companies are violating your Do Not Call rights and when they’re not can help consumers detect possible fraud, because legitimate companies usually follow the rules, scammers don’t,” she added.

The Consumer Federation of the Southeast and our Ron Sachs Communications PR team received the national Bulldog Reporter “Best Online/Social Media Community of the Year” Bronze recognition for our “Protect People with Brain Injuries” campaign this year. While we are honored to receive this distinguished award, we are more encouraged that we have begun this dialogue that will hopefully raise awareness about this extremely important issue and protect our state’s most vulnerable citizens.

TALLAHASSEE – Moving to save lives and protect people who are at risk, one of the nation’s leading consumer advocates, the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, today urged state and federal authorities to take emergency action to ensure that patients at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation (FINR) are protected – including taking over operation of the facility if necessary. The urgent call for immediate action comes after allegations of continued patient abuse, a $31-million lawsuit from a major bank and bankruptcy filings involving FINR.

“The continued allegations of patient abuse, coupled with significant questions regarding FINR’s financial health, are a loud and clear warning for Florida and federal authorities,” said Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast. “All signs point to an emergency situation at FINR. The state and federal governments need to step up and take a Category 5 level of response to protect the safety and well-being of each FINR resident, and to make certain safeguards are in place to ensure that at-risk patients are protected.”

The Consumer Federation of the Southeast’s advocacy for FINR patients and their families began last summer as a result of an alarming Bloomberg News report detailing alleged instances of abuse and neglect at the Hardee County institute.

As part of an effort to increase public awareness of the issue, Dartland invited concerned individuals to join the Protect People with Brain Injuries Facebook community set up at: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectPeopleWithBrainInjuries. To date, more than 3,300 individuals have “Liked” the page, including many who had friends or relatives they way were improperly treated at the facility.

According to a new report from WTSP, in the latest incident five FINR employees allegedly beat a patient, sending him to the hospital.

The news of the latest allegation comes after Regions Bank filed a lawsuit against FINR claiming that the institute is in default on almost $31 million in loans. In the filing, Regions Bank accuses FINR of:

·       Failure to pay Internal Revenue Service payroll taxes;

·       Failure to pay property taxes; and

·       Failure to pay ordinary operating expenses as they come due.

The Regions Bank lawsuit says FINR has “admitted a significant number of patients on the basis of payment from ‘litigation liens’ upon the proceeds of litigation by these patients against third parties related to the patients’ injuries.” The bank’s filing says FINR recently received a $174,000 payout from a litigation lien but did not notify the bank of the payout when it happened and “have not accounted for those funds.”

Regions Bank is asking for the facility to be put into receivership and says FINR’s “continued possession of the Collateral and operation of the Facility puts both the patients of the Facility and Regions’ interests in the Collateral at risk.”

Shortly after Region Bank’s action, FINR and related companies filed in federal court in Tampa for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to Bloomberg News, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has given FINR a January 14 deadline to provide the agency with detailed financial statements proving that it is has sufficient assets and revenues to operate for the next two years and that FINR can document its ability to correct its financial instability.

The Bloomberg News report says the bankruptcy petitions filed by FINR and three related corporations show the facility owes between $3 million and $30 million to its creditors, while FINR’s assets total $150,000 or less. The list of creditors includes insurance companies, law firms, medical supply companies, utilities and the county tax collector.

The latest alleged beating incident, the Regions Bank lawsuit and FINR’s bankruptcy filing are the most recent in a line of troubling revelations related to the Hardee County facility.  Last summer’s report by Bloomberg News brought attention to many powerful examples of alleged abuse and neglect at FINR. These include instances where patients have died or are reported to have swallowed fishhooks and batteries in order to escape the institution, as well as testimonials from former patients including videotaped evidence of apparent beatings by caretakers.

Following a call for action in July by the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, the State of Florida conducted a multi-agency investigation into abuse allegations at FINR that exposed that the facility has been treating patients who are apparently ineligible to be at the facility.

Allstate Insurance has also filed a federal lawsuit against FINR seeking $7.6 million in damages it suffered as a result of an alleged insurance fraud scheme, as well as triple damages under federal racketeering laws.

Regions Bank Lawsuit Against FINR

Regions Bank FINR Lawsuit

FINR and Related Companies Bankruptcy Documents

FINR Bankruptcy Filing

FINR II Bankruptcy Filing

FINR III Bankruptcy Filing

FINR III INC Bankruptcy Filing

FING II Bankruptcy Filing

Traumatic Brain Education Adult Community Home Bankruptcy Filing

Renewed Call for Action Comes After New Report of Alleged Patient Abuse at Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation

Tallahassee  — Calling for a redoubling of efforts to better protect patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, the Consumer Federation of the Southeast today urged federal and state authorities to provide the best possible gift for the residents at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation (FINR) and their families – the gift of guaranteed protection. The renewed call for action comes after a report by WTSP-TV in Tampa about battery charges against a staffer at FINR, who was supposed to be caring for a patient.

“The latest troubling abuse allegations at FINR are indicative of an apparent pattern of abuse,” said Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast. “The overriding priority must be to protect the safety and well-being of each FINR resident and state authorities must urgently ensure safeguards are in place to ensure at-risk patients are safe.”

The Consumer Federation of the Southeast’s advocacy for FINR patients and their families began this summer as a result of an alarming Bloomberg News report detailing alleged instances of abuse and neglect at the Hardee County institute.

According to the new report from WTSP, the FINR staffer reportedly struck a patient in the mouth. The apparent injury sent the patient to the hospital, where he allegedly received 19 stitches.

In the WTSP report, the patient alleges he was abused at least four times while he was a patient at FINR. The story goes on to say that FINR is receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to care for the patient.

The alleged incident is the latest in a line of troubling revelations related to FINR.  This summer’s report by Bloomberg News brought attention to many powerful examples of the alleged abuse and neglect at FINR including instances where patients have died, or have reportedly swallowed fishhooks and batteries to escape the institution, as well as testimonials from former patients including videotaped evidence of apparent beatings by caretakers.

Following a call for action in July by the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, the State of Florida conducted a multi-agency investigation into abuse allegations at FINR that exposed that the facility has been treating patients who are apparently ineligible to be at the facility. According to WTSP’s reporting, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is expected to take action soon to address this issue.

Allstate Insurance also filed a federal lawsuit against FINR seeking $7.6 million in damages it suffered as a result of an alleged insurance fraud scheme, as well as triple damages under federal racketeering laws.

As part of an effort to increase public awareness of the issue, Dartland invited concerned individuals to join the Protect People with Brain Injuries Facebook community set up at: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectPeopleWithBrainInjuries

The Consumer Federation of the Southeast would like to alert Floridians to a serious issue surfacing in our country. Could your airbags be stolen or replaced with illegal dangerous imports? Please click on the links below to learn more about this dangerous scam and find out what you can do to fight back!

Click here for the Consumer Alert about airbag scams.

Click here for the FraudBlog article.

The storm “Sandy” will result in about 230,000 cars that may end up not being salvaged but sold to unsuspecting consumers. New York and New Jersey make up 190,00 of the 230,000.

The National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program (NSVRP) is a law enforcement support organization that works closely with many agencies on issues related to used/junk/salvage vehicles. NSVRP is also recognized by the US Department of Justice as an independent 3rd party standards body for the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). This site provides consumers and consumer advocates much important information, and is a valuable resource.     NSVRP.org

Tallahassee Democrat

Walter Dartland: Program can ease the load on Citizens

November 7, 2012
By Walter Dartland

There has been a very lively debate surrounding a proposed program from the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

The program is called the Surplus Note Depopulation which, if you strip away the very bureaucratic sounding title, simply is an attempt to remove some of the 1.5 million policies with which Citizens is bursting at the seams. The largest five homeowners insurance companies in Florida combined do not have that many policies!

State leaders have taken a hard look at the program and asked tough questions. Citizens responded appropriately by ordering an immediate outside review by an international financial firm to ensure that the program’s financial calculations are sound, and that it could be available before the end of this hurricane season.

A large storm or series of storms could trigger hurricane taxes that could put recession-weary Floridians over the edge. Nine in 10 Floridians do not even realize they can be taxed when Citizens can’t pay its claims.

Florida law says Citizens policyholders have to pay first when Citizens runs out of money — potentially 45 percent of their premiums.

If those taxes are not enough to refill Citizens’ depleted coffers then all Floridians who aren’t in Citizens get taxed. It is estimated that a major storm or a serious of smaller storms hitting a large Florida population center would require hurricane taxes to be applied to home, auto and other insurance policies that could put the average Floridian at risk for $1,500 in the first year alone. And additional hurricane taxes would have to be charged for many years after that. Note that a small-business owner could be hit with additional taxes on business property and vehicles.

Not only are Citizens policyholders going to be the first to be taxed if they have not taken advantage of the new program, but they also have less coverage. For example, Citizens has reduced its liability coverage for policyholders to $100,000 from the more common $300.000 limit, and separate structures such as sheds, fences and pool screening are no longer covered.

I would bet that Citizens will continue to try to reduce its risks.

Customers who avail themselves of the new program are given the same rates they had with Citizens, and those policies must mirror the limits on Citizens rate changes for three years and after that period must have rates approved by the insurance commissioner. These are solid consumer protections.

Companies taking part have to meet heightened financial requirements, and, in the rare instance a company runs into trouble, there is a state-run guarantee fund that seamlessly picks up claims. Policyholders will have the right to opt out of Citizens and may opt back into Citizens at their request or obtain a policy with another private insurer.

While virtually everyone agrees that Citizens is too large, there has been less agreement on how to shrink it. The Surplus Note Depopulation Program shows great promise and needs to be vetted with all due haste. Next year’s hurricane season will be here before we know it.

Walter Dartland is executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast. Contact him at wdart76@yahoo.com.

Click here to view original article.

“I am Walter Dartland, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, former Deputy Attorney General for the state of Florida.

“I am writing to request that the Citizens Board give serious consideration to the Surplus Note Depopulation Program and/or all other reasonable steps to reduce the exposure of Florida citizens. I understand the position of those who urge delay. However extending this exposure for another hurricane season presents a risk that informed citizens may find unacceptable including exposing those insured by private insurers to an unprecedented hurricane assessment of up to 32% of their premiums — if a big storm or multiply smaller storms hit Florida. Citizens policyholders who make the decision to take advantage of this program to move to the private market will avoid the threat of up to a 45% assessment for a Citizens insured in the event of such storms and at the same time take advantage of expanded coverage. Consumer protections are paramount. The consumer protections that have been included in the plan for Citizens policyholders, such as a rate increase cap of 10% a year, the same as for Citizens, an assurance that the company that acquires their policy is financially sound and will retain them for 10 years, and the ability for the policyholder to decline the removal and if opting to be removed return to Citizens if they wish, are all reasonable and essential.  Recession-weary Floridians cannot afford a large hurricane tax hit on the heels of the economic challenges of recent years. I personally have always advocated that we cannot afford to wait another hurricane disaster to hit to reduce the  threat to to all Florida consumers. If legislators aren’t comfortable with this plan to depopulate Citizens or the authority of the Board to make this decision they should convene a special session in November to deal with this ticking time bomb.”