Arizona Car Dealer Fined $2.6 Million for Deceptive Pricing
Plus: Tennessee lawmakers take on grocery price gouging
An Arizona car dealer agreed to a $2.6 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Arizona Attorney General’s office after an investigation found the dealership engaged in deceptive pricing and price discrimination.
Coulter Motor Company of Tempe was found to charge unnecessary and sometimes undisclosed fees to customers and also was found to charge Latino customers about $1200 more for the same car with the same features than the price paid by White customers.
“Coulter used junk fees and other illegal tactics to drive up prices for consumers, especially Latino consumers,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will continue cracking down on practices that drive up prices, cheat consumers, and undercut honest sellers.”
$2.35 million of the settlement will be used to reimburse customers defrauded in Coulter’s scheme.
Tennessee Lawmakers Tackle Grocery Price Gouging
A pair of Nashville legislators is taking on the corporate grocery industry and price gouging.
Rep. Aftyn Behn and Sen. Charlane Oliver are calling on Tennessee’s Attorney General to join a bipartisan coalition working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address price gouging at grocery stores.
The lawmakers sponsored legislation this year that would have ended Tennessee’s regressive grocery tax.
Instead of supporting the Behn-Oliver tax relief measure, the legislature’s majority chose to offer billions of dollars in tax breaks to primarily out-of-state corporations.
“Instead of providing tax relief to working families, the Republican Party chose to give billions in tax breaks to property-rich corporations,” said Rep. Behn. “We are undeterred in our mission to find new ways to reduce costs for families, promote fair competition, and grow Tennessee small businesses.”
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