Honesty Pays at Auto Dealerships, Say F&I Experts An Assn. of Dealership Compliance Officers roundtable discussion centers on how to do it right – and stay out of the sights of government regulators.
David Robertson, who spearheads ethical practices in car dealership finance and insurance offices, once said it’s hard to completely rid F&I of bad players. Blame it on human nature.
He likened it to when old England publicly hanged pickpockets. And where would one find lots of pickpockets working crowds back then? At public hangings.
That doesn’t mean auto retailing shouldn’t try its best to stop shady F&I practices. There’s been a lot of progress in that regard, although wrongdoing, such as payment packing, still occurs here and there. When that happens, the bad actors and their dealerships can get hit with fines, bad publicity and even jail sentences.