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Toronto, January 26, 2000 - The
January 25th broadcast of CTV¹s
W5 program targeting
unscrupulous sales tactics drew
an immediate response from the
organization responsible for
regulating car dealers in
Ontario.
"Devious sales staff and
misleading sales practices have
no room in this industry,"
comments Ontario Motor Vehicle
Industry Council (OMVIC)
President Bob Stephen, also a
Nissan Infiniti dealer. "Our
mandate is to enhance the
professionalism of the dealer
sector, and increase consumer
confidence."
The program was a report on a
hidden camera investigation by
the Automobile Protection
Association, featuring "mystery
shoppers" visiting car dealers
in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec,
Vancouver and Calgary.
Cities such as Calgary and
Vancouver received significant
"failing" grades from the APA
mystery shoppers while Toronto
was seen as a "mixed bag". It
was noted that Ontario has good
standards, which need to be more
strictly enforced.
Some of the issues the W5
program dealt with included
misleading advertising and
pricing claims.
A dealer self-regulatory
organization, OMVIC is funded
entirely by fees paid by dealers
and salespeople. Since its
inception three years ago, OMVIC
has been active in establishing
and enforcing regulations in
Ontario¹s car dealer industry.
It introduced the stringent
advertising guidelines in
Ontario, which was noted by the
APA.
"I really urge consumers who
encounter the kinds of
activities featured on the W5
show, to turn around and walk
out - don't give them a dime.
And if a consumer believes that
they've been misled - we want to
know about it so that we can
take appropriate action" says
Carl Compton, OMVIC Executive
Director.
Compton stated that these
harmful practices not only
affect the consumer, but that
they're also damaging to vast
majority of dealers who operate
honestly, and they're
detrimental to the industry
overall. OMVIC staff handles
consumer complaints about dealer
transactions, as well as
conducting inspections and
investigations.
In the fall of 1998, OMVIC
introduced tough new dealer
marketing standards, and has
been working hard to enforce
those standards. According to
Compton, OMVIC staff "have sent
out several hundred letters
advising dealers of advertising
that falls short of the
mandatory standards and for the
most part we get prompt
compliance".
In the fall of 1999, OMVIC also
introduced the first mandatory
certification course for new
dealers and salespeople in
Canada. The course, which is
administered by the Canadian
Automotive Institute of Georgian
College, focuses on the law and
ethical business practices.
"OMVIC's initiatives are helping
to change the industry - tough
marketing standards, mandatory
certification, formal Standards
of Business Practice and tough
registration standards," says
Mr. Compton. "We hope to address
the issues raised in the program
through better enforcement of
our regulations."
For more information, contact
OMVIC at 226-4500, or from
outside the 416/905 dialing
area, dial 1-800-943-6002. Or
visit the Consumer Affairs
section in OMVIC’s Web site at
http://www.omvic.on.ca/consumer.htm
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