Auto-safety groups sent in a request for the Federal Trade Commission to make it impossible to rent recalled cars. The FTC complaint involved the companies Enterprise, National and Alamo. The FTC petition is happening after a $ 1 million jury award was given out this year.
Policies aren’t set for renting recalls
The official policy of Enterprise Holdings, which owns Alamo, National and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, allows some recalls to be rented out. The official policy is that all recalls are reviewed, and any recalls that “involve the risk of sudden loss of control, safety restraint failures, or fire hazards” are reviewed for removal until fixed. Vehicles checked for safety by Enterprise. This policy, however, allows for some recalled autos to be rented out without repair or notification.
FTC petition and advertising claims
The petition filed with the FTC by the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety integrated Enterprise’s advertising claims as well. If the FTC grants the petition, Enterprise could no longer use “misleading words like ‘well maintained’ and ’safety and reliability’” in advertising. In 1990, Spending budget Rent-a-Car made an agreement similar to this. Budget was renting defective automobiles that hadn’t been repaired also.
Recall rental lawsuit
In May, Enterprise Rent-A-Car was sued by Carol Houck. Houck was the mother of two young women who were killed in a 2004 accident. The PT cruiser the women drove was recalled because of power steering. Enterprise admitted that the whole thing was their fault and paid out a $ 15 million settlement. Representatives of Enterprise said that “Given all we have learned, today we would not rent the vehicle the Houck sisters were driving until it was repaired.”
