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Unlawful Trade Practices
Consumers can sometimes become the victims of bad business practices during a typical purchase of consumer goods and services. One of the most common examples is in the purchase of an automobile. A typical situation might include the failure to disclose prior damage, misrepresentations about the condition or history of a vehicle, and misrepresentations about the terms of the sales contracts.
The Oregon legislature passed a comprehensive consumer protection statute known as the Unlawful Trade Practices, found at ORS 646.608. That law generally prohibits businesses from creating false or misleading representations about consumer goods and services when the businesses have reason to know that those representations are false.
Other laws, like the federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act give consumers additional rights under their warranties for consumer goods, such as automobiles. The federal Truth in Lending law requires lenders or their representatives to disclose the credit terms of a loan in uniform terms so that a consumer can compare the cost of credit from various sources.
Warning!
There is no automatic three day return policy on the purchase of cars in Oregon! Although some states allow a consumer to return their car within a certain time period after the purchase, there is no such law in Oregon. Unless a three day return provision is written into the contract, a consumer cannot unilaterally return the car without a valid legal basis.
This information provided by:
Tim Quenelle, PC
Attorney at Law
4248 Galewood Street
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
(503) 675-4330
