Auto-safety groups sent in a request for the Federal Trade Commission to make it difficult to rent recalled autos. The FTC complaint involved the companies Enterprise, National and Alamo. The petition to the FTC follows a $ 15 million jury award from earlier this year.
No policy for renting recalls
Alamo, National and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are owned by Enterprise Holdings which has the policy that recalls may be rented. All recalls that “involve the risk of sudden loss of control, safety restraint failures, or fire hazards” cannot be rented. Vehicles checked for safety by Enterprise. This policy, however, allows for some recalled cars to be rented out without repair or notification.
Enterprise’s advertising was in the petition filed to the FTC by the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. If the FTC grants the petition, Enterprise could no longer use “misleading words like ‘well maintained’ and ’safety and reliability’” in advertising. In 1990, Budget Rent-a-Car made an agreement comparable to this. Budget had been accused of comparable actions, renting out defective cars that had not yet been repaired.
Renting recalls causing lawsuit
May was when Enterprise Rent-A-Car was sued by Carol Houck. Houck was the mom of women that were killed in an accident that occurred in 2004. The women were driving a rented PT cruiser that had been recalled for power steering issues. A $ 15 million judgment was given to the family while Enterprise took full responsibility. Enterprise said, “Given all we have learned, today we would not rent the car the Houck sisters were driving until it was repaired.”
