94 | 2024 Membership Directory 2. Use text or visual cues to encourage consumers to scroll down a Web page when it is necessary to view a disclosure. 3. When using hyperlinks to lead to disclosures: a. Make the link obvious; b. Label the hyperlink appropriately to convey the importance, nature and relevance of the information it leads to; c. Use hyperlink styles consistently so that consumers know when a link is available; d. Place the hyperlink near relevant information and make it noticeable; e. Take consumers directly to the disclosure on the click-through page; and f. Assess the effectiveness of the hyperlink by monitoring click-through rates and make changes accordingly. 4. Recognize and respond to any technological limitations or unique characteristics of high tech methods of making disclosures, such as frames or pop-ups. 5. Prominently display disclosures so they are noticeable to consumers, and evaluate the size, color and graphic treatment of the disclosure in relation to other parts of the Web page. 6. Review the entire advertisement to ensure that each element, including text, graphics, hyperlinks and sound does not distract consumers’ attention from the disclosure. 7. Repeat disclosures, as needed, on lengthy Web sites and in connection with repeated claims. 8. Use audio disclosures when making audio claims, and present them in a volume and cadence so that consumers can hear and understand them. 9. Display visual disclosures for a duration sufficient for consumers to notice, read and understand them.8 VI. SPECIFIC POLICIES AND EXAMPLES The following policies and examples are not an exhaustive list of the types of practices that may be prohibited by the Fair Business Practices Act. These policies and examples are meant to illustrate the types of acts and practices that are covered by the FBPA and, therefore, should not be used to limit its scope. A. Credit Advertising Principles and Precedents Truth in Lending The purpose of the disclosures required by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is to promote the informed use of consumer credit by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost.9 Advertising that fails to include all of the disclosures required under TILA will be considered unfair and/or deceptive. It should be clear that the advertised prices are for the purchase of a vehicle. Words such as “sale,” “buy,” “purchase,” or words of similar import may only be used in conjunction with an offer to sell a vehicle. Some credit advertisement terms require additional disclosures. Whenever an advertisement for the purchase of a vehicle states these listed terms, or “trigger terms,” then other disclosures must be made in the immediate proximity of the trigger term. Dealers must comply with TILA regulations before the credit transaction with the consumer is consummated. In other words, the TILA terms must be properly disclosed before the consumer becomes contractually obligated to purchase the vehicle. The following are lending “trigger terms”: 1. The amount or percentage of any down payment; 2. The number of payments or period of repayment; 8 F.T.C. Guide, “Dot Com Disclosures,” available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/dotcom/ (May 2000). 9 12 C.F.R. § 226.1(b) (2007).
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