Mazda Dealerships Agree to $350K Settlement with Massachusetts AG for F&I Pricing Case

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has announced that the parent company of two Massachusetts Mazda dealerships, Hometown Auto Framingham, will pay $350,000 to settle allegations that the stores charged Black and Latino customers more for finance-and-insurance products than white customers. The dealership group has also agreed to enact fixed margins on all F&I products for three years and may adjust these prices downward but never upward for an individual customer only under “good faith” scenarios.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell stated that “Consumers need to know that their race or ethnicity will have absolutely no effect on the type of service they receive from Massachusetts auto dealerships or the prices they will be charged.”

Hometown Auto Framingham, which operates North Shore Mazda in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Wellesley Mazda in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has vehemently denied any impropriety and their law firm disputed the agency’s methodology in concluding discrimination occurred. However, they have decided to settle in order to save time and resources.

The Attorney General’s Office conducted an analysis of sales records between January 1, 2016 and March 31, 2018, and found that Black customers of the two Mazda dealerships paid an average of $280 more than white customers for the same products, and Latino customers paid an average of $197 more than white customers.

Hometown Auto Framingham hired Charles River Associates to analyze the same data they provided to the Attorney General’s Office, and their experts came to a contrary conclusion that did not support the Attorney General’s allegations.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has taken action to ensure that customers are not discriminated against based on their race or ethnicity. The parent company of two Massachusetts Mazda dealerships, Hometown Auto Framingham, has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle allegations that they charged Black and Latino customers more for finance-and-insurance products than white customers. The dealership group has also agreed to enact fixed margins on all F&I products for three years, and may adjust these prices downward but never upward for an individual customer only under “good faith” scenarios. This settlement ensures that consumers will not be discriminated against based on their race or ethnicity when they receive service from Massachusetts auto dealerships or when they are charged for products.

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