NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There's one more reason to read the fine print when buying your next car in Tennessee.

A new law in the Volunteer State allows used car dealers to sell vehicles that are under a safety recall, as long as the buyer signs a disclosure form.

The Motor Vehicle Recall and Disclosure Act is the first and only one of its kind in the country – after similar bills failed in four other states.

Andy Spears, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, is concerned about the potential impact on consumers.

"Dealers are incentivized to send their cars they know are dangerous to Tennessee, because if you're making a car deal and you can convince someone to sign this form, and there's no requirement that this has to be done at any time in the process,” Spears states. “After you've already agreed to everything and you've worked out the financing – and then, they hand you a form and say, 'Yes, sign this form' – and most people don't read those documents."

Spears says his isn't the only group concerned that the state will become a dumping ground for dealers in other states to send cars they're unable to sell.

He cites the Takata airbag recall as one example of serious potential problems. It affects more than 1 million cars.

But the Tennessee Automotive Association supports the new law, and points out it does require dealers to notify consumers about recalls.

While many people may opt not to sign such paperwork and buy a car they know is under recall, Spears says some may have no other choice.

"You're on the lot with a car dealer, and maybe you can walk away from the deal if you have resources,” he points out. “But if you need a car to get to work and you don't have a whole lot of money, and someone is willing to sell you this car, maybe you'll sign the form because your options are limited. Your ability to travel from dealer to dealer is limited.

“So definitely, lower-income consumers are the most likely to be punished by this law."

Supporters of the law say dealers should still be able to sell cars that otherwise will work properly after undergoing the recall repairs.

Spears says anyone considering a used car purchase should also run the vehicle's VIN number through the database safercar.gov.





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Scam text messages impersonating the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and toll authorities are on the rise, despite the fact Wisconsin does not have toll roads.

The texts claim you have unpaid tolls and threaten extra fees and fines if not paid promptly. They include links to pay the fees and can also list a phone number to call.

Courtney Anclam, senior program specialist for AARP Wisconsin, said she's received about 10 of the texts in the past month. She noted they originally appeared to be from numbers in states like Connecticut or New York but are now mimicking the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles, showing an increased level of sophistication.

"They're harvesting credit card information and then using your credit card to go buy whatever other things they want," Anclam explained. "It's really important to not click on any of the links, don't call any of the phone numbers. Doesn't matter how official it looks."

Anclam added even though Wisconsin does not have toll roads, neighboring states like Illinois do. Anyone with concerns about being scammed can reach out to the Wisconsin DMV or Illinois toll services directly.

Anclam recently started including toll text scams in her outreach presentations across the state, pointing out most people in the audience have received them. She added while most of them delete, ignore, or mark the messages as spam, they often don't report them to official agencies like the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"There might not be a huge number indicating that we've gotten thousands of reports," Anclam acknowledged. "But we know that thousands of these text messages are being sent because people are telling us, I got two of these, I got five of these, whatever it may be."

Anclam stressed the need to continue discussing the scams to raise awareness, saying they have grown more believable and intimidating.

"I think there's a common misconception that older people are more likely to be the victim of a scam, which is not true when we look at data from the Federal Trade Commission," Anclam observed. "Actually, younger people are reporting losing money to fraud more often than older people."

DATCP said they are receiving many more inquiries and complaints about scam text messages and encouraged anyone who receives one to report it.

April is Financial Literary Awareness Month and Hoosiers who are worried about inflation or watching their retirement account on the stock-market roller coaster may be wondering what they should do.

Many households are still recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic, according to the Indiana United Way.

Todd Christensen, education manager for the nonprofit Money Fit Financial, advised creating a spending plan and identifying priorities are good first steps. If you are considering buying a car or house, or taking a vacation, he noted a budget is about more than dollars and cents.

"Whatever it is that motivates you, set a purpose, is number one," Christensen recommended. "Number two is not to start adding income. That's usually where people start, but you've got to prioritize expenses. If you don't prioritize them, you will inevitably have to start eliminating expenses anyway. And you'll go with your emotions rather than with the rational part of your brain."

Christensen sees cash, credit cards and the popular "buy now, pay later" apps as convenient tools consumers often misuse. Convenience prompts human nature to kick in and encourage overspending. He suggested having two checking accounts, one for automatic bill payment and another for fun purchases, and a savings account for long and short-term goals.

Christensen supports teaching kids good money management habits before they earn spending cash as teens by mowing lawns, babysitting or doing chores. If they are not taught how to take care of small amounts of money as early as possible, he cautioned, they will be "terrible" with larger amounts as adults.

"By age two, children have been in their parents' arms going through a checkout stand enough times that they know that there's an exchange going on," Christensen observed. "They're learning that there's something magical about that plastic card or about the phone that they tap."

The Indiana Department of Education mandates all students in grades eight through 12 must have one semester of personal financial responsibility instruction, including lessons on debt management, savings, retirement and investment accounts.


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Washington is one of 25 states where people can use the online "IRS Direct File" system, to file their income-tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. But the future of the program is at risk.

For years, taxpayers' advocates had pushed for a free, simple tax-filing option for people who don't need a third-party tax preparer. But the Trump administration has said Direct File may be a waste of IRS resources.

Casey Lantz, free tax preparation campaign coordinator with the United Way of King County, said it is time for people to voice their support for the program. She's used Direct File and says, since the program auto-fills tax information from forms like W-2s, filing her income taxes this year was the easiest it has ever been.

"I think it's exactly what people wish tax filing was like. And I think the only chance we have of stopping them from cutting it is if enough people say something," she explained.

Direct File guides users through simple questions in English or Spanish, and offers live chat support in both languages. People can check their eligibility and get more information online at 'DirectFile.IRS.gov.'

Adam Ruben, vice president of campaigns and political strategy with the Economic Security Project, said the process removes intermediary tax preparers and uses information the government already has to make it easier to file federal and state tax returns. Ruben explained Direct File is for people with straightforward tax situations, such as employees who get a W-2 from their employer.

"Direct File is not yet available for freelancers or gig workers, or people with complicated investments or who work across multiple states," he continued.

Lantz said even if you are not eligible for Direct File, you can still use it to file an income-tax extension by April 15.


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