Interpretation ID: aiam0996

Mr. J.C. Tim Scates, First National Bank Building, 621 Seventeenth Street, Twenty-third Floor, Denver, CO 80202; Mr. J.C. Tim Scates
First National Bank Building
621 Seventeenth Street
Twenty-third Floor
Denver
CO 80202;

Dear Mr. Scates:This is in reply to your letter of January 25, 1973 concerning the procedures to be followed by your client in the event that a defaulting vehicle owner refuses to disclose the mileage when his vehicle is repossessed.; The Federal Odometer Disclosure Requirements were issued in final for on January 23, 1973, and become effective March 1, 1973. After March 1, your client will be obliged to make a disclosure statement upon resale of the vehicle. If he cannot obtain a statement from the defaulting owner, he will have to advise the buyer of the deficiency in order to protect himself from liability in the event the odometer is found to be wrong. Our regulation does not address this situation directly, but it would appear that the disclosure statement you propose conforms to the basic outline and would afford protection from civil liability under the Act.; Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel