Misuse of the Patriot Act (Car Buying Tips)

This post actually does relate to car buying, although it may not seem so at first. Keep your ears open the next time you are buying a car, because this may be new to you.

Misuse of the Patriot Act
Section 326(a)(2)(A) of the Patriot Act, requires “financial institutions to implement, and customers to comply with, reasonable procedures for verifying the identity of any person seeking to open an account to the extent reasonable and practical.” This rule is supposed to help prevent money laundering and other methods of funding terrorist activities. Basically, the purpose of the Patriot Act is “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.

What does all of this have to do with the car dealership?

Well… if a customer is seeking to finance a car at the dealership, then the dealership is required to verify the individual’s identity.

The Patriot Act is being misused as an excuse to get a customer’s social security number to run a credit check before the customer fills out the credit application or gives permission for the credit check to occur.

If you are financing the vehicle through the dealership, then you will be required by the Patriot Act to supply your social security number and other identification. If you are not financing through the dealership, then you are not required to provide this information.

This post was modified from The Car Buying Bible (www.carbuyingbible.com), a 162-page car buying guide with the best car loan calculator around. It will save you thousands on your next car purchase.