FTC Settles With Florida Dealer Over $995 Loyalty Fee, No Refunds
The FTC settled with Greenway Auto Group over added dealer fees, including a $995 loyalty fee, but buyers get no refunds. Here is what the order requires.
A used 2017 Honda CR-V EX-L was listed online by a Florida dealership at $18,800. The paperwork the buyers were handed totaled $23,539.85. The Federal Trade Commission took action against the seller, Greenway Auto Group, on Oct. 8 and reached a settlement the same day, according to Torque News. Under the deal, the dealer must change how it advertises, yet nobody who paid the extra charges gets money back.
Where the extra $4,739.85 came from
Greenway Kia North posted the SUV at what it called the “Greenway Price.” Five dealer charges were then stacked on top:
- $2,495 recon fee
- $995 loyalty fee
- $899.95 dealer fee
- $249.95 admin fee
- $99.95 PTA fee
The complaint says the loyalty fee applied to people buying from Greenway for the first time. After the buyers complained in person and in a review online, the dealership cut the listed price and sold that CR-V to a different shopper for nearly $4,000 above the original advertised figure.
A wider pattern, according to the FTC
The agency says more than 92 percent of shoppers who found a Greenway car on Cars.com or CarGurus ended up paying above the listed price. Across three years, the average overage was $3,354.
Two items drew particular attention: recon fees, and a compulsory “Greenway Advantage Package” that the dealer described as already on the car and impossible to take off. A warning letter went to Greenway on March 11, 2026, one of 97 sent to dealer groups that month. The FTC says Greenway left prices alone and altered its messaging, telling buyers the web price was final and promoting an “all-in price” with “zero hidden fees.”
The complaint adds that Greenway sent mailers with scratch-off cards advertising prizes up to $2,500 in cash, and winners went unpaid.
What the settlement requires
Greenway runs Kia and Hyundai dealerships in Orlando, Longwood and Jacksonville. Commissioners voted 2-0 to file the case and proposed order in federal court in the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.
The order obliges Greenway to display the full price as the most noticeable number in vehicle ads, and to meet reporting and recordkeeping duties so the FTC can monitor it. Greenway did not admit or deny the claims. A law firm that reviewed the order, as cited by Torque News, says it contains no refunds and no penalty.
What this means for used-car shoppers
As the report describes the FTC’s view, a listed price has to be one that any customer can pay, excluding government charges like taxes. Discounts open only to some buyers cannot be baked into it, optional extras cannot be labeled mandatory, and installed items cannot be called impossible to remove.
Shoppers who run into fees added after they arrive can report the dealer to the FTC or to a state attorney general. Torque News also suggests saving a screenshot of the ad and requesting a written out-the-door quote before visiting. If the figures differ, be prepared to leave. The CR-V buyers did, and the dealer later sold the vehicle for more.
Some charges cover genuine costs such as reconditioning and paperwork. The outlet’s argument is that those costs belong in the advertised price. That is its opinion, not an FTC finding.
Source: Torque News
