European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 b the stars and stripes monday March 23, 1992 buyers from Page 1 believe that in terms of protecting the consumer the program lags far behind . Standards. A a we be come a Long Way in making the car makers accountable for what they sell. But it seems the military has been left out of the Progress a said Dunlap president of motor voters a Washington consumer group. Technically car sales on overseas military installations Are controlled by contracts Between the Exchange services and . Auto manufacturers. However in the Case of Chrysler and general motors a which account for 80 percent of sales a military sales Are managed by a service companies a or subcontractors. Accountability is further diluted by the subcontractors policy of hiring Independent agents to sell the cars. By contract these sales agents answer to the car sales companies which in turn answer to the Manu William Munn fact users but not cafes. According to Munn however cafes and the subcontractors a Are always in close contacts and cafes has some Power to discipline the agents. Dunlap said the three tier sales network a with Independent contractors doing the actual Selling a weakens responsibility and makes it difficult to redress grievances. Chrysler and general motors have hired overseas military sales corp. To manage the military car sales program. The company has dual Headquarters in Woodbury n.y., and Zurich Switzerland. It is owned by Allan Goldring a new York businessman who for decades has controlled much of the overseas military Market making his company the worlds largest retail dealer of sunday a Start and str Paa Survay Showa overcharging. A Why Cua Tomara Art not Wall served. A tha Ford from Hall today a How the cafes system works. A the Man who controls the military worldwide Market. Tuesday a cafes Ian t tha Only game in Europe. A tha Lemon Lawa that Don t a the mystery of the Mia Aing car. Wednesday the do a and Don to of buying a car in Europe. American made automobiles. Goldring created military car sales As a German company to run his operations in Europe. Fords sales throughout Europe Are run by its subsidiary Ford deutschland. Each Independent agent must be authorized by the Exchange service to work on a military facility and local Exchange managers Are authorized to revoke that privilege should the agent engage in unfair business practices Munn said. Cafes has Seldom used this authority according to officials at the exchanges Dallas Headquarters. The sales agents Are contract workers legally considered to be self employed. Cafes can revoke a salespersons authorization to work on military installations but can take no action against the companies that hire them Munn said. The sales agents Are paid by the Swiss office and no direct compensation comes from pcs or oms Goldring said. The Structure is a Legal necessity not an attempt to limit accountability according to car sales officials. Working across International Borders makes the network necessary according to Jeff Gardner general manager for military car sales. Consumer Protection he said is provided by the warranties that come with the cars. A your customers Are offered the same warranties offered in the United states a Gardner said. A we Honor those warranties in every  he added that problems occur because customers often expect More than the warranties provide. The Exchange services began contracting with . Automakers in 1962 when Congress authorized the creation of an overseas new car sales program. Currently the three largest automakers a Chrysler general motors and Ford a Are the Only companies with cars for Sale on military bases in Europe. It has become a very big business. Chrysler which accounts for 50 percent of sales in Europe values its three year contract with cafes at $310 million. Pm and Ford value their three year agreements at nearly $200 million. The big three pay cafes an average of $180 for each car sold at military outlets and $25 every time a customer pays for optional rustproofing or buys an extended warranty. Cafes reported earning of $3 million in 1991. Beyond that profit figures Are difficult to determine. Neither the manufacturers nor the intermediary sales companies would disclose profits. That the military receives $3 million a year from the same companies it supervises and regulates appears to be conflict of interest to Peter Brown an Auto Industry expert in Detroit. Brown is editor of automotive news the monthly Magazine that reports on the Auto Industry. When an Agency responsible for enforcing the rules of business receives Money from the companies it monitors a a it a normally considered a Kickback a Brown said. He said an Independent Agency should police the program. Cafes and the car companies however say an Independent Monitor is unnecessary. Oms and Ford have a a excellent records on dealing with customer complaints Munn said. Munn is the Only cafes pm Loyee in Europe assigned to Monitor the 250 million new car sales program although he has other duties. Quot there has never been a situation where 1 had to threaten or coerce the companies into addressing a problem a Munn said. Spec. Michael Carpenter of Schweinfurt Germany believes that he could have benefited from some cafes coercion. He contends that when he complained about his 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier cafes officials were no help. From Dallas to Europe Here is an organizational Flowchart showing the Many Levels from cafes to customer. Pm Sam Amy amp am Perce a a in Mon St a. Cafes Headquarters Dallas cafes Europe Misc up Fps in flak Ford deutschland pcs Iron org source cafes carpenters car had been in and out of the garage for front end and engine repairs for the first nine months he had owned it. The specialist was aware of a Lemon Laws that require stateside companies to refund Money to people who Are sold defective cars and he told the manager of the Schweinfurt Exchange that he wanted such a refund. A a cafes told me to Call oms and those people told me Tough Luck. The Lemon Law does no to apply in Europe a Carpenter said. No . Consumer Protection Laws apply overseas even on military installations said Gephardt Volk German Legal adviser for the . Army Europe. Although the cars Are made in the United states they Are sold in Europe. And there is no such thing As a Lemon Law in Europe Volk said. A amps Wes Booher 1 have a pile of papers on my desk right now from people who Are unhappy with the people at overseas military sales corp. Quot the company has not been responsive to customers in my opinion a i have a pile of papers on my desk right # no Are i it ple at u Volk said. A the company has not been re Gephardt Volk Usa eur Legal advisor now from people who Are unhappy with the people at overseas military sales corp a Spon Sive to customers in my  but there is Little Volk or any other military Legal official can do for new car sales customers said capt. Margaret Murphy a Usa eur attorney. Military regulations protect Exchange concessionaires from discipline by any Agency other than cafes Murphy said. The Captain serves As an adviser to the Usa eur disciplinary control Board which is responsible for investigating customer complaints against companies that do business with military people. The Board cannot Force a business to Settle up with a customer but can place the business off limits to military members. A but we cannot touch the new car sales program a Murphy said. A a that safes and that Soff limits to  the Lack of Tough consumer protections is a matter of Choice not necessity according to Stephen Mindell an assistant new York state attorney general specializing in consumer issues. He said that cafes could have included provisions similar to Lemon Laws in its contracts with the automakers. Those contracts were renewed in August 1990. A the military could Tell them that if they want the business they have to accept the contract a he said. A a it a Only  Thomas Gallagher chief of the cafes automotive division in Dallas said that in the past the company has discussed adding a Lemon Law provision to the contract but decided a it was not  he also said that cafes officials did not realize that stateside consumer Protection Laws do not apply to cafes transactions overseas. Such a provision also could improve repair service Dunlap said. A you might Start seeing parts being flown in and More factory trained engineers available a Dunlap said. A american people buying american cars overseas should have some form of Protection similar to what other americans  Dunlap suggested that unhappy military car sales customers write to their congressional members to demand that cafes Reform the new car program to meet the stateside standards. A the Best Way to beat a big corporation is to get someone bigger like Congress on your Side a Dunlap said. A but unless military people make a lot of noise nothing will Ever