I attended the most recent NADA conference in Sin City. One night I settled into a comfy lounge chair at my hotel for a predinner cocktail. I ordered a brown water on the rocks.The drink was to standard. The check, though, was substandard. 

There were two charges listed. The first line item was for the brown water. Its cost matched its menu price. The second was an additional charge of $3 for “Ice.” That’s right: $3 for frozen water. I looked at the menu. I did not see any disclosure for this charge. 

Hopefully what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Hidden Fees and the Digital Trail

The Federal Trade Commission reportedly has hidden fees in its crosshairs as a potentially deceptive practice. Recent press reports also suggest the rest of the Dark Side is alleging consumers were hit with hidden fees in their transactions.

Dealers ask customers to sign their names at least 80 times from meet-and-greet through delivery. A consistent documentation process is indispensable. We affectionately call this documentation the “digital trail.”

A defensible digital trail starts with the first pencil and progresses to the final pencil. It continues through the menu process and contract execution, then concludes with enrollment forms for every voluntary protection product purchased. Each form must be properly and completely executed to support a transparent transaction.

Here are four best practices to ensure that your digital trail will help defend against Dark Side challenges to the transaction:

1. It’s a Match!

The numbers must match. Some in the industry lament the fact that a contract is not a contract. It would be so easy if we could just rely on the buyer’s order, retail contract or lease agreement to support the transaction. This also means no hidden fees.

When the firm that eventually became known as GMAC started financing vehicle purchases for General Motors customers more than 75 years ago, a deal file consisted of a one-sided agreement and the vehicle title. There was no annual percentage rate disclosure. No arbitration provision. No seller’s right to cancel agreement. 

Today, a customer essentially endures a mortgage-like closing with paperwork sometimes hastily gathered in 15 minutes. A properly completed digital trail will document the customer’s agreement to purchase products, at the same price, on every document.

2. It’s About Time!

Today’s dealership management systems enable anyone to track the date and time that digital trail documents are created and signed. Not only must the digital trail documents have to mathematically match, but they must also be executed in the proper sequence. It does no good to have a menu date stamped three days after the date of the contract. 

3. It’s Her Signature!

Some forms are signed in blue ink, others digitally. In the digital trail documentation, the customer must sign each document in each spot the document calls for a signature. Some retail installment sale contracts can require up to eight signatures. Some state forms can require initials in 10 spots. 

If a document is not signed — or heaven forbid, not signed by the customer — the digital trail starts to crumble.

4. It’s Check-in Time!

All pilots, regardless of aircraft or number of hours logged, use a preflight checklist and concede it is a mundane task at best. However, every single pilot I’ve ever known does it every time. They know it can mean the difference between life and death. 

Using a post-closing checklist to confirm you’ve completed the transaction correctly and to your policies and standards is mundane at best. Conscientiously completing a checklist affirming all digital trail documents were properly executed and signed can be the difference between winning or losing a lawsuit.

With consistent product prices and terms, date and timestamps that support the process flow, and all required signatures and checklists, you can — hopefully — parry the Dark Side’s inquiries.

Continued good health, good luck and good selling.

Gil Van Over is a member of Bobit Business Media’s F&I Hall of Fame, executive director of Automotive Compliance Education (ACE), founder and president of gvo3 & Associates, and author of “Automotive Compliance in a Digital World.”