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Published by J9 Systems. What's new in business tech, and what it means for yours.

From the brief of Friday, October 9, 2026 · No. 2

From the daily brief · Policy

FTC settles with Greenway Auto over $3,350 in hidden fees: check your trade ads

The order covers one car dealer group, but its test (the advertised price is the price paid) fits any trade business that adds fees at the door.

By Carter Josephson · · 2 min read

What happened

On Oct. 8, 2026, the FTC announced that Greenway Auto Group agreed to settle its lawsuit by making price ads prominently show the actual price a consumer must pay, excluding only government-required charges, and by ending fake prize mailers. The complaint alleges Greenway charged consumers more than $3,350 on average over the advertised price in over 92% of transactions, through administrative, dealer, delivery and processing fees, after an FTC warning letter in March 2026.

What it means for a 10-to-50-person business

This order binds one car dealer group, not your company. It does show how the FTC reads an advertised price. The number in the ad should be what the customer pays, minus only government-required charges like sales tax. A discount that only some customers qualify for should not be shown as the price. Trades businesses that advertise a headline price and add fees on the invoice follow the same pattern. Example: a 16-person plumbing company runs Google and Facebook ads for "$89 drain cleaning." On the invoice, the tech adds a $49 trip charge and a $12 "admin fee," so the customer pays $150, about 69% above the ad. If that happens on most calls, it is Greenway's alleged practice at a smaller scale. Who should care: anyone who advertises a specific dollar price, a "from" price most customers never pay, or a rebate tied to financing or a membership. Who can ignore it: shops that quote every job on site and publish no prices, and firms that bill hourly with no advertised flat fees.

What to do
Try it

Spend an hour this month pulling every live ad, website price and mailer, and either build mandatory trip, fuel and admin fees into the advertised price or take the price out of the ad.

What it costs
What it costs
Audit of ads, website and mailers, office manager
1–2 hrs (≈ $50–$100 at $50/hr)
Rewriting ad copy and price pages
2 hrs (≈ $100 at $50/hr)
Possible drop in ad clicks when the ad shows $150 instead of $89
unknown; track for 30 days
Doing nothing
$0 now; the FTC calls price transparency a top priority, and this lawsuit followed a warning letter
Sources
ftc.gov (primary)

Questions owners ask

Does this FTC order apply to my HVAC or plumbing company?

No. It binds Greenway Auto Group only, and it takes legal force once the federal court in Orlando signs it. It is useful as a signal of how the FTC judges advertised prices.

Can I still charge a trip fee?

The order does not ban fees. According to the complaint, Greenway's problem was mandatory fees left out of the advertised price. The FTC's warning to Greenway was that the price consumers see in advertising should be the actual price they pay.

Do I have to include sales tax in my advertised price?

The Greenway order excludes charges the government requires consumers to pay, so taxes can sit outside the advertised price.

Three to five of these, every weekday morning.

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