If you have questions about your account, please contact your local honda financial services customer service (HFS) office. To find the HFS office nearest you, visit the HFS website. You may also call the toll-free number for your region listed on that page.
HFS is an indirect auto lender that makes loans by working through car dealers nationwide. The company sets a risk-based interest rate, or “buy rate,” that it conveys to the car dealer. Then, the dealers can set their own interest rate, which is typically higher than the “buy rate” and can vary based on a variety of objective credit-related factors. These higher rates are known as markups and can generate compensation for dealers. CFPB’s complaint alleges that Honda allowed dealers to charge higher markups on auto loans to thousands of African-American, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander borrowers than to non-Hispanic white borrowers from January 2011 through July 14, 2015.
Under the settlement, Honda will limit dealer markups on its auto loans to significantly less than it did in the past. The company will also pay $24 million in compensation to affected borrowers and take other steps to prevent future discrimination. Honda has appointed an administrator to locate and distribute payments of compensation to borrowers that the department and the CFPB identify as victims. The administration will report to the CFPB on its activities. Honda will also test different approaches to reduce discrimination in its auto lending practices and regularly report to the CFPB about its progress. This is the first case against an auto lender brought by the CFPB under its new authority to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive and abusive acts in the auto finance market.