Featured “Misleading Promotions and Fraudulent Sales Tactics”

wow. until now, i did not think it was possible for dealerships to sink any lower than sop. i hope customers freeze them out and mfg.'s. consider looking elsewhere.

 

Scumbags!

 

Less than $15,000 per dealership.

It's not much of a deterrent! I wouldn't hold my breath for better behaviour.

 

When buying our Prius "our" dealership rewrote the contact, and in the process changed "documentation charge" from "no charge" to $295. AND got testy when I called them on it.

Always willing to give 'em free advert, this was:

Port Moody Open Road Toyota

 

Had a dealership try to screw me on a trade (Non-Toyota dealer). As I was in finance and signing off on forms, I noticed that when the crook was entering the information in the computer he noted that my trade in was not part of the deal with the purchase of a new car. This after spending a few hours there negotiating on the trade in. I asked the crook about this and he said that it was not legal to include the trade in with the purchase on the same contract. I told him that I have never heard of this and told him to keep the new car. Called the 2nd dealer I was working with and explained the situation to them and they also had no idea what this other dealer was doing. Bought a new car and traded in my old one at the 2nd dealer. The 1st dealer was hoping I would buy the car, and they would more than likely back out on the trade! It is sad that buying a new car is such a challenge and dealerships and employees of dealers take all the joy out of it!

 

I get 5 of the scratch cards a week from dealerships...I just toss them...its all a scam like the S.African lottery e mails

 

The irony? Tesla's business model breaks their mold, and so what do they do? Dealerships tried to force 'em out of several states.
.

 

of course, people should be screaming at their legislators, but like everything else, they'll be confused by the onslaught of fud from the dealers lobby.

 

Given the severity of some of those claims $310,000 damages or settlement, seems like peanuts.

 

agreed. anyone remember when we had a member here, who, every time you said something truthful about a dealer, he'd work up a sweat telling you how it's all baloney, and how difficult the business is, and how they barely make enough money to stay open?

 

NO ?!?

Hard to believe

 

The infractions really vary.

Scratch Offs? Probably NOT as big a deal.

Obtaining signatures on unfilled documents and filling in terms later that the consumer didn't agree to?
That's worse than perhaps a misleading scratch off ticket designed to simply get the person in the dealership.

 

With all respect due to the consumer, any idiot who signs a blank check is giving permission to the counter-party to write in whatever amount they please.

NO ?!?

Outrageous
Unheard of
Why, the nerve !

 

Yes, but that still doesn't make it OK.
You still need to try and protect the consumer, and if the dealership is practicing this action, it is illegal and fraudulent.

For older people, or even most people, buying a vehicle and signing contracts and paperwork is probably something the don't do everyday. Really easy to mislead people into signing things when sitting in an office and being handed a stack of various papers.

Even if people shouldn't trust the dealership, and should know better, that's really not the point. Dealerships shouldn't be allowed to operate in a criminally fraudulent manner.

 

Signing a blank check is neither illegal or fraudulent. Filling in the amount of a signed blank check by the intended counter party is neither illegal or fraudulent.

Taking advantage of a stupid or poorly informed consumer is neither illegal or fraudulent. You may wish to avoid that dealership because you find their ethical practices objectionable, but do not confuse your (fair) opinion with legality. The NYS office is playing politics.

 

just like when they make you sign the SOLD AS IS paperwork..might as well flush your money down the toilet..you have no rights when you sign on the dotted line

 

First, no one "made you" do anything. It is your obligation to read the contract and decide if you agree to the provisions.

Second, consumer law has has what is called (I think) implied merchantability. I know that it applies to new stuff, not sure about used. The idea is that the contract implicitly includes basic guarantees, such as the thing is not DOA.

 

Oh come on Sage...

If the dealerships are putting partially filled contracts in front of people and having them sign them, only to fill out amounts and details later? That's fraudulent.
I mean you can bet it's not an action of convenience, they aren't filling out the contracts to be exactly what they told the consumer it was going to be just because the printer ran out of ink.

YES...should people never sign a blank or partially filled document? Sure.

But the impetus is on the dealerships being ethical enough to NOT lure unsuspecting people into providing signatures to 1/2 filled or blank document that they later fill out to become something the intended signer was not aware of or expecting.

 

I think the situation was that they were told they are signing a check for the money(car) they won, and later finding out it was actually how much they agreed to pay for the 'prize'.

The contracts weren't blank. The dealer mislead the customer on what it was a contract for.

Customers should read before signing, but that doesn't mean the other party can flat out lie.