About 24,000 people call Fairland, Maryland, home, and many of them are drawn to the area’s abundant parks and public spaces. Fairland has been ranked as one of the best places to live in the state due in large part to its good schools, reasonable real estate prices and proximity to major employment centers. As the result, there are many car dealerships serving the population. However, not all of them are honest, and consumers need to beware when shopping for a new or used vehicle.
Dishonest Fairland, MD car dealerships can engage in many schemes including:
- Online price misrepresentation;
- Increasing the MSRP;
- Failing to disclose a rental history of a used car;
- Hiding accidents and damage;
- Forging signatures on sales and finance contracts; and
- Keeping down payments after financing is not approved.
If you have been deceived or defrauded by a car dealer, the auto fraud attorneys at Whitney, LLP, can explain your legal options and pursue compensation on your behalf, including unwinding bad deals and recovering compensation for fraud.
Here are reviews from what some of our past clients have said about us, and here are some of our past settlement results in claims and lawsuits against car dealerships. We offer legal consultations. Call us at (410) 583-8000 or use our online form to request your free initial consultation today.
The Car Dealership Forged My Signature
If you recently bought a vehicle in Fairland or a nearby community such as Calverton, Burtonsville, Carriage Hill or Colesville, it is wise for you to study the sales, finance or lease documents you were handed carefully.
At Whitney, LLP, our attorneys know how to spot the signs of auto fraud and forgery, and can explain how dealers sometimes send banks contracts with forged initials and signatures that feature higher prices or charges for unwanted extras like gap insurance and extended warranties.
Dealers may try to conceal forgery and fraud by lowering the interest rate in order to offset the higher selling price. That could leave you with a bigger loan to pay off even if the monthly payment is unchanged. Changes in the interest rate, monthly payment or loan balance, whether higher or lower, are signs of forgery and fraud. Forgery happens at large dealers selling new vehicles as well as at small used car lots.
Instead of typing “They were forging my signature at a dealer near me” into a search engine and looking for answers, take solid steps to get even by putting the law on your side and suing a car dealership with Whitney, LLP’s lawyers sue car dealerships across Maryland for a variety of dishonest schemes.
Further, check that the VIN on your documents matches the actual VIN plate on your car, and then look to see if the numbers on your loan documents are in line with the figures you see on your monthly car loan statement. If you notice any discrepancies or just get the feeling that something is not right, you should contact Whitney, LLP consumer lawyers to discuss your legal rights.
Car Dealership Misrepresentation Schemes in Fairland, MD
Forged initials and bogus paperwork are just one form of auto fraud that Whitney, LLP’s consumer lawyers sue car dealerships over. Dealers use many others to make additional and illegal profits, including:
Failing to register a vehicle after the customer pays registration fees.
Failing to provide the title to a customer after selling the customer a car.
In spot delivery violations, dealers will allow a customer to drive off in a car although financing has not been approved. Then, the dealer may tell the customer that financing was denied, and the customer must pay a higher interest, or other increased price, to keep the car. Or, the dealer will tell the customer to return the car to the dealership, and then tell the customer that the dealership is keeping the down payment. In Maryland, when financing is not approved, the dealership must immediately return the down payment.
Other common reasons consumers have for suing a car dealerships include credit checks being run without consent, a used car’s rental history not being disclosed, odometer fraud and GAP and extended warranty payments are stolen by the dealership and the policies are not put into effect.
In some cases, customers take action after finding out that the new vehicle they purchased was not actually new or learning that it had previously been delivered and returned by a customer.
Dishonest dealers also hide salvage titles. Dealers can remove salvage brands from titles by first registering motor vehicle paperwork in a state with less stringent regulations and then selling the damaged cars, pickup trucks or SUVs in Maryland.
Car dealers are usually eager to get the sale but reluctant to follow through on promises they made during the sales process. If a dealer has been making excuse after excuse, the lawyers at Whitney, LLP, could be what you need to get the things you have been promised.
Fairland, MD, Lawyer for Auto Dealer Fraud Claims
If you paid more than you should have because of a car dealer’s lying, overcharging or misrepresentation, or were taken advantage of, the experienced car dealer fraud attorneys at Whitney, LLP, can help you fight back and unwind the deal and/or recover compensation for fraud.
For your Legal Consultation, fill out our Online Contact Form today or call us on (410) 583-8000.