In 1874, Parkville was advertised as “one of the healthiest and pleasantest locations near Baltimore.” Over a century later, it is still true, even as surrounding areas like Overlea, Towson, Hampton and White Marsh become major suburbs in their own right. Nowadays, over 30,000 people call Parkville home. Some of the popular dealerships in the area sell new Toyota, Honda and Ford and used cars of all models.
Unfortunately, auto sellers in the region sometimes engage in dishonest activity, including overcharging or misrepresentation. They might also use schemes such as forgery of lease or finance contracts, odometer fraud, false online price advertising, spot delivery violations including keeping down payments when financing is not approved, not disclosing that a used car used to be a rental, or running credit checks without permission. When this happens, suing a car dealership is often the best path to follow if you want to be taken seriously and not ignored by the dishonest dealer.
When you need a lawyer to sue a car dealership, Whitney, LLP’s auto fraud attorneys can help. Compensation for auto fraud can include unwinding a deal and retuning a damaged car, compensation for economic loss or prior hidden accidents, and compensation for emotional distress due to 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.
A Parkville Car Dealer Forged My Signature
A special kind of fraud happens when a car dealer commits forgery. This can either be through forging a signature or forged initials.
The dealer is counting on the fact that you will not be able to get your hands on the forged sales contract and will not notice the difference in the monthly payments, interest rate, or the amount of the loan that is different, and is higher or lower than what you agreed to. Consumers usually realize their signature has been forged once they receive a monthly statements from the bank and discover different terms.
Whitney, LLP’s car dealership forgery lawyers have helped many clients who came to us saying, “the dealer is forging my signature” and sued the car dealerships for forgery and to recover compensation.
Auto Fraud Lawyer Near Me to Sue to the Car Dealership
Dealers in Parkville or near Overlea and White Marsh can also engage in other types of misrepresentation, overcharging and lying just to sell you a car. One common area of auto fraud is when the dealer rolls back the miles on the odometer. Odometer fraud is an illegal practice is designed to convince you that you are buying a newer car that is worth more.
Another type of dishonest practice is the spot delivery scam. Here, the car dealer cites unrealistic interest rates at which they know the buyer will never be approved, or thinks they can get your financing approved, but then the bank says no and financing is not approved. They will then tell you to bring the car back and try to keep or steal the down payment and charge a mileage fee, although Maryland spot delivery law prohibits that. The dealer may try to force the customer to put more money down, or pay a higher sales price or interest rate. Whitney, LLP has successfully helped many car buyers in spot delivery cases get their down payment back, in full, from a dealership that tried to keep it.
Dealers in places like Towson and Hampton could also engage in false online advertising for their cars. This lying includes online prices that are invalid or untruthful representations about the car. After arriving at the dealership, the price increases and bogus fees are added on. This is illegal, and dealers must honor their online price. If false advertising becomes the basis for your purchase and for paying more than was advertised, it is auto fraud and can be grounds for filing a lawsuit against a car dealership.
Dealers also keep payments for extended warranty and GAP insurance, instead of paying it to the policy administrator. When a customer finds out about theft of these products, it is usually too late, and the customer may end up paying out of pocket instead of having the coverage they purchased.
In some cases, you could leave a deposit or down payment that is meant to hold the car but is ultimately not applied to the purchase price if the deals falls through. When that happens, the dealer must give you back your money although we have seen sellers try to keep this cash.
Another example of illegal behavior is when the dealer runs a credit check without the customer’s permission. The dealer wants to get the process started and might take steps without checking with the buyer, or tries to run another person’s credit to try to get them to be a cosigner without telling them. This hurts the customer’s credit, and is illegal.
Whitney, LLP’s consumer auto fraud lawyers can help buyers who credit was run without permission and who were deceived.
Parkville, MD Car Dealership Fraud Lawyer
Whitney, LLP’s auto fraud lawyers represent clients in and around Parkton against dishonest dealerships.
Fraudulent car dealers act the way they do because they count on their customers just sitting there and taking it. They feel that people will just accept their behavior because that is just the way salespeople are. Customers need to know that they have serious legal rights to fight back against car dealerships.
You should never accept the dealer’s illegal and dishonest behavior. Instead, call Whitney, LLP’s auto fraud lawyers to discuss suing a car dealership and take control of your situation. Contact the attorneys at Whitney, LLP, today at (410) 583-8000 to set up a Legal Consultation.
Watch our YouTube Channel and read our Auto Fraud blog for more information on dealer fraud cases.