Top 10 Car Dealership Problems Our Auto Fraud Lawyers Deal With

Whitney, LLP’s auto fraud lawyers deal with Maryland car dealership problems for our clients. We represent car buyers and sue new and used, small and large car dealerships when they rip off customers.  If you bought a car in the last 3 years in and have questions about your contract or have a potential case, call us.  Consultations are free.  The dealer can ignore you, but they can’t ignore a lawsuit.

The 10 schemes listed below are the most common problems that we help clients with. There are other schemes, but we see these the most. Please call us to talk about your car deal that you need help with. 

• Settlements for our clients often include:
  • Canceling a finance contract;
  • Money returned and giving the car back;
  • Getting back money you were overcharged on the price or unwanted add-ons;
  • Canceling unwanted warranties and getting a refund;
  • 100% down payment returned if financing was not approved;
  • Money to repair hidden damage; and
  • Additional compensation for emotional distress due to dealer’s fraud and deception.

Here are some of our past settlement results in claims and lawsuits against car dealerships.

If you are searching for an auto fraud attorney to help you deal with a car dealership problem after you feel the dealer was dishonest, call us to discuss your legal rights with a Legal Consultation at 410 583 8000 or use our Online Contact Form.

10 Most Common Car Maryland Dealership Schemes 

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1. When financing is not approved but the dealer sells your trade or keeps the down payment;
2. False online price advertising, the price is increased when the customer arrives at the dealership;
3. Forgery on finance or lease agreements, often changing monthly payments, loan amounts and interest rates;
4. Finance charges added if financing through Credit Acceptance (that is illegal);
5. Rental history/commercial use of a used car is not disclosed;
6. Inflating income or improving job title on a customer’s credit application;
7. Hiding car damage or not disclosing a salvage title;
8. Odometer fraud; 
9. Selling a car without having the title; and
10. GAP and Extended Warranty is paid for but not purchased.

Read more below about each one of these scams. 

Our lawyers help buyers unwind bad deals and recover compensation for car buyers, with no out of pocket fees or costs to our clients. We offer Legal Consultations.

Daniel W. Whitney, Sr. and Daniel W. Whitney, Jr. of Whitney, LLP represent car buyers against dishonest dealerships. If you’ve been cheated by a dealership, give us a call.

Spot Delivery Violations – When Financing is Not Approved.

• When financing is not approved, the dealer must:
  • return the trade-in, 
  • return 100% of the down payment, and
  • not force you to buy another car or pay a higher price/higher interest

Spot delivery is when a car dealership lets a customer drive their new car off the lot, but financing has not been approved. Maryland has strict laws with spot delivery. If financing is not approved, the dealership has four days to provide written notice to the customer. Dealerships often sell the trade-in before financing is approved and force the customer to buy a new car to replace the trade in. Dealers also often illegally keep down payments and charge bogus mileage, depreciation or inspection fees when financing is not approved.

We can help if the dealer sold your trade-in and financing was not approved, or they kept your down payment.

Forgery in Auto Finance and Lease Contracts

Our lawyers find forgeries in about 1 out of every 5 lease and finance contracts we review. This high percentage indicates forgery is a widespread practice in Maryland.

Signs of car contract forgery include:

• the monthly payments are higher or lower than what was agreed to at the dealership;
• the interest rate is different;
• the loan amount on your credit report is higher or lower than agreed to; and
• GAP Insurance and extended warranty coverage you paid for is not in effect when you make a claim.

The most likely way these changes happen is if a customer’s signature is forged on a separate set of contract paperwork, and the forged contract is sent to the finance or lease company

Read about our $50,000 settlement in a lawsuit involving forgery and fraud allegations against a Waldorf, MD car dealership, when our client’s monthly payment was increased by $24/month without her permission using a second contract she never signed. Of course, all cases are different and past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

False Online Price Advertising, then Increasing the Price

Dealers must honor the advertised price.  Maryland has strict laws and regulations that require dealers to honor advertised prices.

Many car buyers are lured into a dealership by a low price advertised online. When they arrive, the price is much higher and there are often inflated “inspection” or reconditioning fees added to the price.  Take a screen shot, or print, the online price and terms, and call Whitney, LLP to take action to get back the money you paid over the advertised price. Even if you signed the contract with the inflated price, you still have legal rights.

Increased Price and Bank Fees after Financing With Credit Acceptance

If you financed a car through Credit Acceptance and the dealer increased the price, call Whitney, LLP. In a similar case, we  recovered the price increase of approximately $5,000 and obtained additional compensation.

Buyers with low credit scores often have no choice but to finance through Credit Acceptance.  Dealerships often increase the price of a car once they realize that a customer is going to finance through Credit Acceptance in order to pass along the high fees that Credit Acceptance charges the dealership for financing. However, Maryland law is very strict and prohibits both dealers and banks from passing these finance charges on to car buyers.

Failing to Disclose a Used Car’s Rental Car or Commercial Use History

Maryland law requires dealers to disclose if the car they are selling was a rental car, demo vehicle, or taxi. If this is not disclosed, you may be able to unwind the deal and recover compensation. Buyers often find they were sold a rental after purchasing, and then running a CarFax later.  Many buyers do not want a rental because they have been used harshly, not taken care of, and were in accidents before they were sold.

Car Dealers Inflating Income on Credit Applications

Inflating customer income and creating false job titles, and decreasing monthly rent or mortgage payments on the credit application is a common practice. Dishonest finance managers and dealerships do this to obtain financing approval for a loan amount greater than a customer should be approved for. When this happens, customers get the car but are stuck with a higher payment they cannot afford. A red flag is when the car payment seems to be too high to pay. The victim of the credit application fraud has serious legal rights, and may be able to return the vehicle and recover compensation.

GAP Insurance / Extended Warranty Was Secretly Cancelled

Dealers may charge car buyers for LoJack, GAP, Extended Warranties, and Pre-Paid Maintenance, then simply pocket the money without providing the protection that was paid for. For example, a Maryland Nissan dealership charged a woman $4,100 for LoJack that was never installed, and dealers often simply keep the GAP money and hope that customers do not find out.

Many car buyers have an accident and call their GAP Insurance company to make a claim, or their car needs a repair and they call the service contract company to make a claim. When the customer is told that there is no policy in effect, or that their policy was cancelled, that is a sign that the dealership pocketed the money.  If this happens, you can recover the money you were tricked into paying.

Hidden Damage and Salvage Titles

Used cars are always at risk of a hidden problem, but Maryland law requires dealers to disclose “material facts.” Material facts are an important piece of information that a consumer would consider important to know before buying. Of course, accident history, hidden damage and salvage titles are important. When these are not disclosed, you have legal rights.

Odometer Fraud

Only the worst of dealerships engage in odometer fraud. The true high mileage is usually discovered when the buyer takes the car in for service and is informed that the mileage is off, or that there is much more wear and tear on the car than there should be also. Customers also discover odometer fraud when they look at an accurate CarFax and see the true mileage.

If you have been the victim of Odometer fraud, Whitney, LLP can help.

Car Dealer Sold The Car Without Having the Title

It seems obvious that a dealer has the title if they are selling a car to a buyer, but very often, dealers have not paid off the car they sell to a customer. This is an illegal practice that hurts buyers when they are not able to register the car due to not having the title. These fraudulent deals can result in compensation for the buyer, as well as unwinding the deal.

Forced to Purchase GAP, Extended Warranty or Pre-Paid Maintenance for Financing Approval

Finance managers often lie and falsely tell buyers that the “bank requires you to buy these to qualify for financing.” This is false. Dishonest finance managers will try to sell aftermarket products that have high margins and large commissions such as GAP, extended warranty plans, vehicle service contracts, rust protection, paint protection, dent and ding repair and pre-paid maintenance plans. Banks do not require customers to buy these after market products, and these products are not required to be purchased for financing to be approved.

Being required to buy these expensive products can add thousands to the price, and hundreds to a monthly payment. If you were tricked into buying these products based on false representations, Whitney, LLP can help. 

Whitney, LLP Helps Car Buyers With Misrepresentation

If you were a victim of problems at a car dealership and need help dealing with a dishonest dealership, or a dishonest car dealership deceived or cheated you, call Whitney, LLP today for your Legal Consultation. Dealerships often ignore customer complaints when the customer is not represented by an attorney, or settle claims for far less than they are worth.

At Whitney, LLP, our lawyers can examine your car contract for fraud, at no cost to you. We may be able sue the car dealership that deceived you and either unwind the deal, recover compensation, or both. For your Legal Consultation, call Whitney, LLP at 410 583 8000.

Whitney, LLP’s auto fraud attorneys represents car buyers in cases across Maryland, including in Baltimore, Pasadena, Cockeysville, Owings Mills, Temple Hills, Marlow Heights, Cockeysville, Germantown, Silver Spring, Frederick, Waldorf, Glen Burnie, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Ellicott City and Salisbury.