Now that Owings Mills is a busy Maryland community, people are moving farther down I-795 to Reisterstown. What was once a rural area is now a center of commerce. In Reisterstown and surrounding areas such as Eldersburg and Pikesville, you will find dealers that sell new and used BMWs, Lexus, Volvo, Fords and Nissans. Reisterstown Road has numerous car dealerships, especially as you cross the line from Reisterstown into Owings Mills.
Unfortunately, certain car dealers have their ways of misrepresentation and lying to take as much of your hard-earned money as possible. Some of their preferred means of auto fraud are forgery, odometer fraud, spot delivery violations, false online advertising, keeping down payments and running unauthorized credit checks. When these and other abuses occur, you need to find yourself a lawyer to sue a car dealership and recover compensation. This is when Whitney, LLP auto fraud attorneys can help.
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.
Forgery and Fraud at Reisterstown, MD Car Dealerships
Unfortunately, in our experience, we have seen car dealers in areas like Pikesville, Reisterstown and Owings Mills engage in various types of forgery that can include forging signatures and forged initials.
We have had clients ask us to determine “was the dealer forging my signature?” Whitney, LLP’s dealership forgery lawyers have experience determining altered signatures or forged initials on sale, finance and lease contracts.
Forgeries are often done by the finance manager to change the terms of your contract, with the different terms making the monthly payments, interest rate or loan amount financed either higher or lower.
Dealers will also sell you GAP Insurance or extended warranties, and then forge your signature in order to cancel those products and keep the money for themselves.
Unfortunately, a dealer has many opportunities to forge your signature or initials during the sales and finance process. When the car dealership forges your signature, Whitney, LLP auto fraud lawyers can help your bring claims and recover compensation.
Lawyer to Sue a Car Dealership Near Me
Dealers in Pikesville, Owings Mills, Reisterstown, and Eldersburg can take advantage of customers by using many different types of auto fraud. There is the garden variety case of falsehoods where they either tell a lie or omit important information about the car including hidden damage, lying about an accident history, or not disclosing that a vehicle used to be a rental car. These misrepresentations can make them liable for damages in a lawsuit.
They could also roll back or tamper with the odometer to make the car seem newer than it is and to decrease and lower the mileage.
Another deceptive practice is a spot delivery violation when the dealer lets you to drive the car off the lot before financing is approved. When financing is not approved, the dealer tells you to bring the car back, but also tries to keep your down payment, or tell you that you need to put more money down or pay a higher interest rate. In Maryland, the law requires dealers to return 100% of your down payment if financing is not approved.
False online price advertising, called bait and switch, is also common. The biggest area where they are prone to lying is about the cost of the car, and when customers show up at the dealership, the price increases and extra fees are suddenly added. Dealers must honor the price that they advertise.
Finally, the dealer can harm your credit by running a hard pull without your permission. This is where they actually enter the territory of violating federal law, and you have the right to sue for an unauthorized credit check.
Whitney, LLP can help remove unauthorized credit inquires, and help recover compensation for auto fraud.
Car Dealership Fraud Attorney Near Me in Reisterstown, MD
The lawyers at Whitney, LLP, can help when you want to sue a car dealership for overcharging or any other misrepresentation. Car dealers will usually not listen if you politely ask for them to return the money that they took by overcharging you, and often ignore complaints until they go away.
Watch our YouTube Channel and read our Auto Fraud blog for more information on dealer fraud cases.
Whitney, LLP’s lawyers are experienced at helping consumers successfully sue a car dealership and, make claims and recover compensation. Contact the attorneys at Whitney, LLP, today at (410) 583-8000, or use our Online Form, to set up your free initial consultation.