Long Island Car Dealership That Scammed Consumers Settles Lawsuit: AG

Consumers who were victims of deceptive practices by car dealerships in Floral Park and Staten Island are now eligible to receive restitution after Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the settlement of two lawsuits Thursday.

The settlement requires Best Auto Outlet, Inc., located in Floral Park, to pay $115,000 in restitution and SG Hylan Motors Corp., a Staten Island dealership doing business as Staten Island Honda and Staten Island Nissan, to pay $1.5 million to consumers.

The AG filed a lawsuit against SG Hylan in July that alleged these dealerships unlawfully sold credit repair and identity theft services as well as other “after-sale” items to consumers. Best Auto sold these fraudulent services to 200 consumers while SG Hylan sold them to 2,300 consumers, sometimes exceeding a cost of $2,000 per consumer, the AG says.

Patch contacted Best Auto and spoke to a representative who said she “knew nothing about that” and said the manager will get back to us for comment.

SG Hylan must also pay $100,000 in penalties and Best Auto must pay $10,000, the AG says.

“When consumers shop for a car, they deserve an honest and fair negotiation – and not to be misled by deceptive dealerships looking to saddle customers with hidden costs,” Schneiderman said in a press release.

The AG says these settlements prohibit the dealerships from:

• Selling, offering to sell or marketing credit repair and identity theft services in connection with the sale or lease of a vehicle.
• Selling, offering for sale, or providing to consumers any after-sale product or service unless, prior to such sale, certain material terms, including price, are disclosed verbally and in writing.
• Misrepresenting the price of the vehicle in final lease or sale contracts.
• Failing to provide consumers with sales or lease agreements that clearly and conspicuously itemize each after-sale product or service and its price.

The AG says it will continue to investigate a number of other New York auto dealers that sold or sell after-sale services without the knowledge and consent of consumers. These settlements are part of the AG’s plan to end automobile dealers charging customers for hidden purchases, which is called “jamming.”

“My office will continue to investigate and hold accountable any auto dealers trying to pad their pockets by charging fees for undisclosed products and services that consumers do not need and did not ask for,” Schneiderman said.

The AG settled with 11 dealerships in 2015 for amounts totaling over $17 million in restitution and penalties.

More than 22,000 consumers were eligible for restitution under the settlements with the following dealerships:

• I. Autoworld, Inc. d/b/a Generation Kia in Bohemia
• Nissan 112 in Patchogue
• Huntington Honda, Honda of New Rochelle and New Rochelle Toyota
• Westbury Jeep Dodge and Fiat of Westbury
• Security Auto Sales, Inc. d/b/a Security Dodge in Amityville
• Paragon Auto Dealership: a group of automobile dealers in Queens and Westchester counties, including Paragon Honda, Paragon Acura, and White Plains Honda
• Plaza Auto Dealership: a group of dealers located on Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, including, Plaza Toyota-Plaza Scion, Plaza Hyundai, Plaza Honda and Acura of Brooklyn
• Manfredi Auto Dealership: a group of dealers located on Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, including Manfredi Fiat and Fiat of SI, Manfredi Mitsubishi, Manfredi Kia, Manfredi Hyundai, Manfredi Cadillac, Manfredi Chrysler Jeep & Dodge, Manfredi Fiat Inc., S.I. Toyota, Manfredi Toyota and Manfredi Scion, Manfredi Subaru, Manfredi Mazda and Staten Island Subaru
• Koeppel Auto Dealership: a group of dealers located in Jackson Heights, Long Island City and Woodside, Queens, including Koeppel Nissan, Inc.; LK Automotive Enterprises, LLC. d/b/a Koeppel Subaru, KL Auto Enterprises LLC. d/b/a Koeppel Mazda and Koeppel Volkswagen, Inc.

The AG also announced a settlement in 2015 with Credit Forget, Inc., a company that purported to provide the credit repair and identity theft protection services.

Consumers who believe they have been jammed with unwanted products or services in connection with a vehicle lease or purchase or who were sold Credit Forget It’s credit repair or identity theft protection services are urged to file complaints online or call 1-800-771-7755.

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