New Rochelle Car Dealers Deceived Customers, Must Make Restitution: AG

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - New York State has settled with four automobile dealer groups that used deceptive tactics to jack up car prices.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced Thursday that four separate settlements with auto dealers will return almost $2 million in restitution to nearly 5,000 customers and $174,000 in penalties.

The dealerships—Koeppel Auto Group, Plaza Dealerships and Manfredi Auto Group and Huntington Honda—have locations in New York, Long Island and Westchester.

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Huntington Honda operates in New Rochelle as Westchester Autoplex, Inc., d/b/a Honda of New Rochelle, 25 East Main St., and Automotive, Inc., d/b/a/ New Rochelle Toyota, 47 Cedar St.

Huntington Honda Inc. is also located in Westbury.

The settlement with Huntington Honda affects 475 consumers, with $270,950 in restitution and $30,000 in penalties.

These settlements are part of the attorney general’s initiative to end the practice engaged in by many dealers of “jamming,” which is unlawfully charging consumers without their consent or knowledge for purchases, officials said.

“Consumers deserve to be treated honestly by car dealerships, and shouldn’t be hit with hidden fees that inflate the price of the vehicle, Schneiderman said in a prepared statement.

“My office will continue to make it a priority to crackdown on these deceptive business practices that target unsuspecting consumers,” he said.

Usually, after a customer worked with a salesperson to choose a car, the customer then met with a “Finance and Insurance Manager” who would try to sell the consumer additional “after sale” products, which included extended service contracts, key replacement services, security systems, credit repair services and identity theft protection services.

These extras could add hundreds of dollars or more to the sale or lease price of the car.

Last year, the attorney general was able to shut down Credit Forget, Inc., which sold unlawful credit repair and ID theft protection services to the dealers.

Between 2010 and 2015, these dealers used fraudulent, deceptive and illegal methods to sell Credit Forget, Inc. contracts to about 5,000 consumers

According to the attorney general, the settlements prohibit the dealership from doing the following:

• 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.

Schneiderman said consumers who believe they have been “jammed” with unwanted products or services or who were sold CFI’s credit repair or identity theft protection services by a car dealership are urged to file complaints online or by calling 1-800-771-7755.

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