Cleveland Used Car Dealership Being Sued by Ohio Attorney General

CLEVELAND, OH - Cleveland used car dealership Ohio Auto Credit is being sued by Attorney General Mike DeWine, according to a release today.

Ohio Auto Credit and its owners, Mark Gallo and Tim Campbell, are accused of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act by failing to deliver titles and making misrepresentations to consumers. According to the lawsuit, Ohio Auto Credit last operated at 15150 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland. In the past year, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office received 12 complaints against the dealership. Many of the complaints involved title problems, with consumers saying they failed to receive a title after buying a vehicle from Ohio Auto Credit.

The lawsuit also says that Gallo and Campbell told customers that Ohio Auto Credit would pay off remaining loans on traded-in cars. The duo also told customers that they could drop-off cars purchased from OAC for maintenance. When customers picked-up their cars, they would be told that work had been done on the vehicles. The lawsuit claims no such work was ever conducted.

DeWine is asking for the court to fine both owners $25,000 for each offense they committed. The lawsuit also asks for reimbursement to affected customers and for the Title Defect Rescission Fund.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office worked to help resolve consumer complaints, in some cases by making payments from the Title Defect Rescission Fund, a program that helps reimburse consumers when a dealership fails to provide a title as required by law. To date, more than $27,000 from the fund has been used to resolve title complaints against Ohio Auto Credit.

In the lawsuit, filed in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, the Attorney General seeks reimbursement for consumers, reimbursement for the Title Defect Rescission Fund, an end to any violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, and an order prohibiting Ohio Auto Credit’s owners, Gallo and Campbell, from maintaining an auto dealer license in Ohio.

The lawsuit also seeks to make Gallo and Campbell responsible for all court costs associated with the case.

Image via Shutterstock