NEWARK
– The Attorney General’s Office
and Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA)
today filed suit against the 10 dealerships
of the Ramsey Auto Group, alleging multiple
violations of the State’s Consumer
Fraud Act, Motor Vehicle Advertising Regulations
and Used Car Lemon Law.
The Attorney General’s Division
of Consumer Affairs previously took action
against Ramsey Nissan, which is one of
the dealerships named in today’s
lawsuit. In 1998, the State sued Ramsey
Nissan for alleged leasing violations
and subsequently reached settlement. In
2003, the State entered into a consent
order with Ramsey Nissan to settle alleged
violations of Motor Vehicle Advertising
Regulations. In the lawsuit filed today,
Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and DCA
allege that Ramsey Nissan violated terms
of the 2003 consent order and thus is
subject to enhanced penalties of up to
$20,000 for each violation that has occurred.
“Consumers
who are spending tens of thousands of
dollars on a new vehicle are entitled
to nothing less than a fair and honest
deal,” said Acting Governor Richard
J. Codey. “Instead, at these dealerships,
they were taken in with misleading ads,
false promises and slick salesmen. We
won’t allow these practices to continue
in New Jersey.”
“We’re
alleging widespread violations of our
consumer protection laws throughout the
10 dealerships of the Ramsey Auto Group,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “The
nature and extent of the violations illustrate
a culture of contempt toward consumers
that we cannot and will not tolerate.”
Ramsey Auto Group includes the following
dealerships: Ramsey Volvo, Ramsey Subaru,
Ramsey Nissan, Ramsey Infiniti, Ramsey
Saab, Ramsey Mazda, Ramsey Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep/Eagle,
Ramsey Pontiac-GMC, Ramsey Mitsubishi
and Maywood Mitsubishi.
The
lawsuit was filed in State Superior Court
in Bergen County.
“Consumers
who thought they were getting a good deal
at Ramsey Auto Group found out how sadly
mistaken they were,” said Kimberly
Ricketts, Consumer Affairs Director. “We
want full restitution for customers, the
maximum civil penalties allowed and a
corporate-wide change in business practices
so these alleged violations are ended
once and for all.”
Deputy Attorney General Gina M. Betts
is representing the State in this matter.
Among the alleged Consumer Fraud Act and
regulatory violations committed by Ramsey
Auto Group dealerships are:
- Failing
to set forth all disclaimers, qualifiers
or limitations relating to various rebate
programs;
-
Failing to honor the advertised sale
and/or lease price terms;
-
Falsifying sales documents and/or forging
consumers’ signatures thereon;
-
Requiring consumers to execute blank
or incomplete sales documents;
-
Financing a motor vehicle with a sales
document not signed by the consumer;
-
Forwarding sales documents to a finance
company after the consumer canceled
the transaction and had not taken possession
of the vehicle;
-
Adding and charging for after-sale items,
such as window etching, without the
consumer’s knowledge and/or authorization;
-
Failing to credit trade-in allowances
and/or deposits made for motor vehicle
sales or leases;
-
Failing to accurately credit trade-in
allowances and/or deposits made for
motor vehicle sales and/or leases;
-
Failing to cancel a service contract
in a timely manner;
-
Failing to cancel GAP coverage in a
timely manner;
-
Misrepresenting the mechanical condition
of a used motor vehicle;
-
Failing to disclose that a used motor
vehicle had previously been used as
a rental vehicle;
-
Misrepresenting the amount paid to the
State Motor Vehicle Commission for motor
vehicle title and registration;
-
Misrepresenting to consumers that certain
dealer-provided options were mandatory
when in fact they were not;
-
Obtaining motor vehicle insurance with
a company not authorized by the consumer;
and
-
Charging a consumer’s credit card
for insurance without the consumer’s
knowledge or authorization.
Ramsey
Auto Group customers can file complaints
with Consumer Affairs by calling 1-800-242-5846.
Complaint forms can be downloaded at www.NJConsumerAffairs.com
_ag-ph_update.gif)
