Sunday, April 27, 2014

Brooklyn car dealership will pay nearly $100,000 to customers who got snookered by fake ads and bad contracts


FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2012 file photo, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. Schneiderman is urging the NFL to look into whether recruits were improperly asked about their sexual orientation which he says would be illegal in New York. Schneiderman is releasing a letter to NFL Commissioner Goodell reminding him that discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in New York and in at least 23 other states where the NFL’s 32 teams are based. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)Carolyn Kaster/AP State Attorney General Eric Schneirderman investigated the dealership.

A Brooklyn car dealership will pay a nearly $ 100,000 fine for falsely advertising deals for people who lost their cars in Hurricane Sandy, the state Attorney General announced Sunday.


Bay Ridge Nissan ran bogus ads on Craigslist and lied about insurance policies, an investigation by the state’s top prosecutor revealed.


“Anyone buying a car should be able to expect that when they negotiate prices and terms for vehicles, the contracts will accurately reflect those terms,” AG Eric Schneiderman said.


The dealership will pay between $ 1,000 and $ 7,000 in restitution to 15 unwitting customers who were scammed. Many were duped into paying extra money after the dealership secretly changed the contract and added numerous warranty and insurance fees.


In 2012, Vincent Santangelo was looking to put a down payment on a car for his daughter, Ashley, 19. He agreed to pay $ 5,000 down payment towards a $ 17,500 used 2011 Nissan Rogue.


But he later discovered that the $ 5,000 was merely added onto the car’s final price.


“I couldn’t get my money back. I was so aggravated,” he recalled.


After two years, he’s now set to recover $ 2,000 as part of a deal negotiated by the AG’s Office.


“Why would you want to rip someone off who was coming in with a kid?” he asked. “I just don’t understand it. But I’m glad I got a few dollars back.”


Nissan's logo is seen in a dealer in Jakarta February 14, 2013. Nissan Motor Co considers Indonesia key to its bid to resurrect Datsun next year - a brand name retired in the early 1980s - as a sub-$ 10,000 no-frills car to drive growth in emerging market sales. Senior Japan-based Nissan executive Vincent Cobee believes Datsun will generate annual sales of about 100,000 cars in Indonesia by the year ending March 2017 - half of the overall sales volume projected for the combined Nissan and Datsun brands. Last year, Nissan sold 67,578 cars here, about 6 percent of the 1.1 million new cars sold. To match INTERVIEW NISSAN-INDONESIA/DATSUN REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni (INDONESIA - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS LOGO)ENNY NURAHENI/REUTERS The Nissan dealer agreed to refund 15 customers.

He wasn’t alone.


Dealers secretly charged John Powell, 33, thousands $ 5,500 more for the 2011 Nissan Rogue he purchased three years ago.


“They basically switched the contract on us,” Powell recalled.


But staffers ignored his calls and refused to change the price back when he confronted them.


“They didn’t want to help,” he said.


Under the AG’s agreement, the company is required to pay $ 48,341 in restitution and $ 50,000 as a civil penalty to the state.


Consumers who have a complaint are urged to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline, 1-800- 771-7755.


rblau@nydailynews.com





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