The ways in which car dealers and auto finance companies defraud the consumer are many. Here is a list of things to watch out for. While not all of these items constitute fraud, by themselves, these are all “red flags” signaling potential misconduct. If you purchased your vehicle in California and think you may be a victim of Auto Fraud, we can help. Call 1-800-243-4566 or contact us online.

• False advertising
• Being charged more than the advertised price
• Bait & Switch – on price, year, model, new versus used, or finance terms
• Switch from sales to lease financing
• Phony contests or “specials”
• “Stealth credit check” during the test-drive
• Failure to properly value or credit the trade-in
• Fraud concerning negative equity in the trade-in
• Premature sale of the trade-in
• Keeping customers captive in the finance department
• Misrepresentation of title
• Misrepresentation of vehicle history
• Selling prior lemons without disclosure
• Selling prior salvage vehicles (wrecks) without disclosure
• Selling prior daily rental vehicles without disclosure
• Selling gray market vehicles without disclosure
• Negotiating contracts primarily in Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and certain other languages, without providing a written contract in the primary language.
• Failure to make certain finance disclosures in auto leasing
• Loan packing (adding unwanted products to bump monthly payments)
• Dealer kickbacks from lenders based on interest rates
• “Yo-yo” deals, in which the dealer requires a second loan agreement
• Due bill fraud