Legal Question in Consumer Law in New Jersey

I want to find out if I can file a complaint against Hudson Toyota for a recent transaction I had with them.

I recently bought a certified used car from them. I negotiated a deal for $15,000 + sales tax. The retail price was to include all registration, document and titling fees which amounted to $432. I had also negotiated installation of keyless entry for no cost to me which was verbal.

When I signed the papers, the purchase order form had the above information exactly as I had negotiated which I signed with no mention of Keyless entry for which they gave me a "We owe you" receipt which I can use to install the keyless entry. There was no mention of price of the said item in any of the forms I signed or that I was paying for it.

I recently found out that that I was charged for registration, titling and document fees twice - once on the order form and again in the contract. When I went back to the dealership, their finance manager denied what is clearly obvious on the paperwork. To explain for the $432 discrepancy he said I was charged for the keyless entry. When I asked him to show me where I signed for the "optional" keyless entry, he said it was "built in" with the price and it cost me $499. I asked them if they were required to disclose this to me when I'm buying it, and he said no. There is no paperwork which shows I agreed to pay for this charge. I called their service department to ask for the cost of the keyless entry and they said it was $632.

What he did was he reverse-engineered the math of the entire deal and attributed the discrepancy to the cost of keyless entry denying that it was supposed to be free. Basically he made it up that the said item's cost was 499 because it fit into the math instead of accepting that he charged me twice for registration and other fees. I have our entire conversation about these charges on tape. I kept my IPOD recording on for over an hour while I haggled with them because I had a bad feeling about this.

I recently also found out that he added extra warranty care and GAP insurance package which I had declined. Unfortunately, after reading the original price sheet I didn't pay much attention to what I signed in the next 2/3 pages. I even have a witness who was with me at the moment who also remembers I declined it. I believe the finance manager slipped in all these extra costs.

What are my legal options with these issues? I am looking to hire an attorney but I would prefer other routes to resolve this.


Asked on 10/07/10, 11:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Paul Riviere Riviere Cresci & Singer LLC

This purchase is covered under the Consumer Fraud Act. Under the Consumer Fraud Act the use by any business of any �unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise or misrepresentation� in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise or real estate, is unlawful. Furthermore, under the CFA you are entitled to treble (triple damages) and attorney's fee can be awarded to the prevailing consumer. I have handled these cases before, the dealership will give you a song and dance until they have a looming CFA case against them. I would seek legal counsel and clean up this transaction with the help of a lawyer. Feel free to call my office for assistance (732) 64-NJ-LAW.

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Answered on 10/12/10, 11:27 am


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