A new settlement will see a Kia dealership in New Hampshire pay the attorney general there some $1.25 million. The dealer in question is Dan O’Brien Kia of Concord. The state says that Dan O’Brien Kia used unfair and deceptive practices with its customers and has a long list of terms it’ll have to abide by over the next few years as part of the settlement.
Between 2019 and 2021, the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau says that it received a high volume of consumer complaints surrounding the NH Kia dealer. One in particular baited customers into thinking that they could refinance their deal six months after purchase.
During its investigation, the Bureau says that it found that the dealer “persuaded consumers into purchasing vehicles they could not afford using deceptive sales practices; falsely inflated consumer income information on loan applications; and forged the signature of a customer on loan paperwork.”
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The dealer would offer a “credit repair” or “credit rehabilitation” program and tell customers that after making payments for six months that their credit score would improve and that they then could refinance their deal for a lower payment. According to the AG, that program was nothing more than a sales pitch to get more buyers into cars. On top of that, the dealer would inflate the income of potential buyers on loan applications to increase their approval odds.
“The program was a major problem, because it was very deceptive to consumers,” said Attorney General John Formella. “And the last thing we want is for a consumer who’s trying to do the right thing for their financial situation to be deceived into a loan that they can’t afford. That ultimately puts the consumer in a very tough financial position, and it also affects their credit long term.”
The terms of the settlement should put an end to these types of practices. As part of the $1.25 million Dan O’Brien Kia has to pay to the AG, $42,209 of it will go towards legal fees.
In addition, the dealership has to submit to four other main stipulations. It must hire an independent compliance monitor, which the state must approve. That monitor will review and report on the dealer over the next five years according to a report from WMUR9.
“The whole purpose behind the recording is for us to be able to monitor the dealership’s behavior and ensure that they are both complying with the terms of the consent judgment, but also not repeating the behavior for which we investigated and ultimately took the action that you see here today,” Formella said.
During that time, the dealer must record audio and video of financing discussions between employees and customers, pay restitution to two customers who were victims of the deceptive practices, and implement a staff training program to educate them on state consumer protection laws.