Automotive sales, repairs top list

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Maryland consumers turned to the state attorney general last year to fight bad car repairs, poor cell phone service and landlord-tenant fights.

Problems with purchasing a new or used car and repairing cars dominated the top 10 consumer complaints handled by the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Office in 2005, according to Rebecca Bowman, assistant Maryland attorney general.

About 50 percent of the auto repair complaints were mediated successfully, she said.

Complaints about purchasing a new car typically involve customers leaving the dealership with a new vehicle and then being told to return to make adjustments to their purchase contract, Bowman said.

Anne Arundel County car dealer Jack Fitzgerald with Fitzgerald Automalls said unscrupulous dealers will often try to get people in a vehicle without signing documents and then call them later and say the customer needs to put more money down or the monthly payments have changed.

“It’s called yo-yo,” Fitzgerald said. “They put out and bring you back in.”

Consumers also complained about their new vehicles under the state Lemon Law, which requires the dealer to buy back the vehicle if the customer returns to the dealership four times within the first 15 months or 15,000 miles to fix the same problem.

Used car complaints typically involve older vehicles breaking down and the customer not getting much help from the dealership with repairs, Bowman said.

“If a vehicle is more than six years old, the dealer can sell it with or without a warranty,” Bowman said.

Other complaints on the list: Cell phone service complaints came in at No. 4 in consumer complaints to the state.

Most complaints deal with promotions. For example, a vendor may promote a $29.99 per month deal, but when the consumer signs up, they get a bill of more than $40 per month, Bowman said.

Furniture sales, landlord-tenant disputes, home repairs and home builder disputes also appear on the list.

Last year, Maryland Attorney General Robert Curran issued a cease and desist order against the Dinette Gallery in College Park. The store was ordered to pay more than $75,000 in restitution to 240 customers who paid deposits but never got the furniture they ordered.

“Stores that collect deposits for household goods must provide an estimated delivery date in writing and if the store fails to deliver the household goods within two weeks of the estimated delivery date, then customers have the right to a refund,” Curran said.

TOP 10 COMPLAINTS

» The top 10 complaints mediated in 2005 involved the following:

1. Auto repair

2. New auto sales

3. Used auto sales

4. Cellular phone service

5. New furniture sales

6. Landlord-tenant disputes

7. New home builders

8. General merchandise sales

9. Telephone long-distance

service

10. New computer sales

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