The State Attorney General has reached a million-dollar settlement with six car dealers in the state for deceptive sales practices. The AG says the six all either added or tried to add fees that were not advertised in the price.
The State will split the million-dollar settlement with the impacted buyers.
“Today’s settlement is another strong step forward in our Office’s fight to promote a fair, transparent, and competitive marketplace for all consumers, workers, and businesses,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Rhode Islanders should be able to trust that that price they see at the beginning of a transaction is the price they end up paying at the end. And businesses should compete and succeed based on their ability to offer the best products, service, and price rather than on how creatively they can tack on fees. This settlement will return hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rhode Island auto consumers while making sure motor vehicle dealers play by the rules. And until every business competes fairly and openly for business, my Office will continue to prioritize protecting Rhode Islanders from having to bear the cost of deceptive sales practices.”
The Attorney General alleges that Flood Ford of East Greenwich, Flood Mazda of East Greenwich, Flood Ford of Narragansett, Valenti Subaru of Westerly, Valenti Toyota of Westerly, and Saccucci Honda of Middletown all participated in about the same sales practices.
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images News / Getty Images