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Tampa auto dealer settles fraud suit
By MARK ALBRIGHT, Times Staff Writer Ferman Motor Car Co. has agreed to hand out $400 discount coupons to about 1,000 customers to settle a consumer fraud lawsuit alleging the dealer slapped extra charges on the purchase of their leased cars. Ferman, which owns more than 20 dealerships in Florida, did not admit guilt in settling the Hillsborough County Circuit Court case. But attorneys who filed the class-action suit alleged Ferman tacked on charges when customers who leased cars tried to exercise their right to purchase them at a previously set price. The case is the latest chapter in a series of consumer fraud cases against Tampa Bay area car dealers. In an unrelated case, the Florida attorney general's office is investigating whether managers at Clearwater Toyota and Clearwater Mitsubishi illegally overcharged more than 100 customers dating back to 1998. The Clearwater dealerships are owned by Sonic Automotive Inc., a Charlotte, N.C., company that owns more than 200 dealerships nationwide. In Pinellas, several customers filed lawsuits alleging they had been overcharged by Sonic employees. The suits claim managers at the Mitsubishi dealership added undisclosed charges and forged customer signatures on loan documents for such things as extended service warranties at inflated prices. One review of the Mitsubishi dealership by the attorney general's office found that, during a six-month period, 28 percent of all transactions included overcharges. Sonic officials say they are cooperating with investigators and the company is conducting its own investigation. One employee at Clearwater Mitsubishi has been fired. The company said it found no evidence of misconduct at Clearwater Toyota. In the Ferman case, Patricia Wheaton of Palm Harbor balked at paying Ferman BMW in Tarpon Springs an extra $299.95 for the BMW 525i she had leased for two years. Part of Ferman's defense was that the practice is widespread among auto retailers. The Tampa company said extra service charges are the only way the dealership can recoup costs such as "inspecting, cleaning and adjusting" new cars. The $400 discount coupons can be cashed in for service at Ferman or used in buying another car from the dealer.
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From the Times Business report Robert Trigaux
From the AP
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