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A 77-year-old New Jersey man has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against a car dealership, alleging the sales team tricked him into purchasing a car for almost double its value.
According to the plaintiff Kenneth Hammel and his lawyers, Cherry Hill Triplex car dealership pulled the bait-and-switch scam in which one salesman sold Hammel a vehicle with problems, and then he was sold another one for twice the value when he went back for repairs.
“This is a gentleman who is very vulnerable,” said Craig Thor Kimmel, Hammel's attorney. “He comes across as a trusting man, who perhaps isn't as attentive to the details these days. He had no chance against the experts.”
The suit claims that Hammel went to the dealership in December to trade in his car for a new one that would fit his wheelchair lift. He was originally attracted to Cherry Hill because of a television advertisement that promised $8,000 for any trade-ins.
During the 12 or so hours Hammel spent at the dealership, he faced three or four salesmen and was finally talked into buying a 2005 used silver Kia Sedona. Prior to telling him the purchase price or running a credit check, one salesman asked for a $4,000 deposit and even accompanied Hammel to the bank to withdraw the money.
According to the lawsuit, the price of the vehicle was listed as $23,940.78, which was $700 more than the suggested retail price. However, the next day, Hammel noticed problems with the car that involved the dealership's faulty installation of the wheelchair lift.
Hammel was told to bring the new car back for repairs. When he returned to the dealership to pick up his car, Hammel was given a beige 2005 Sedona rather than the silver one he had originally purchased. The salesman assured him it was the same vehicle and also requested that Hammel fill out more paperwork as well as hand over his ATM card to run a credit check.
The suit states that once the salesman eventually realized that the beige car wasn't Hammel's he claimed that his initial purchase was never completed. Hammel was tricked into signing even more paperwork.
According to the suit, Hammel later came to the conclusion that Cherry Hill had traded the silver Sedona a few weeks earlier, deducted $8,000 for depreciation, and rolled it over to a new price of $42,662.92 -- $18,000 over the price of the other used car.
Furthermore, the suit alleges that the car dealer used Hammel's ATM card to withdraw an extra $2,000 without his consent.
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Consumer fraud class action lawsuits are specifically designed to help individuals who have been similarly aggrieved to pursue a common goal – namely to hold the deceptive business accountable for any damages suffered. Thus, consumers who have been defrauded by a corporation or other entity may file a consumer fraud class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others to seek compensation for their shared grievance.
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