A North Phoenix used car dealership is banned from selling cars, the Arizona Attorney General (AZAG) announced on Monday.
In a consent judgment, Front Line Auto Auction which also does business as Uncle Joe's Auto Sales and Uncle Joe's Auto Consignment Shop, is accused of luring customers by posting cars as a private seller on craigslist. Court documents say, often the listed cars were either not available or cost more than the advertised price.
We stopped by the business which was located near 24th Street and Bell Road and to appears to have been replaced by another defunct dealership.
"Uncle Joe's" was run by married couple Gina and Joseph Colombo, and was the subject of more than thirty complaints during the eight months the company was in business, according the AZAG.
Accusations range from overcharging of various fees to misleading advertising to not disclosing actual interest rates.
Court documents say Uncle Joe's "routinely charged consumers certain "official" fees that were substantially more than what public officials charged for licensing, registration and filing."
In one example, the company is accused of collecting $50 to $495 for a car title that should typically only cost $4.
The documents also say some consumers complained that copies of their contracts included pages that appeared to have forgeries of their signatures.
As part of the consent judgment the Colombo's are no longer allowed to sell or finance cars in Arizona. They are also to pay $70,000 in restitution to customers.
Victims have until February 2016 to file a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office, and be eligible for payment. You can do that here.
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