Under Pennsylvania law, dealers must clearly itemize all charges and fees on the finance agreement. Dirty dealers often do not follow this law, because it enables them to inflate the charges and fees or to sneak in prohibited charges or fees. This is another telling sign of a dishonest dealer and Dealer Fraud.
This is not a new law. It has been around for a very long time. The dealers know this law. To become licensed, their staff have to take courses that explain this law. So there is no excuse.
So it does not happen by mistake or neglect. It’s done intentionally to serve a purpose.
The purpose is both clear and sinister. Clumping charges and fees together facilitates overcharging and inflating fees and charging completely phantom fees.
Dirty dealers then can pad their unearned profits by thousands and thousands of dollars over thousands of vehicle sales.
This is not just me saying all this. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities recently issued an Enforcement Order against a dealer for not clearly itemizing all charges and fees. More specifically, rather than listing the fees for the Title, Registration and Lien recording, the dealer listed them all together as one charge.
The Enforcement Action and Order was against Cross Roads Auto Sales in West Chester, Pa and its owner. CRAS is an independent used car dealer. I only wish the DOB would police more closely the much more politically influential new car franchise dealer and groups.
If you think you have been the victim of consumer fraud or Dealer Fraud, then you should contact a qualified attorney right away.