A handful of Alaska automobile dealerships advertised cars to be sold that they did not have in reality and, in a few instances they did not honour the advertised price of vehicles as per a lawsuit filed by the state.
The Department of Law said its civil action Wednesday against the firms who manage the Swickard dealerships located in Anchorage and Palmer began with three complaints from customers to the state’s consumer protection division in the latter half of 2022 and into 2023. The complaints includes one that was made by an investigation officer with the unit who, working in a personal capacity, was trying to purchase a car for himself.
Four Washington state-based Swickard firms included in the lawsuit that do business in Alaska and selling Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz automobiles.
In the suit the lawyers from Swickard said it was the case that 2 of these bogus advertisements were published accidentally and claimed that another one was correct but “a one salesperson who was overly enthusiastic was unable to honor it.”
The state then hired undercover investigators who faced similar issues with Swickard the assistant attorney general John Haley said.
“What was happening here is that not only were there complaints, but also the undercover checks kept coming up with the same information repeatedly,” Haley said.
The lawsuit claims it was a part of Swickard’s business strategy to place fake advertisements and to get prospective customers to stop by the dealer, where the salespeople could then sell the vehicle to them at a higher price, or an expensive addition including warranties.
Swickard has disputed the assertions in a statement sent to customers Thursday, in which the company said it believed that the three complaints from customers included in the lawsuit were settled.
“There is evidently a miscommunication between Swickard with the attorney general’s Office,” wrote Kerry Myers Swickard’s marketing director. “We hope to have an exchange with the office of the Attorney General to better understand the concerns raised.”
The issues are described in the suit that seeks penalties of $25,000 for each alleged violation and the amount of violations being determined by the courtroom, and an injunction to end what the state has described as Swickard’s fraudulent business practices.
The point isn’t to just penalize Swickard and his family, but to make him feel guilty, said Haley the Assistant Attorney General.
“I believe there are car dealers who are implementing this strategy and we’ve never heard of it or other dealers who might be contemplating doing this in the near future I think this lawsuit will deter them from doing so,” Haley said. “There are many reasons why you shouldn’t wish to be accused of being sued from the attorney general’s Office.”
