Car complaints top Attorney General’s consumer protection list

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Attorney General Greg Zoeller will tell people that consumers are most vulnerable when it comes to big purchases like a house or a car.

The most frequent complaints received in the consumer protection division in the Attorney General’s office are auto related.

Stephanie Lee filed one of them. She recently had a bad experience buying a car.

“They literally lied the whole way through,” she said in reference to the people at a dealership on the south east side, now closed, called Hoosier Tom.

They sold her a 2009 Jeep Patriot. She paid almost $10,000 and a month later learned that the SUV was falling apart.

“So I ended up trading it in,” she said. “I got pretty much nothing for it. I think like $500.”

She got on with her life. But then her parents gave her an idea: call the Attorney General. Greg Zoeller’s staff not only took her complaint, they took action.

Their investigation found that Stephanie Lee was not alone. 11 other customers purchased cars at Hoosier Tom but never received the title.

They are just a few of more than 1300 auto related consumer complaints received by the Attorney General in 2015.

In Stephanie’s case it was learned that the car she purchased was in an accident, declared a total loss, and then rebuilt. The dealer is required to disclose that in writing. Hoosier Tom did not.

The Attorney General sued and the dealer was ordered to pay Stephanie almost $5,000.

She collected.

“That is absolutely the best way to go,” she said, “because you do get what you deserve and then the people who were wrong get what they deserve, too.”

“You know, we never promise people that we’ll get all their money back,” said Attorney General Zoeller, “or that we’ll get everything fixed.”

But sometimes they do get results.

The Attorney General has crafted an auto buyer’s bill of rights.

You can find it by clicking here. If you have similar complaint you can file it online.