The Call For Action Investigation continues into Chad Franklin Suzuki,the metro dealership who advertised deals that many customers say are not being honored.
It was a deal with no payments for life, or just a small payment. But it was a deal that has left many metro consumers crying foul.
Call For Action went beyond the ad, beyond the hype and followed the paper trail.
Chad Franklin continues to evade our calls, although more than 90 customers have complained to Call For Action. They are upset that they're paying the price because the dealer is not honoring its advertised promises.
“They’re the ones that brought this upon themselves and it’s a shame that the public is going to be the one to take the bite for it," Customer John Broman said.
Our investigation goes beyond the advertisements. We have uncovered a hidden problem that is costing customers big money.
“Our folks are asking for some justice and Chad Franklin’s folks will be asking for mercy,” attorney Michael Whitehead said.
John Broman joined the “No Payments for Life” program offered by Chad Franklin Suzuki. The dealer took out a traditional car loan in Broman’s name but then sent him a check to cover the first year of payments.
“They had a good vehicle and they seemed to have a good program going on," Broman said. "It sounded like a real good deal.”
John said the deal raised concerns with his bank when he tried refinancing his home. The bank was concerned that Broman had a $35,000 car loan in his name.
“The debt-to-income ratio was off so they just said, ‘OK get me a letter from the dealership that says you’re not paying for this car,’” Broman said.
Broman said the dealership sent a letter to satisfy the bank, and that letter was enough to get his home refinancing loan approved. That letter confirms the Bromans were enrolled in the "No Payments for Life" campaign and goes on to say they can continue in the program for an "additional three years with Chad Franklin Suzuki sending them their payments lump sum for the year in advance."
But like so many other customers, Broman’s checks stopped after one year, even though the letter said Chad Franklin Suzuki will pay for the next three years.
“My bank even bought it,” Broman said.
But it doesn’t stop there. There are allegations that other banks may have been misled.
Patricia and Joe Colin said other dealers turned them down, but Chad Franklin Suzuki made the numbers work. Patricia doesn’t work and Joe makes around $28,000 a year. They said the dealership still got them financed for a $38,000 truck loan. That is more than the couple makes in a year.
“I said to my husband for several weeks, ‘There’s something wrong. How did they get us approved but nobody else could?’” Patricia said.
The deal looked good on paper so the couple said they went through with it, but curiosity got the best of Patricia.
“I called the finance company and asked them, ‘What information did they show on my credit?’” Patricia said.
What the finance company told Patricia left her so shocked she called her attorney, Richard Koehler.
“I’m sure that lender would have had no knowledge of their situation,” Koehler said. “There was a great discrepancy."
It’s a discrepancy Patricia never would have known about if her lawyer didn’t ask for copies of the credit applications.
“The consumer doesn’t know what Chad Franklin sends out to the lender," Koehler said. "They don’t see it.”
Joe said he only saw the credit application they filled out which asked for the customer’s address and income. His lawyer said the dealer gave a different typed application to the lender.
Koehler said the two applications don’t match. “They changed the amount of time they lived at their residence.”
“We wrote down we actually lived in our home for three years, going on four years,” Patricia further explained.
But the dealer’s application shows 14 years. That’s a difference of 11 years.
“They changed the salary Joe Colin was making,” Koehler said.
Joe wrote that his salary was $2,400 a month, but that $2400 became $6,400 on the dealer’s application. That’s a difference of $4,000.
Joe also wrote that he’s had that job for one year, but the dealer’s application showed 11 years.
“I couldn’t believe they would actually do something like that, change all my information,” Patricia said.
The dealer’s application also showed that Patricia traded in a 2003 Dodge Ram Quad Cab.
The only problem? Patricia said she didn’t own a Quad Cab. She said her trade in was a 2003 Dodge Caravan.
“The dealership phonied up the data," Koehler said. "They have to make the loan look like it's a good loan.”
The Colin’s loan is not the only one raising questions.
In one lawsuit, there are allegations that Chad Franklin Suzuki violated the federal “Truth In Lending” law. That law says it is criminal to give false or inaccurate information or fail to provide information which you are required to disclose.
Attorney Michael Whitehead filed that lawsuit and represents another Chad Franklin Suzuki customer.
“The lender was given false information about the income and on that basis the lender relied and extended money to the debtor,” Whitehead said. He went on to say his client's salary was virtually doubled.
Consumers are asking the Kansas and Missouri Attorneys General to step in. Consumer complaints are continuing to roll into Call For Action and now the Missouri Attorney General has over 80 complaints.
“I cry," Patricia Colin said. "I get mad and angry.”
Call For Action has reached out to Chad Franklin and his attorney several times to give him the opportunity to sit down and tell the dealership's side of the story. They have not accepted that invitation but it still stands.
That does little to help customers. Investigations continue in Kansas and Missouri.
Customers can request a copy of their credit application from their lenders and if the lender resists, keep pushing because you are entitled to it.
