Wouldn’t it be great if every business lived by the adage, “The customer is always right?” Sometimes it seems as if there are more businesses – especially those selling new and used cars and trucks – that preach, “Let the buyer beware.” Fortunately, the Law Office of Richard Tomlinson is ready to fight for consumers who have been victims of deceptive trade practices.
Our experienced attorneys are familiar with the tough federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which can help consumers who have been ripped off to recover damages and attorney's fees. In fact, consumers could recover treble damages if they can prove the business knowingly committed a false, misleading or deceptive act or deceptive trade practice, breached an express or implied warranty, or engaged in unconscionable conduct.
In addition to assisting consumers with Texas Lemon Law complaints, our experienced consumer advocate team can help you with a range of other problems that can complicate new or used car deals. These include:
• Deceptive trade practices – When you’ve been confused or misled about a vehicle, an experienced attorney can help. Click here for more.
• Problems with car titles – By law, you should receive the vehicle title or the "official titling papers" at the time of purchase. If you didn’t get it, the ownership of the vehicle didn’t really change hands. Even if you’re driving the car, it may not legally be yours. You may need an experienced consumer law attorney.
• Yo-yo transactions – If a dealership allowed you to drive the vehicle home before consummating the sale, you might be the victim of what’s referred to as a yo-yo transaction. As the name implies, the dealer sent you out and pulls you back in like a yo-yo and, in the process, might be inclined to change the terms of the sale, such as demanding a bigger down payment or charging a higher interest rate. Similarly, a spot delivery scam occurs when a dealer lets you take the vehicle while they set up financing, then presents you with different terms when you return to sign on the dotted line. If either sounds familiar, you may well have the right to cancel the transaction and we may be able to get your money and/or trade-in back.
• Breach of warranty– The consumer advocate team at the Office of Richard Tomlinson can help if the warranty – either the written warranty or the implied warranty – on your vehicle isn’t being honored. You might have a case even if the written warranty has already expired, as long as the defects appeared during warranty period.
• Wrongful repossessions – If your vehicle is repossessed even though you are not in default of your loan agreement, you can fight. Additionally, even if there is a right to repossession, there are a number of legal consumer protections. Under the law, they can’t physically harm you, confine you to a space or threaten you. They can’t forcibly remove you from the vehicle, stop you on the street or highway, enter a closed garage or your home, break into your house or create a disturbance. In fact, your vehicle should not be repossessed if you tell them to leave. If any of these things have happened to you, contact an experienced attorney.
• Consumer leasing – If you’ve gotten to the end of the lease and the leasing company is trying to charge you for something that’s inconsistent with the terms described on your copy of the lease, it might be a case of forgery. The Consumer Leasing Act has your back, but you also might benefit from having an experienced consumer law attorney fighting for you.
• Sales out of trust – This is one reason there might be a problem getting your title. Because it’s expensive for a dealership to purchase all the cars and trucks on their lot, it’s common for auto dealerships to get a loan to pay for their inventory. The lender holds the title until the loan is paid off. That becomes a problem for consumers who purchase one of these vehicles but the dealership fails to use the proceeds to pay the lender. Typically, the lender will hold the title, and they might even repossess your vehicle – even if you’re not at fault. If this sounds familiar, an experienced consumer law attorney can help.
