NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) — In a lawsuit against several Queens auto dealerships collectively known as Koeppel dealerships, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman alleges they unlawfully sold “after-sale” products and services.
The Koeppel dealerships involved include Koeppel Nissan Inc., Koeppel Cars Of Bayside Inc., Koeppel Subaru, Koeppel Mazda, Koeppel Auto Group and Koeppel Volkswagen Inc.
According to the lawsuit, the dealerships sold credit repair, identity theft protection services and other “after-sale” services to 1,426 consumers that sometimes exceeded $2,000 per customer.
Koeppel also allegedly used deceptive sales tactics, such as charging consumers for services and then concealing those charges. Koeppel would sometimes say its services were free and, in occasional instances, it wouldn’t even provide the services at all, according to the lawsuit.
“When consumers shop for a car, they should not be misled by deceptive dealerships looking to make a quick buck off New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said. “Unfortunately, some dealers pad their pockets with fees for products and services that unaware consumers don’t need and don’t want.”
Schneiderman seeks a court order to ban the Koeppel dealerships from engaging in these alleged illegal activities in the future and force them to refund all illegally obtained overcharges to consumers.