Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that his Consumer Protection Division has filed charges against DARCARS of Bowie, Inc. d/b/a DARCARS Honda, its parent company Mariam, Inc., and both companies’ owners John Rahmangholi Darvish and Jamshyd Darvish.
DARCARS Honda operates a new and used vehicle dealership located at 2260 Crain Highway, in Bowie, Maryland.
According to the Statement of Charges, the Respondents violated Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act through unfair or deceptive trade practices at nearly every stage of their dealership’s sale of new vehicles to consumers, including in the following ways:
· By deceptively charging consumers a fee equal to an extra 2% of the vehicle sales price that Respondents misleadingly call a “sales commission” and claim is “optional,” when the fee is not a commission to a salesperson and consumers were unaware of their option to not pay the fee;
· By deceptively charging consumers more for their vehicles than the advertised price, including for significant charges for already installed equipment and dealer markup;
· By financing the sale of added products, such as their “DARCARS Assurance” and “DARCARS Protection Plan,” in an unlawful manner;
· By deceptively packing consumer vehicle sales transactions with unwanted equipment and products; and
· By failing to disclose and itemize all goods and services that consumers are paying for when they purchase a new vehicle, and the cost of those services and products, as required under Maryland law.
The Division is seeking an injunction to stop the alleged violations as well as the payment of restitution, economic damages, penalties, and costs for the alleged violations of Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. A hearing on the charges has been set for October 16 through October 25, 2024, at the Office of Administrative Hearings, 11101 Gilroy Rd, Hunt Valley, MD 21031.
For more information, consumers may call the Consumer Protection hotline at (410) 528-8662 or toll free at (888) 743-0023.
Original source can be found here.