CONCORD, N.H. — An auto dealership has agreed to pay a $1.25 million settlement to resolve allegations of unfair and deceptive acts or practices against consumers, the New Hampshire attorney general's office said Monday.
A Merrimack County Superior Court judge approved the settlement, which recognizes that there was no admission of wrongdoing, on Monday. The dealership also agreed to pay nearly $50,000 in legal costs incurred by the attorney general's office. All of the money will go into a state consumer protection escrow account.
The office's Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigated consumer complaints alleging that employees at DMO Auto Acquisitions, doing business as Dan O'Brien Kia in Concord, persuaded consumers into purchasing vehicles they could not afford using deceptive sales practices; falsely inflated consumer income information on loan applications; and forged the signature of a customer on loan paperwork.
As part of the agreement, the dealership will hire an independent compliance monitor to review and report on its business practices for the next five years and start a staff training and education program; record substantive financial discussions between employees and customers; and pay back two consumers a total of about $27,000.
“DMO has put in place best practices and welcomes the NH Attorney General’s monitoring process in the area of recording transactions, something it has done for years," Brian Quirk, the dealership's lawyer, said in a statement. “DMO’s focus continues to remain on its customers and providing them with the best possible service."
