FTC Refunds $3.5M to Sage Auto Group Customers

The FTC is sending refund checks to more than 43,000 consumers who were impacted by unfair and deceptive sales and financing tactics by Sage Auto Group.

In total, those refund checks make up more than $3.5 million and will be sent to consumers who suffered due to these unfair tactics between 2014 and 2016.

The average refund paid to consumers will be around $81.

To get customers to visit their dealerships, Sage Auto Group allegedly used deceptive online reviews to make their customer feedback appear more positive than it was.

The FTC originally accused Sage Auto Group of several different types of high-pressure sales tactics, including putting pressure on contracted customers to go for a different agreement, using yo-yo financing programs, and adding unauthorized “add-on” charges for services and aftermarket products into the financial deals with customers.

According to some consumers, the products added on to their deals had been advertised as required or free, but were added on without full disclosure to the consumer directly.

Employees and owners at Sage Auto Group were also accusing of making false claims that the dealership would pay off a customer’s trade-in vehicles.

The original FTC action against Sage Auto Group also alleged that the company violated Regulation Z, the Truth in Lending Act, Regulation M, and the Consumer Leasing Act due to a lack of proper disclosures about lease and credit information during the sales process.

The FTC stated that Sage Auto Group relied on these tactics to target non-English speaking buyers and buyers with financial issues.

The dealerships under the Sage Auto Group ownership umbrella named in that original case are Kia of Downtown Los Angeles, Mercedes-Benz of Valencia, University City Nissan, Glendale Infiniti-Glendale Nissan, Sage Hyundai, Sage Covina Chevrolet, Sage Pre-Owned, West Covina Toyota, and West Covina Nissan.

The FTC began their case against Sage Auto Group in an effort to obtain orders blocking the company from using these tactics in the future and to obtain refunds for impacted consumers.

Sage Auto Group agreed to this as part of a settlement order with the FTC. That order also prohibits the company and its representatives from making further misrepresentations about financing, endorsements, testimonials, advertising, and add-on products.

Further, the proposed settlement order with Sage Auto Group states that the company is forbidden from illegal conduct if an auto sale is canceled by a consumer. This includes threatening arrest, debt collection, repossession, or legal action unless such action is indeed lawful.

The company also agreed to stop failing to return down payments or trade-in vehicles if the consumer opts to cancel their purchase with Sage Auto Group.

The refund checks sent in relation to the Sage Auto Group sales tactic case are the result of charges that began in September 2016. At that time, the FTC charged nine of the company’s dealerships and owners with using deceptive financing and sales tactics to draw in consumers.

For those consumers who have questions, contact the refund administrator Epiq Systems at 877-670-0862.

Attorneys for the FTC include David Shonka, Thomas Widor, Daniel Dwyer and Thomas Syta.

The FTC Sage Auto Group Sales Tactics Lawsuit is FTC v. Universal City Nissan Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-07329, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.