Tag Archives: Bait and Switch

“Bait and switch” is a form of car dealer fraud in which the customers are lured by a vehicle advertized at an unprofitably low price. This is done to attract the unwary customers toward buying a higher-priced vehicle. When the buyer arrives, he/she is told that unfortunately the advertised car is not available at that time or at the stated price, but there is a substitute very similar to the one which was advertized at a higher prize.

Read more Comments

55

There is nothing worse than falling for a car sales scam and letting the dealer to rob your hard earned money.  You can avoid car sales scams if you enter the car dealership prepared. In this blog we will share 5 quick tips with you that you must know to avoid getting taken by a fraudulent car salesman. Know your limit. Before entering the dealership know exactly how much you can afford to pay.  The car salesman’s job is to sell you a car and make a profit and they will always try to persuade you to spend more.  If you know your spending limit you will not leave …

Read more Comments

0

1.    Step 1 Understand that aim of any bait and switch artist is to get the person inside the store. If you go to purchase a particular car at a certain price, and the car is gone, you may have been lured by bait. Don’t bite. Insist on a rain check for the car. If you can’t get one, leave the store. 2.    Step 2 Play the skeptic. If a price sounds too good to be true, assume that it’s nothing more than bait. For example, a car dealership ad may feature a car at a great price, but you find out it has no special features. Also the …

Read more Comments

1

Misleading advertising consists of any claims that are untruthful or deceptive and may give a consumer the wrong impression about a product they wish to purchase or use. It has the following types: •    Bait and switch advertising. It is illegal to promote a product that a company does not intend to sell or provide. Companies using bait and switch tactics will pull in consumers by promising to sell an item at a certain cost, when in fact they plan to sell something that is more costly. •    High-pressure sales tactics •    The use of deceptive form contracts •    Artificial inflation of prices •    Use of fine print to …

Read more Comments

4

There is nothing worse for a consumer than falling for an auto sales scam. The purchase of the vehicle is one of the most important purchases and if you fall for the scams of a car dealer you can loose a lot of money. However with a little bit of information you can avoid auto sales scams. Following are 5 important tips you can use to avoid auto dealer fraud. 1. Always go into a dealership with a strong understanding of how much you can afford for monthly payments. Remember, that a car dealer wants to sell you a car and make a profit and will often try to …

Read more Comments

0

One of the areas car dealer fraud occurs most often is that car lease fraud. Even with the economy going down car dealers manage to arrange for financing for car leases. Some customers think that car lease is less expensive, however at the end they found out it to be much more expensive. The commonly used lease fraud is the “bait and switch.” This happens when the dealer makes a consumer believe that he is buying the car when in fact he is switched into a lease. Often dealers will trick consumers by telling that they need to sign for a lease “for a short time” to let interest …

Read more Comments

27

One area of car dealer fraud that is quite common today involves fraud in car leases. On the surface car leases appear as less expensive for the consumers, but the truth is they are almost always more expensive. And though the credit crunch, dealers are still able to arrange for financing for car leases. The most common lease fraud is the old “bait and switch.” This happens when a consumer goes to a dealer to buy a car and believes he is buying a car, but is instead switched into a lease. Sometimes consumers are told that they need to sign up for a lease “for a short time” …

Read more Comments

14

You go to the dealership and seems like you have already decided what model you are going to buy. And this is when this car fraud usually happens. The car dealer starts ticking off all the reasons why that car simply isn’t good enough for you and switches you to another model. Before you even know it, you’ve signed on for a car that’s bigger and better and, of course, more expensive. And not thanks to all the opportunities the Internet gives, this old dealer trick has a new twist. These days car shoppers are showing up armed with all sorts of information they’ve gotten online, from the invoice …

Read more Comments

0

The bait and switch is the type of scam that’s been used in just about every industry. This scam involves providing a vehicle for advertisement or promotion which is probably a very base model. This item is probably not very desirable for some reason, but attaching it to a very low price to get you in the door. Once you are in the car dealership, the salesman will point out the frailties or the letdown of that vehicle while shifting to another vehicle that has a higher profit margin and is probably more desirable. The bait and switch scam is one of the oldest games in the book. It …

Read more Comments

3

It would be a good idea as well as wiser to lease a vehicle from a car dealer and/or automaker rather than from a private leasing company. In some cases when it is time to turn your vehicle in, the dealer may give you more of a “break” on how much of the “wear and tear” deposit you get back, especially if you buy or lease another vehicle from the same dealer. Car dealers know up to 30 or more ways to potentially trick and deceive car buyers! Of course, there are some federal regulators that try to curb widespread deception. However, salespeople for dealers may withhold information, make …

Read more Comments

0