What dealings are covered under the Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices law?
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What dealings are covered under the Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices law?
I bought a used car 5 moths ago and have had problems with it ever since. So I went to trade it in but when the dealer pulled up the car history report he found out that it was a branded title and a manufactorer buy-back. However, at the time of purchase the dealer never disclosed any of this to me. Is there anything that I can do?
Asked on May 10, 2012 under General Practice, Florida
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You need to go back to the dealership from whom you purchased with a copy of the car history report and explain the issue. Explain you will be filing a consumer complaint with the state agencies in your state (DMV and attorney general) and that you expect a full refund of your money in exchange for the car based on a fraudulent transaction. If you relied on a clean history (i.e., one was given to you that was clean), then you have a fradulent transaction and the contract can be voidable.
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The federal Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act adopted by many states in this country is a very broad statute premised upon unfair trade practices or deceptive practices of a business beyond common law fraud. The legislation is designed to protect the consumer from "deceptive" and "shady" business practices.
With respect to the car that you purchased from the dealer with the problems that you have written about (branded title and a manufacturer buy back requirement), if the dealership knew about these issues before you purchased the car and did not disclose such to you, then there would most likely be a violation of the above statute that you have written about.
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