Maryland car dealership charged with 'unfair and deceptive sales practices'
PRINCE GEOREGE'S COUNTY, Md. - The Maryland Attorney General has filed charges against a Maryland car dealership for unfair or deceptive trade practices.
According to AG Anthony Brown, charges have been filed against DARCARS of Bowie, Inc. 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.
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According to court documents, the dealerships 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. Read the full list of charges below:
- 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.
- Deceptively charging consumers more for their vehicles than the advertised price, including for significant charges for already installed equipment and dealer markup.
- Financing the sale of added products, such as their "DARCARS Assurance" and "DARCARS Protection Plan," in an unlawful manner.
- Deceptively packing consumer vehicle sales transactions with unwanted equipment and products; and
- 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.
If found guilty, an immediate stop to the violation would be required and potentially 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 29 through November 8, 2024.
A spokesperson from the Honda of Bowie reached out to FOX 5 with a statement about the incident. The full statement can be read below.
"Over the last two years, Honda of Bowie has cooperated fully with the Maryland Attorney General to respond to its request for information and address its concerns. This is an instance where the premise of the case is not supported by the record or the facts.
We feel confident about our level of disclosure on this matter and proactively sought to partner with the Attorney General to establish new industry best practices that could benefit all Maryland consumers. We are prepared to defend our company and our lawful practices in court against these baseless claims, while continuing to provide our customers with the industry’s best service in every market we serve."