BRUCE TITUS
Complaint 142965 Details

BRUCE TITUS Unethical and potentially fraudulent sales activity

On Thursday July 26, 2012 around 5 pm I entered Bruce Titus Mitsubishi/Jeep dealership in Olympia WA. I was confronted by a salesman and he introduced himself as Tyler. I asked Tyler some general questions about the type of vehicle I was interested in. I was initially looking for a SUV, a 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor to be more specific, but Tyler also showed me a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo claiming that they just had received it and he believed it was around $15,000 . I liked the looks of the Jeep and asked if he could find out exactly how much they were asking for. Tyler said he didn’t know because the manager was not there at the moment. However, he told me that he could find out by the next day when the manager was there. He then offered me an opportunity to test-drive the vehicle. I told Tyler that I didn’t have time, but promised him to come back on Saturday instead.
On Saturday July 28, 2012, my roommate Ruth Johnson and I arrived at the Bruce Titus dealership to test-drive the vehicles. We asked to speak with Tyler, but since he was busy with a customer, another sales representative, Joe Geiger, offered his assistance. First, we test-drove the Mitsubishi, and then the Jeep. I immediately liked the Jeep better and told the salesman that I was more interested in the Jeep and asked him what the price was. Joseph told me that the price of the vehicle was $14,999 and it had been on the car lot for probably a few days or a week; meanwhile, I asked him if he could offer me a better deal and he said to me that he would try to cut me a little better deal. I already had a pre-approved check for $18,000 from Capital One, but the Jeep didn’t qualify for Capital One’s specifications. Then Joseph told me that he could help me to finance the Jeep through a different bank.
I had a feeling that the vehicle was little overpriced, therefore I asked for several minor repairs to be made, and indicated I would like to pay no more 15,000, including tax and licensing. These repairs included fixing a faulty hood latch, which so concerned the salesman that he cut short our test drive on the freeway (the hood was loose). In addition, a plastic tray in the back on the vehicle was broken and the cup holder in the rear of the cabin was cracked. The vehicle had not been detailed following trade-in. After going back and forth to the manager’s office Joseph told me that these were things that would need to be done before the Jeep was sold, anyway. I also inquired about replaced of the tires, which could have been better. He said he would ask his manager, but he did not believe it would be a problem. He departed to speak with the manager, and returned, advising me could sell me the Jeep for $16,500. After a few more minutes of negotiations with the manager, Joseph agreed to the $15,000 out the door, with the minor repairs I requested, but declined to switch out the tires. That brought the initial price before tax and licensing down to $13,486.24. We then shook hands and I signed the papers around 7PM that Saturday.
Initially, I decided to purchase the Jeep from Bruce Titus, because I liked the color and it seemed to be in good shape and condition, and because I trusted the corporation and I believed that they were socially responsibility and ethical; and I had no reason to suspect any immoral behavior from the dealership. Well, I was wrong. That Monday morning on July 30, 2012, while I was browsing through internet sites, I came across an ad from Bruce Titus showing the same vehicle I just agreed to purchase at their car dealership advertised for $12,999, indicating that the vehicle had been advertised at the lower price for 22 days before I ever walked on the lot. Not only was the sales representative misleading about the length of time the vehicle had been for sale, but he also chose to take advantage of my own personal belief in his integrity.
On Monday July 30, 2012 around 2pm, I went back to Bruce Titus dealership and asked to talk to the general manager, Marshal Adams. At that time, I felt that I had been deceived and was lied to. The dealership is probably not breaking the law by lying to consumers, but it is definitely using loopholes in the law to justify its immoral behavior and to conduct unethical business practices. In my knowledge and my understanding, businesses and corporations, besides their obligation to respect and follow the law, are also expected to have social and moral responsibilities. When I met with Marshall Adams, I remained determined and professional, and I showed him a copy of their ad. After hearing my complaint and seeing the ad, Marshall Adams tried to justify the firm’s behavior by indicating that the price they eventually gave me did include tax, licensing, and detailing as well as the repairs requested. I found his argument to be irrelevant, as the point I was attempting to make was that the deal was dishonest from the beginning. On top of that, I was still paying $487.24 more than their initial list price.
Marshall Adams repeatedly talked over me, interrupting, and continually implying that detailing the car and making minor repairs added to the cost. It is important to note that the automobile had not been cleaned in any way after it was put on the lot, and the salesman assured me that a detail would happen before any sale, regardless of price agreed upon.
At that point, I did not feel comfortable to continue doing business with Bruce Titus and asked Marshall Adams to cancel and unwind the sale. I was not happy and no longer felt comfortable doing business with Bruce Titus. Marshall then told me that he wouldn’t unwind the deal and the sale was final. I asked Marshall Adams to give me his decision in writing, but he denied and he told me; “I don’t write anything”.
After I mentioned that I would contact the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General, Marshall Adams told me that he needed to make a phone call and it only would take 10 minutes, then he needed to talk with me again. But 10 minutes turned to 50 minutes. Meanwhile I called the Sheriff’s Department to explain the situation and to create a case and have a witness in case I needed it. I called the Olympia Sheriff’s Department dispatcher at “(360)704-2740,” and received a sequence number “122120377,” indicating that I made the phone call at 3:01pm and what happened at Bruce Titus dealership. Finally Marshall called me in to his office and said to me that he had spoken with his lawyers and he would not cancel or unwind the purchase. He also made threats that if I don’t come to pick up the vehicle on Friday August 3, 2012 as we initially agreed on, that my vehicle would be impounded and it would have a negative effect on my credit-score, meanwhile he offered me to pay me the $487.24 difference instead. If Bruce Titus pays me the difference, I still have to pay interest on the whole amount, and my main concern still remains that they initially lied to me and were intentionally misleading me and were deceptive in their advertising which is illegal in the state of Washington.
“RCW 9.04.010; False advertising. Any person, firm, corporation or association who, with intent to sell or in any wise dispose of merchandise, securities, service, or anything offered by such person, firm, corporation or association, directly or indirectly, to the public for sale or distribution, or with intent to increase the consumption thereof, or to induce the public in any manner to enter into any obligation relating thereto, or to acquire title thereto, or an interest therein, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates, or places before the public, or causes, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public in this state, in a newspaper or other publication, or in the form of a book, notice, hand-bill, poster, bill, circular, pamphlet, or letter, or in any other way, an advertisement of any sort regarding merchandise, securities, service, or anything so offered to the public, which advertisement contains any assertion, representation or statement of fact which is untrue, deceptive or misleading, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor: PROVIDED, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any owner, publisher, agent, or employee of a newspaper for the publication of such advertisement published in good faith and without knowledge of the falsity thereof.
[1913 c 34 § 1; RRS § 2622-1.]” (http://apps.leg.wa.gov)

“RCW 9.04.050; False, misleading, deceptive advertising. It shall be unlawful for any person to publish, disseminate or display, or cause directly or indirectly, to be published, disseminated or displayed in any manner or by any means, including solicitation or dissemination by mail, telephone, electronic communication, or door-to-door contacts, any false, deceptive or misleading advertising, with knowledge of the facts which render the advertising false, deceptive or misleading, for any business, trade or commercial purpose or for the purpose of inducing, or which is likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the public to purchase, consume, lease, dispose of, utilize or sell any property or service, or to enter into any obligation or transaction relating thereto: PROVIDED, That nothing in this section shall apply to any radio or television broadcasting station which broadcasts, or to any publisher, printer or distributor of any newspaper, magazine, billboard or other advertising medium who publishes, prints or distributes, such advertising in good faith without knowledge of its false, deceptive or misleading character.
[2000 c 33 § 1; 1961 c 189 § 1.]” (http://apps.leg.wa.gov)

At this point, it is not about the money anymore. I don’t trust the dealership and their crew and I don’t feel comfortable and safe to drive their vehicle nor doing business with them. I have been tricked into paying more for merchandise that was listed and was advertised for less money than they told me it was. I have been threatened after catching them acting fraudulently. Now instead of feeling joy in my purchase, I am worried and scared of driving the vehicle, and I feel that I was tricked, lied to and mugged by some criminals. This is morally and ethically wrong, and in my opinion falsifying information shouldn’t be allowed by law. I don’t see any difference between stealing and hiding the truth to gain more profit. Bruce Titus, like any other organization, has social responsibilities and they should follow them. Making a little extra profit by cheating and falsifying information might work in the short-term, but not only it is not a good long-term business strategy, it should also be stopped.