USED CAR DEALER ARRESTED

Police Arrest Dealer for Not Paying Tax A former Florida used-car dealer has been arrested on charges that he stole more than $130,000 in sales tax he collected from customers, but failed to send in to the state. Biel Semexant, Jr., the former owner of Smart Carz, LLC, and Auction Access USA, was arrested by the Broward County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 4 on felony charges relating to theft of state funds, filing a false or fraudulent return, and failure to file six consecutive returns. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines, as well as possible repayment of stolen tax, interest, penalty and investigative costs. Semexant's dealerships were located on North Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. According to Florida Revenue Department investigators, Semexant collected tax from customers at both of his former dealerships. However, during various periods beginning in 2006 and lasting through periods in 2012, he failed to send in to the state all of the sales taxes that he had collected or file tax returns as required by law. Under state law, sales tax is the property of the state at the moment of collection.

3RD PARTIES INFLUENCE VEHICLE PURCHASE

eNews Frustrated Consumers Turn to Third Party Sites Consumers say they are turning to a variety of online and offline services to help them make their car-buying decisions because industry websites fail to satisfy their needs, a new global survey by Accenture reveals. The survey of 13,000 drivers in 11 countries found that consumers believe the car-buying process would be simpler and quicker if the content on auto industry websites was customized to be more relevant to their specific car-buying preferences and if the industry adopted such online innovations as web chat and mobile-enabled websites, which are used widely in other retailing sectors. Of the survey respondents who say they research their car purchases online before buying a vehicle, 78 percent visit at least six websites or more first, and 15 percent say they need to browse more than 20 websites to get the information they seek. In addition, 75 percent say they still turn to more traditional offline media for the information required to make a car-buying decision. More than three quarters (80 percent) of the respondents would like more intuitive, customized content made available to them, while 75 percent favor a process that will enable them to obtain more simplified information online. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) would like the comparison process simplified, and 68 percent would welcome the ability to chat online with a dealer. According to the survey, most respondents (88 percent) also want easier and clearer pricing to help expedite the car-buying process, while 77 percent want dealers to provide them with a simpler way to configure a vehicle. More than three quarters (76 percent) would like to have the ability to compare additional options with the same automaker's product line and 75 percent would welcome more mobile-enabled websites. Additionally, 74 percent desire better integration between dealer sites and inventory search functions. According to the survey, 82 percent of the respondents believe that better interactive digital marketing is a must for the auto industry, and 83 percent agree that improved digital media would significantly reduce the time needed to purchase a vehicle. In addition, over three quarters of consumers (76 percent) feel that the auto sector significantly lags other retail industries in the use of digital media tools such as video and 360-degree website tours. In terms of the major influencers that impact their car-buying decisions, survey respondents essentially gave equal weight across the board to manufacturer sites (53 percent), the recommendations of friends and colleagues (54 percent), social media (56 percent) and advice from family (59 percent).

BANKCARD CREDIT RATING IMPORTANT##

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report on the consumer experience with the three largest nationwide credit reporting companies: Equifax Information Services, LLC; Experian Information Solutions Inc.; and TransUnion LLC. Among the key takeaways in the report, which is one of the most comprehensive studies of credit reporting to date, are that credit card history dominates the information in consumer reports and that debt collection items generate the highest rate of disputes. The report is the result of the CFPB analyzing U.S. information from 2011, including information submitted by TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Credit reporting companies get their information from a variety of industries but more than half of the account information is supplied by credit card companies. Specifically, 40 percent comes from bank cards, such as general credit cards, and 18 percent comes from retail credit cards. Only 7 percent comes from mortgage lenders or servicers, and only 4 percent comes from auto lenders. In 2011, consumers reached out to the credit reporting companies roughly 8 million times, resulting in disputes of 32 to 38 million items in their credit files. Almost 40 percent of the disputes relate to debt in collections, and debt in collections is five times more likely to be disputed than mortgage information. According to the industry, some of this may have to do with consumers' incentive to dispute any negative information on their reports. The most effective way for consumers to identify errors in their reports is to obtain copies and review them. But only about 44 million consumers per year, or about one in five, obtain copies of their files. Most information contained in credit files comes from a small number of large banks and other financial institutions. In fact, the top 10 data furnishers provide 57 percent of the trade lines coming into the credit reporting companies. The top 50 furnishers provide 72 percent. And the top 100 furnishers provide 76 percent. The credit reporting companies resolve an average of 15 percent of consumer disputed items internally, without getting the data furnishers involved. The remaining 85 percent are passed on to the furnishers. The report, however, found that the documentation consumers mail in to support their cases may not be getting passed on to the data furnishers for them to properly investigate and report back to the credit reporting company. Recent Posts

#VETERAN CARSALESMEN MAKE MORE

Despite the fact that the new generation carsalesperson has access to social media more computer literate and better educated the old school method of carsales seem to equate to higher commissions. NADA University, the education and training arm of the National Automobile Dealers Association, has unveiled an all-new industry report covering car and truck dealership employee compensation, benefits, retention and turnover, and hours of operation and work schedules. The study included some findings about the used-car department. One is that there is a positive connection between years of tenure and increased new- and used-vehicle sales. Also, increasing dealership used-vehicle sales has a smaller impact on compensation than increasing new-vehicle sales. The new report presents an overall analysis of 2012 Dealership Workforce Study results with data for all regions of the U.S. The study, based on 350,000 payroll records submitted by nearly 2,500 dealerships, vastly improves and expands the former NADA biennial Compensation Study in a variety of ways, including: capturing enhanced and more timely data and trends on an annual basis; compiling data nationally, regionally and statewide; simplifying participation through a web-based portal; and offering separate individualized reports to participating dealerships so they can compare their numbers against data aggregated on a regional and national basis, as well as by state/metro area and franchise. Among other key findings in the Industry Report, based on 2011 data: Most key dealership positions emphasized in the report had higher individual average salaries than the median household income in their regions, and all exceeded the national average individual wage index. Job retention, turnover, and tenure were more favorable than the national norms in most key job categories analyzed. Turnover rates for sales consultants in a number of regions were close to, or exceeded, the average of 39.9 percent for all industries. Tenure for sales consultants is below the national job average of 5.1 years in all regions. Tenure for F&I directors/managers, sales managers, and service advisors is below national levels in some regions. There appears to be a strong correlation between dealership sales hours and new-unit sales. Recent Posts

USED CAR SCAMS

You need a used car so you start surfing Craigslist, Ebay and all of the other classified local and national sites for an afforable used car. Bam you found it right price right year you are ready to write the check. Review the following guidelines it might save you a few thousand dollars. Recently, I received a phone call from an individual that had just purchased what he described as a collectable Mercedes which supposeingly was being stored at my used car lot. The true story was that the previous owner had abandoned the vehicle on my lot as it would not run but took a picture of the car waited a couple of years and posted it on Ebay using my address as the pickup point. The guy lost about 3,000. I would never pay for a car online until I had phycially seen the car and looked at the title prior to sale. The 300. airline tickent might save you a few thousand. You buy the car: I will get you the title in 10 days: Bad Idea only pay for the car when you can look at the title and have the title in hand: and Verify that the vin number is the same as on the title. The car has never been wrecked: Take car to body shop put it on a rack and also run a carfax. This is the actually mileage: Even in this electronic age there is a device called the black box that can be pluged into a car computer and run the miles back most states reguire dealers to provide previous owners name address and phone number. Cocked Eyed 6's: On older cars if the 6's are out of line the miles have been shorn something about lining up 6's is hard to master.

ONLINE SCAM TARGETING CANADA

Online Scam Targets Canada from Oklahoma OMVIC, the regulator of motor vehicle sales in Ontario, has been alerted by the Oklahoma Used Motor Vehicle and Parts Commission (UMVPC), of a potential online scam specifically targeting Canadian car buyers. UMVPC alleges Ambient Auto Center of Oklahoma City advertises on the Canadian sites of Autotrader, Wheels, E-bay, Craigslist, Kijiji and Autocatch: their ads offer high-end late model vehicles at prices that may be too good to be true'. UMVPC said Ambient's website became active in October and yet they are not a licensed dealer. A review of Ambient Auto Center's website finds claims of "hundreds of used exotic vehicles" for sale and "award-winning service", and they offer to "ship world wide." The dealership has no physical presence and the advertised address is, in fact, an empty cornfield next to a warehouse owned by the State of Oklahoma.

AUTO LOAN MODIFICATIONS RIPOFF'S

The Federal Trade Commission put a stop to a California-based auto loan modification operation that settled the regulator's charges after allegedly deceiving consumers with false promises that it could get auto loans modified and stop cars from being repossessed. Patrick Freeman, the sole owner of the Hope for Car Owners operation, has agreed to a settlement with the FTC that bans him from marketing auto loan modifications and any other debt relief services. Freeman's company is in default. In April 2012, the FTC alleged that Hope for Car Owners, LLC and Freeman charged hundreds of dollars in up-front fees, based on bogus promises that they could reduce consumers' monthly car loan payments and help avoid repossession of their vehicles. The agency alleged that the defendants' websites and telemarketers promised consumers substantially lower monthly payments. According to the FTC, the defendants collected hundreds of dollars in up-front fees and told the consumers to stop paying their auto lenders, which often left them in worse shape than when they began, and increased the risk that their vehicles would be repossessed. The FTC also alleged that once the up-front fees were collected, the defendants did nothing to obtain the promised loan modifications, and consumers who tried to get refunds were denied. In one case, for instance, Hope for Car Owners took $400 from a consumer and told her not to make any more payments on her vehicle, according to the FTC. The consumer followed the defendants' instructions, and her lender soon informed her that her vehicle was going to be repossessed. Under the settlement order, Freeman is prohibited from making misrepresentations about financial products and any other product or service. He also is required to back up any claims about the benefits, performance, or efficacy of any product or service, and to destroy customer information obtained by the loan modification scheme within 30 days after the settlement order takes effect. The settlement also imposes a $362,388 judgment, which will be suspended due to Freeman's inability to pay. If it is later determined that the financial information Freeman provided to the FTC was false, the full amount of the judgment will become due. The FTC has a new video warning car ownersto avoid businesses that charge a fee in exchange for a promise to lower car monthly car payments, and in some cases, help stop repossession. As the video points out, consumers who have trouble making their monthly car payments should contact their lenders directly. Consumers also can read "Ads for Auto Loan Modifications: You May Be Able to Drive a Better Deal with Your Lender."