Defunct car dealership gets $41,000 fine over false ad claims, not disclosing recalls
A judge has ordered a defunct Wichita car dealership and its owner to pay $41,132.56 over claims the owner lied to a customer and failed to disclose safety recalls during a vehicle sale.
Judge Sean Hatfield on Jan. 30 entered a default judgment against Chris McPhail and his used-car business, Cars Unlimited, after McPhail failed to respond to allegations of deceptive and unconscionable business practices laid out in a September 2019 petition, according to court records and a Monday news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office announcing the ruling.
Court records show an attorney McPhail retained couldn’t even reach him, despite repeated attempts. That attorney later withdrew from the case.
Cars Unlimited, which operated for at least three years, was located at 762 N. West St. in Wichita but closed sometime before the January ruling.
The petition, filed by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, alleges McPhail in August 2018 sold a 2009 Dodge Ram to an Ottawa man but mischaracterized some features of it in a www.cargurus.com advertisement. McPhail also didn’t tell the buyer about two safety recalls — one over a rear axle pinion nut that could cause the axle or driveshaft to seize and the other over a brake transmission shift interlock pin that increases the chance of a roll away — which if ignored, could cause a crash, the petition alleges.
McPhail advertised that the Dodge had an SLT trim package when, in fact, it had an ST trim package — a difference in value of about $750, court documents state.
The Ottawa man discovered McPhail had lied about the Dodge’s features when he took the vehicle to a dealership to get a new key fob. He filed a complaint with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office in September 2018 after McPhail ignored several attempts to contact him to right the problem or return the vehicle, according to court documents.
McPhail’s conduct with the customer violates a 2017 court order that barred him from engaging in unconscionable acts or practices in connection with consumer sales, court records show.
He has been ordered to pay $40,000 in civil fines and penalties for Kansas Consumer Protection Act violations; $282.56 for investigative fees and expenses incurred by the DA’s Office; and $850 in restitution to the Ottawa man who bought the 2009 Dodge Ram. He could also be ordered to pay up to $20,000 for each subsequent violation of the 2017 court order.
This latest court ruling also orders McPhail to check every vehicle he’s selling for safety recalls and disclose them to potential customers as well as turn over a vehicle’s legal title to any buyer on time.
The District Attorney’s Office encourages car buyers to check for active safety recalls on www.safercar.gov/vin before completing a purchase. Recalls and repair costs are covered by the manufacturers.
