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DEAL OR NO DEAL STORY

Call for Action hears from upset consumers on a daily basis.  I started hearing rumblings about these deals quite some time ago and saw the ads myself.  As time passed in my investigation, this story just exploded and the calls continue to pour in.  Which is great. We are hear to listen and try to help. 

I have been hearing the same complaints over and over and listened to frustrated consumer after frustrated consumer. The stories are all similar. They all circle back to the ads that were seen on television screens across the metro.  The consumers remember the bold typed words like "Never" and "No" payments for life.  It's hard to focus in on the fine print that appears at the end of the commercial.

While I've attempted to answer so many quesitons in our story, we know it just scratches the surface.  There are still many avenues we ware pursuing and would like to hear your side of what happened.  Feel free to blog or email me strathman@nbcactionnews.com

Many questions remain, but we hope we get the opportunity to ask those questions to the dealer himself, Chad Franklin.  We have attempted several times to speak with him on camera, but he is declining our offer at this time.  However, he did issue a written statement which you can read on our Call for Action page.  While Chad Franklin is not speaking publicly at this time, consumers are faced with decisions.  As so many have shared stories of how they are financially trying to come up with enough money to make their skyrocketing payments that often hover around 5 and $600.  

Feel free to blog.

Update: Sorry the blogs took so long to get posted. I'm new to this and was looking for comments in what is called the "inbox" of our blog program -- and none were showing up. I didn't realize they show up in another spot. I'm not an expert in our blogigng program. Everyone is posted now. Thanks for your patience. Jenn

Published Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:00 PM by strathman

Comments

 

MNTwinsFan said:

Having just watched this report on the 10pm news, I was very happy that this scam was finally exposed. Something always seemed a bit “fishy” about this offer…

For the sake of the victims of this scam, I’m glad that Call for Action has gone after Chad Franklin’s dealership. However, I can’t help but wonder what level of responsibility the NBC Action News station (and other local KC tv stations) should bear in this situation. While I don’t expect a television station’s sales department to review every offer put forth by an advertiser, I would expect that an ad with so much fine print would receive *some* level of scrutiny.

Should a television station that accepted fees for broadcasting an advertisement full of big promises from Chad Franklin’s dealership also be culpable for the deception perpetrated?
April 30, 2008 10:46 PM
 

justkeepsinging said:

I have had a very bad experience with Chad Franklin myself. Infact myself and two other family members all at one time when we believed false promises from this company. We went as high up as to try to speak with Chad Franklin himself but of course he doesnt care about his customers, only the money he is making. We were taken advantage of and were told anything I guess to try to get us to buy a vehicle from them. We were promised many things but when it came time to own up on those promises of course they failed. I would never advise anyone to go to a Chad Franklin dealership and wish there was some way to shut them down.
May 1, 2008 8:01 AM
 

AD Man said:

The Advertising Agency should also be held liable for this campaign.
May 1, 2008 9:19 AM
 

Rancidjones said:

Hmm if there were similar ads from other Suzuki dealers?  Maybe perhaps someone should ask Suzuki if they were the ones pushing this on the dealers?  Not that I am not saying Chad Franklin isn't a dumba$$, but what if he were forced to run this program, under a threat?
May 1, 2008 11:05 AM
 

WoodyAllen said:

Please how stupid can you be.  No payments or VERY low payment for a brand new car.  If it sounds to good to be true it probably is.  The consumer should beware and hold some of the blame for falling for such a scam.

Personal accountability, where has it gone....
May 1, 2008 2:45 PM
 

pumpky said:

WoodyAllen, do you really feel it is alright to advertise and lie in order to take money from disadvantaged people?  
May 4, 2008 11:16 PM
 

dotti said:

hey woody..........are you a car dealer.........defending yourself......
what is it about getting someone to loose everything because they actually trust someone........
i called suzuki  headquarters in us  and they said they do not own dealership.....so how does that work...........
i think they should be held accountable also..........
i was looking and this has happened in many states......same kind of ads and with suzuki.........hummmmmmmmmmm do you think suzuki has a hand in it?
i do and i think they should also be held accountable...............it is their franchise........is it not?           the dealership represents them............
there was state after state with this.........i was surprised..........dotti
May 5, 2008 9:38 AM
 

jeyhuggs4you said:

I wrote American Suzuki and ask them what they were doing about Chad Franklin's deals and they told me that Chad was an independent  dealer and they had nothing to do with what they did in ads and campaigns.  They also knew that Chad's was closed down and that Legends had taken them over, and told me I would have to contact Legends to find out what they would do about it.  No one at Legends would return my calls.  I did finally get the name and phone number of the attorney handling their arbitration.  When I called I was transferred to a paralegal who took my information and told me she would have to get ahold of Legends and get a copy of my folder to see where I stood, that she would call me back a couple days later.  Three days later I called her and she said that my file had been sent to the Arbitrator and they would contact me sometime in the next month with their suggestion as to what they could do for us.  Just seems like everyone is passing the buck.
August 19, 2008 7:07 PM
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