Attorney General's News Release

February 9, 2006

Nixon sues to run car dealer's deceptive ads off the road

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon is going to court to shut down what he calls a misleading advertising campaign by a car dealership. In a lawsuit filed today in St. Francois County Circuit Court, Nixon says Fairway Auto Sales, based in Washington, Mo., is luring customers by making false claims about the prices and financing of cars available for sale.

Nixon says Fairway held a sale at an off-site lot in Bonne Terre in late January and used the name “Fleet Liquidators.” That name, Nixon says, was intended to confuse customers into thinking the event was put on by a different company offering exceptionally low prices. The lawsuit says the off-site sale violated Missouri fair trade laws by:

• Using a different name to keep consumers from knowing that Fairway was holding the sale.
• Falsely claiming the cars were being offered as part of an Internal Revenue Service tax liquidation sale.
• Falsely claiming the sale prices “absolutely ended” on a certain date.
• Offering “zero sales taxes” on cars bought during the sale. Under Missouri law, the purchaser of a vehicle is responsible for sales taxes.

“It is a violation of Missouri law to bring customers in the door under false pretenses,” Nixon said. “Retailers in Missouri need to be honest about the reasons for a sale, and my office will not tolerate this kind of sneaky marketing.”

Nixon’s lawsuit asks a judge to stop Fairway from conducting any future off-site events, including a sale planned for mid-February in the St. Louis area. Nixon also wants Fairway to pay penalties to the state for violating consumer protection laws and to cover the Attorney General’s investigative and legal costs for this case.

To file a complaint about this company or others, consumers can fill out and submit an online complaint form at www.ago.mo.gov. The Attorney General’s Consumer Complaint Hotline can be reached at 1-800-392-8222.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818