CHARLESTON – A deaf woman is accusing a Charleston car dealership of coercing her into buying a new vehicle she can’t afford.
Ariel K. Campbell filed her complaint December 19 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Transportation Network III LLC doing business as Todd Judy Ford East. Trust Financial Corporation also is named as a defendant.
According to the complaint, Campbell purchased a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander from Todd Judy Ford in Marmet in September 2021. In October 2022, Campbell says she learned the dealership had failed to transfer title for the vehicle to her and that the West Virginia DMV did not have record title owner for her vehicle.
Campbell says she went to the dealership on October 7. The dealership told her for the first time they could not obtain the title for the Mitsubishi, more than a year after she purchased it. An employee told her she was titled owner of the car and that he would sent her a letter saying so. He also said the dealership was trying to locate the lost title. She says that letter never was sent.
She says she went to the dealership again on October 10 and for several days trying to obtain the title. During these visits, Campbell says Todd Judy salespeople began suggesting she trade the Mitsubishi in and buy a 2019 Jeep Compass to resolve the title issues.
“TJFE employees engaged in high pressure sales tactics to induce Ms. Campbell to agree to trade in the Mitsubishi,” the complaint states, “including representations that they would give her a break on the purchase of the Jeep Compass and that it would provide her with a ‘good deal.’”
On October 13, Campbell says a salesperson told her, “You are approved!” She learned the dealership had accessed her credit without authorization and made a credit application with Truist without her consent.
“Over the span of approximately four hours, TJFE employees pressured Ms. Campbell to purchase the 2019 Jeep Compass,” the complaint states. “One salesperson told Ms. Campbell that if she does not agree to the trade-in and purchase, her vehicle is likely to be impounded, and she could go to jail.”
Campbell says she was with her husband and 17-month-old child, which made the pressure tactics more difficult to endure. In addition to being permanently disabled because of deafness, Campbell says she also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
“As a result of these tactics, in conjunction with other misrepresentations made to Ms. Campbell, TJFE induced Ms. Campbell to sign the documents for the purchase of the 2019 Jeep Compass,” the complaint states.
Campbell says the credit application made without her knowledge said she was a manager at Walmart and earned $6,000 a month. Campbell says actually works as a Walmart cashier and her monthly income, including SSDI benefits, is less than $2,000. When she pointed these errors out to TJFE employees, she says corrections weren’t made.
She says the paperwork included other inaccuracies, such as the wrong mileage listed. In addition, she says the price in the contract was $33,379.57, which was significantly in excess of the true market value of the vehicle.
It also included a $3,000 vehicle service contract, a $750 maintenance plan and $1,000 gap coverage, according to the complaint. Campbell says the paperwork also falsely indicated she had provided $1,500 cash as a down payment.
“The monthly payment was $687.48, in excess of her rent and significantly higher than Ms. Campbell could afford,” the complaint states, adding the terms were for 72 months at an annual percentage rate of 12.5 percent. That made the total sale price $53,743.13 and a total finance charge of $14,974.06.
“Plaintiff constantly worries over how she will be able to make her payment on her limited income.”
She also claims the dealership’s finance manager tried to obscure documents during the signing of contracts. She says no one explained the contents of the documents to her.
Campbell accuses the defendants of fraud and joint venture. She seeks compensatory and punitive damages, full restitution, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
She is being represented by Bren Pomponio and Daniel Hedges of Mountain State Justice in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-1060