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Used Motor Vehicle Commission investigating woman's car purchase

6 years 1 month 3 weeks ago Monday, January 29 2018 Jan 29, 2018 January 29, 2018 5:49 PM January 29, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A used car purchase turned into one big headache for a Baton Rouge woman.

Thalia Duplantier says what she's got is not what she intended to buy. She purchased a used car at ABC Auto on Florida Blvd. and financed it, but says after looking the paperwork, there are plenty of errors and she wants it made right.

"Dealing with this, it put us in debt," said Duplantier.

Her new ride is a used 2014 Dodge Avenger. It's a purchase she wishes she never made.

She intended to buy an SUV to fit her growing family. She worked with a salesman from ABC Auto, Ross Akpan. That deal fell through and ABC Auto tells WBRZ something happened in the verification process that threw up a red flag for the lender, which decided not to finance the vehicle to Duplantier.

She returned the vehicle back to the dealer and learned her down payment was forfeited, but Duplantier needed a vehicle.

That's how she found the Avenger with 86,000 miles. It was priced around $7,000 and Duplantier went in to sign the documents for the other car.

"I get my documents, it's raining," she said.

Looking back, Duplantier says she was rushed to sign papers before the store closed. Now, looking back at what the papers say, she says there's been some sort of mistake.

The total cost of the car is marked on the paperwork as about $19,000. ABC Auto says that large number and 22.99 percent APR is because of her credit score. She bought the Avenger as-is.

"We never signed this, we never got this," she said.

On the documents, the owner of the vehicle is listed as her boyfriend, but her boyfriend's name is incorrect and so is the address. Duplantier is listed as the co-buyer.

She never test-drove the car before she drove off the lot. She didn't notice it has illegal tinted windows, four bald tires, and no inspection sticker. Duplantier says she purchased insurance through salesman Ross Akpan but isn't sure if it's legit.

"I have no insurance, the insurance is in his name a policy that expired earlier this month," she said.

It's prompted Duplantier to get the Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission involved, hoping it'll help make things right.

ABC Auto tells 2 On Your Side Duplantier was aware of the terms and the final cost of the vehicle. It says the company does not sell insurance and it's "not sure what Akpan did." Duplantier says she paid Akpan for the insurance.

The business says it's been in touch with the Used Motor Vehicle Commission. ABC Auto says it's working with Duplantier and the Commission specifically on the insurance question. It says it's still waiting to hear back from Duplantier on a number of inquiries and conclude this to her satisfaction.

The Commission tells WBRZ it's investigating.

ABC Auto says Akpan no longer works for the company.

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