When Pisgah Legal Attorney Robert Wharton met Patience,* a seventy-three-year-old woman who had been scammed into buying a junk car, he knew one thing for certain: “I’m in it for the long haul,” says Robert. “There was no way I was going to let these people do this to her.”
Patience still works as a custodian at a time in her life when many others are enjoying retirement. “Social Security just isn’t enough to live on,” she says.
She needed someone on her side after she was sued for nonpayment for a worthless car she was scammed into buying, but she didn’t have the money to pay for an attorney. That’s why she turned to Pisgah Legal Services. “I couldn’t afford an attorney, so I called Pisgah Legal Services. Robert called, came to my house and he got right on it.”
It all started in 2021, when Patience desperately needed a car. On social media she saw a man advertising that he “helped” people buy used cars. He instructed Patience to meet him at a local financing company. He was waiting for her when she arrived, but the car was not.
This “confidence man” showed Patience a photo of a car on his phone and said he had to go pick it up. He assured her it was a quality, low-mileage car and instructed her to begin filling out the paperwork with the finance company to purchase it for more than $11,000 at an interest rate of 20.05%. And that’s what she did. She also began making her monthly payments for the car and insurance.
Hours after Patience signed for the loan, the salesman brought the car to her home in the dark. He encouraged her to sit in the car. “I turned the key and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree,” says Patience. “I knew something was terribly wrong.”
“We are seeing evidence of a ‘Northern Car’ scam by a local used car dealer,” says Robert. “Unscrupulous dealers buy dangerously rusted cars from auction houses up North where they use a great deal of salt on icy roads,” he continues. “Southerners are less likely to be aware of the threat. The cars look fine from a distance, but close inspection reveals the corrosion. The dealer is selling these cars to the most vulnerable members of our community, typically the very young and the very old, usually women.”
When the car wouldn’t start, the salesman assured Patience it was just a minor issue, and that he would take care of it. He installed a battery, but the car still didn’t work. When Patience had it towed to a dealership, the salesman yelled at her.
When a reputable mechanic finally had the chance to examine the car, he told Patience that it was worthless. “He told me I couldn’t drive it off the lot, that it wasn’t safe. It was literally falling apart,” she said. “So, I called the finance company to come and get it.”
Robert says, “Many customers surrender the vehicles and, understandably, stop paying for cars that won’t run. Some are later sued by finance companies for deficiency judgments. Thus, the customer is victimized twice.”
After Patience refused to pay, she ultimately received a summons to appear in court. She was being sued by the finance company. When she arrived at the courthouse, she discovered she was not alone. More than 20 people were in court that day defending themselves from the same scam and the same finance company. “Ain’t that something?” she says. “What gives them the audacity to do this to people?”
Fortunately, Patience had Pisgah Legal and Robert to represent her in court, and Robert knew the law. “The dealer used an agent inside the finance company to sell the vehicle at that location,” Robert says. “Finance companies are prohibited by law from conducting other business on their premises, and car dealers are required to show cars for sale only on their premises.”
He continues, “The used car dealer and the finance company ran afoul of the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Dealer’s Act, the Consumer Finance Act, the Retail Installment Sales Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.” And a CarFax report confirmed that the car was, indeed, from New York State.
After Robert laid out the facts of the case, the finance company dismissed their action against Patience, the contract was invalidated. Patience was awarded a generous settlement and the finance company was also required to pay attorney’s fees to Pisgah Legal Services. Never one to rest on his laurels, Robert began talking to other people at the courthouse that day, assisting others who were also being scammed. Later, Patience found a reliable used car that she uses to drive to and from work, and to safely transport her grandchildren.
“I thank the Lord that he got me out of this mess,” says Patience. “Robert and the Lord.”
*name changed at client’s request