Bait And Switch

I read your article about car salesmen with great interest. The "victory" stories of these successful car salesmen in Los Angeles are most enlightening. Few consumers realize the salesman's determination in profit-taking. By complicating the car-buying experience, these verbal "bait and switch" sellers are assured "easy" money. It is most entertaining for me to expose the seller's trade secrets over radio and television. The public opinion of car salesmen is a strong one. Theirs are considered the least trusted of professions.

A federal appeals court has ruled that consumers can sue banks over alleged "bait-and-switch" credit card plans that promise no annual fees but end up imposing them later. The ruling by a three-judge 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Philadelphia on Friday says cardholders can sue under the Truth in Lending Act. The decision reverses a ruling by U.S. District Judge Bruce W. Kauffman, who dismissed the lawsuit against Fleet Bank.

The Los Angeles city attorney's office has filed two charges accusing a Canoga Park auto dealership of refusing to sell cars for the advertised price. The charges, which were filed Tuesday, were added to an earlier complaint accusing World Nissan, 21535 Roscoe Blvd., of deceptive sales practices, City Atty. James K. Hahn said in a statement. On Feb. 18, Hahn's office accused World Nissan and two employees of using bait-and-switch tactics to sell cars.

FBI agents from Los Angeles arrested a dozen people in three Southern California counties Thursday as part of a nationwide sweep that targeted telemarketing "boiler rooms." U.S. Atty. Terree Bowers said that boiler rooms in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties were searched, and that 23 bank accounts worth $300,000 were seized.

Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Goldline International Inc., a Santa Monica company that is one of the nation's largest gold dealers, for allegedly tricking customers into buying gold coins at inflated prices. The Santa Monica city attorney's office accused Goldline of running a "bait and switch" operation in which customers seeking to invest in gold bullion were instead sold gold coins that were marked up more than 50%. The company, which used radio talk show host Glenn Beck as a pitchman, has seen sales soar in recent years along with the price of gold.

Say what you want about the man and his films, but Tyler Perry is nothing if not unshakably Tyler Perry. The air of self-assurance bordering on arrogance that wafts from movie after movie as he confidently delivers his specific blend of light comedy and heavy dramatic moralizing can be strangely admirable. If only all of us could know what we do so clearly. In his latest film, whose full title is (deep breath) "Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor," he adapts his own stage play to the screen.

A judge Thursday cleared Sears, Roebuck & Co. of most charges in a consumer-protection suit that accused the nation's largest retailer of "bait-and-switch" sales tactics and selling service contracts for repairs already covered under warranties. State Atty. Gen. James E. Tierney called the ruling by Superior Court Justice Donald G. Alexander "a defeat for Maine consumers."

Santa Monica precious metals dealer Goldline International Inc., one of the nation's largest gold retailers, has resolved a criminal prosecution by agreeing to refund as much as $4.5 million to former customers. Goldline agreed to an injunction that requires the company to "change its unfair sales practices" and to disclose price markups in recorded telephone conversations with customers, said Adam Radinsky, head of the Santa Monica city attorney's consumer protection unit. The Santa Monica city attorney in November filed a 19-count criminal complaint against Goldline, accusing the company of running a "bait and switch" operation in which customers seeking to invest in gold bullion were instead sold gold coins that were marked up more than 50%. Six current and former employees were also charged.