Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has temporarily closed down a Williamson County Used Car Dealer. White's office is asking for any recent customers of RTO Auto Sales in Carterville to call the Secretary of State Police at 618-244-8343.
Agency officials say they are asking customers who purchased a car from the dealer but have yet to receive their title to file a complaint. Once that is done the Secretary of State's Office will do all that it can to help them with the necessary paperwork.
The Secretary of State closed RTO Auto Sales Wednesday for failing to process title applications. In addition Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against a Carterville-based auto dealership for deceptive sales tactics.
Madigan's lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Williamson County Circuit Court, alleges that Kevin Darnell and his company RTO Auto Sales sold used cars "as is" and falsely promised either that the vehicle was in good condition or that if mechanical problems occurred, he would repair them. But according to the lawsuit, Darnell allegedly failed to make the promised repairs and refused to refund consumers who had purchased faulty vehicles. Madigan's suit also alleges Darnell promised but failed to pay off at least one consumer's loan on a trade-in vehicle, and in some cases, failed to remit costs for license plates, titles and sales taxes.
The Attorney General's office has received nine complaints against Darnell and RTO Auto, with area customers reporting from $500 to nearly $3,500 in losses. Madigan's lawsuit asks the court to enter a permanent injunction against the dealership. The complaint also asks the court to order Darnell and RTO Auto to pay restitution to consumers, a $50,000 civil penalty, an additional $50,000 penalty for each violation of the Consumer Fraud Act.
