CONSUMER WARNING - North Bay Car Dealer Suspended by Regulator

Toronto, ON, July 18, 2017 - OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, has ordered the IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of 1828780 Ontario Inc. o/a D L Auto Brokers, operated by Darrel Legare and Andrea St. Amant at 518 Lakeshore Drive, North Bay. As a result, Legare, St. Amant and D L Auto Brokers may not legally sell, lease, buy or consign vehicles. (CNW Group/Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC))

TORONTO, July 18, 2017 /CNW/ - OMVIC, Ontario's vehicle sales regulator, has ordered the IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of 1828780 Ontario Inc. o/a D L Auto Brokers, operated by Darrel Legare and Andrea St. Amant at 518 Lakeshore Drive, North Bay. As a result, Legare, St. Amant and D L Auto Brokers may not legally sell, lease, buy or consign vehicles.

According to OMVIC, Immediate Suspensions are only issued when the regulator believes a dealer's conduct may place the car-buying public at risk. Laura Halbert, OMVIC's Director of Compliance and Deputy Registrar, stated the immediate suspension of D L Auto Brokers was triggered following an OMVIC inspection and a consumer complaint that alleged the dealer:

"These are serious allegations," stated Halbert. "So it was imperative OMVIC issue the Immediate Suspension Order to protect North Bay-area car buyers." In conjunction with the suspension order, OMVIC also issued proposals to revoke the dealer's registration and to refuse new applications for registration by Legare personally and for a new dealership.

• did not remove liens from at least two vehicles traded in, and from at least two vehicles sold, leaving consumers potentially responsible for the debts
  
  
• failed to inform OMVIC as required that the corporation had filed for bankruptcy; additionally, Legare failed to inform OMVIC he had personally filed a commercial proposal pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
  
  
• did not deposit proceeds of vehicle sales into the dealership bank account as required
  
  
• was not operating from its registered location (the dealer's licensed address is 197 Lakeshore Drive, not 518 Lakeshore Drive where it was operating)
  
  
• sold vehicles consigned by other dealers without required consignment contracts and without disclosing to consumers the vehicles were being offered for sale on a consignment basis
  
  
• failed to maintain  and/or produce records for inspection
  
  
• employed unregistered salespersons (Darrel Legare and Andrea St. Amant)

Note: Should a dealer appeal an Immediate Suspension Order a hearing will be held within 15 days before the Licence Appeal Tribunal. The Tribunal will determine if the order should be extended until a final determination is made regarding the associated Proposal(s) to Revoke/Refuse Registration.

Consumers are warned not to buy or lease vehicles from, or sell or consign vehicles to, D L Auto Brokers, Darrel Legare or Andrea St. Amant while the dealer's registration is suspended; consumers who trade with an unregistered business or individual are not protected by the Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund.

OMVIC encourages consumers who may have purchased from D L Auto Brokers to ensure their vehicles do not have unexpected liens and that liens on vehicles traded in have been removed. This information can be found by consulting a Used Vehicle Information Package (UVIP), available from ServiceOntario or on a CarProof Vehicle History Report.

Consumers with questions or concerns should contact OMVIC's Complaints and Inquiries Team at 1-800-942-6002x3942.

About OMVIC Registration
Ontario's Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA) requires all dealers and salespeople be registered with OMVIC. Unregistered selling (curbsiding) is a serious offence: individuals convicted of curbsiding can be fined $50,000 and jailed for up to two years less a day.

About OMVIC
OMVIC (Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council) administers and enforces the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA) on behalf of the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. OMVIC maintains a fair and informed vehicle sales marketplace by regulating dealers and salespersons, regularly inspecting Ontario's 8,000 dealerships and 27,900 salespeople, maintaining a complaint line for consumers and conducting investigations and prosecutions (or discipline proceedings) of industry misconduct and illegal sales (curbsiding). OMVIC also administers the Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund on behalf of its Board of Trustees.

About the Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund
The Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund is funded by Ontario's registered motor vehicle dealers and provides compensation to consumers who have a valid claim against an Ontario-registered dealer. Qualifying consumers may be eligible to receive up to $45,000 for each valid claim to the Compensation Fund. Since its inception on July 1, 1986, the Compensation Fund has reimbursed consumers more than $5 million.

SOURCE Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC)

Terry O'Keefe, Director of Communications, 416-226-4500 x3525, [email protected], www.omvic.on.ca; Farah Mohammed, Senior Education Officer, 416-226-4500 x3174, [email protected], www.omvic.on.ca

Related Links

http://www.omvic.on.ca