Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs Issues $1.66 Million Civil Penalty Order to Smart Automotive Group, LLC

ATLANTA, GA - On July 10, 2007, Joe Doyle, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA), issued Civil Penalty Orders in the amount of $1,660,320 each against Smart Automotive Group, LLC, and its two owners, Michael Burst and Ben Burst, individually, for violating the Fair Business Practices Act (FBPA). Smart Automotive has been making unfair and deceptive representations in direct mail promotions sent to Georgia consumers. Many of these mailers were disseminated after the company’s legal counsel stated that the company was no longer conducting business in Georgia.

The allegations of deceptive advertising against Smart Automotive include the following:

making false claims as to the type or uniqueness of a sales event (e.g. “Georgia’s only reprocessed vehicle event”, “liquidation” events, “seized and repossessed” events), when in fact the sales “events” were nothing more than the ordinary sale of used cars;

representing that consumers had won automobiles as prizes, when they had not;

misrepresenting monthly vehicle payment amounts;

misrepresenting the number of vehicles available for sale;

claiming that consumers with credit problems were pre-approved for loans of up to $30,000, when such was not the case; and

failing to list the number, odds and retail value of the promotional prizes offered.

Smart Automotive Group is a Louisiana-based marketing company that specializes in promotional events and mailings for the automotive sales industry. OCA first became aware of the company through investigations of and settlements with car dealerships who were running deceptive ads. The investigations led to the discovery of a common denominator – the marketing company responsible for developing the ads was Smart Automotive Group.

“The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs remains committed to protecting Georgians from businesses that make false claims that prevent consumers from making effective price comparisons and getting the best deals they can,” says Administrator Joe Doyle.

For more information, contact Bill Cloud at the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

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