Alaska attorney general files deceptive advertising complaint against Swickard car dealerships in Anchorage and Palmer

The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a prominent local car dealer alleging deceptive advertising, after receiving a series of complaints — including one from someone who happened to be a state investigator who initially simply wanted to buy a Volkswagen.

The 21-page complaint, filed by Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor on Wednesday, alleges that the Swickard car dealerships in Anchorage and Palmer violated state consumer protection laws. The violations included not honoring published prices and a “classic bait-and-switch tactic” of advertising cars the company didn’t possess to draw customers onto lots to buy other vehicles, the complaint says.

The Swickard companies began doing business in Alaska in 2020, the complaint says. They sell multiple types of cars, including those made by Chevrolet, Buick, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit says the state received three consumer complaints about the company late last year and early this year, including the one from the state investigator, leading to an undercover investigation by the Alaska Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit.

A Swickard official said Thursday in an emailed response that “open and transparent communication is fundamental” to its operations.

“There is clearly a misunderstanding between us and the Attorney General’s office,” said Kerry Myers, Swickard Auto Group’s marketing and engagement director, in the statement. “We are hoping to have a conversation with the Attorney General’s office to gain understanding of the concerns outlined.”

“Out of approximately 50,000 customers we serve in Alaska, the Attorney General report included three complaints,” she said. “We believed these complaints had been previously resolved to the customer’s satisfaction. We look forward to the opportunity to engage in direct discussions with the Attorney General’s leadership.”

The complaint asserts that in addition to luring customers with vehicles it didn’t possess, the dealerships also advertised false interest rates. The dealer also advertises vehicles for sale on its website at or below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, but refuses to sell the vehicles at those prices, the complaint says. Instead, Swickard’s employees typically tell customers that the vehicles can’t be purchased unless the customers also purchase previously undisclosed, expensive dealer add-ons, such as extra warranties, ceramic coating and dent and ding protection, and door edge guards and cups, the complaint says.

One of the consumer complaints against Swickard came from Alaska Department of Law investigator Joshua Smith, who was looking to buy a Volkswagen, the complaint says.

But Smith learned that the company was engaging in fraudulent practices, including advertising “a specific manual Jetta that it did not possess in order to entice consumers like Inv. Smith to come to the dealership,” the complaint says.

“Next, Swickard attempted to upsell Inv. Smith,” the complaint says. “Inv. Smith asked the salesperson to show him the four automatic Jettas,” but those were more expensive than the manual Jetta that Smith had come to the dealership to see, the complaint says. They were also more expensive than their published price on the dealership’s website, by several thousand dollars, the complaint says.

“Inv. Smith determined that despite his love of Volkswagens, Swickard was a dishonest dealership that he could not do business with,” the complaint says. “The next day, Inv. Smith purchased a vehicle from a different dealer.”

After the state launched its undercover probe, Swickard explained to the state’s Consumer Protection Unit that the falsely advertised cars were published on accident and that in another case, an overzealous salesperson refused to honor the published price, according to the complaint.

But the state’s investigation found “that Swickard’s false advertisements were not mere accidents. In fact, Swickard engages in false advertising in violation of Alaska’s consumer protection laws virtually every day,” the complaint says.

“Consumers who visit Swickard’s lots regularly complain to Swickard’s employees about Swickard’s unfair and deceptive advertising, and multiple current and/or former employees expressed their concerns about Swickard’s unfair and deceptive advertising to Swickard’s management,” the complaint says. “Despite the complaints from consumers and employees, Swickard refuses to stop its unfair and deceptive acts and practices.”

“Buying a car is already a stressful process and an important decision for consumers,” Attorney General Taylor said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “We will not allow car dealerships to engage in illegal advertising and sales practices that make purchasing a car even more difficult for consumers. Nor will we allow unscrupulous dealerships to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.”

The Swickard companies are registered to do business in Alaska under names that include Mercedes Benz of Anchorage, Swickard Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac of Anchorage, Porsche Anchorage, Audi Anchorage and Swickard Volkswagen of Anchorage, the complaint says. The companies also include Swickard Buick GMC of Palmer and Swickard GMC of Palmer.

The four Swickard companies named in the suit — Swickard Anchorage, Swickard Anchorage II, Swickard PAV and Swickard Palmer — are Washington state limited liability companies.

The complaint is seeking a $25,000 award to the state for each violation of Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act and an injunction to stop Swickard’s deceptive practices, the state’s lawsuit says.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Swickard Auto Group.