CAHOKIA, Ill. (KMOV.com) — Octavia Douglas is one of several customers who say they have been taken advantage of by the owner of Paylater Auto Sales, Stephen Fults.
Douglas said days after she bought her car from the Cahokia dealership it died.
“They wouldn’t do anything to fix it. They said matter of fact this car is probably going to be your problem,” said Douglas.
[RELATED: Woman says she was threatened by worker at dealership after she was sold bad car]
Dozens of Paylater customers have called News 4 with similar stories in recent weeks. They allege the owners are selling defective vehicles, failing to offer refunds, refusing to fix repairs, and holding cars for ransom after they’ve been wrongly repossessed.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is asking for victims to come forward if they’ve had bad dealings with Paylater Auto Sales. They started investigating last fall.
[RELATED: Illinois attorney general investigating Cahokia pay later car dealership]
News 4 tried reaching Paylater over the phone and got no response.
When we reported on this story last fall the owner, Stephen Fults, told us over the phone he’s doing nothing wrong.
On Wednesday, News 4 found that relatives of Fults own a car dealership across the street from Paylater. His family said they don’t speak to Fults, because he’s estranged from the family.
The Fults family owns several car dealerships along Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia.
They said ever since he’s taken over Paylater as owner it’s gone downhill.
Douglas, like many Paylater victims, said she hopes the state holds him accountable.
“I’m really hoping that they get held accountable for their actions,” she said.
[RELATED: BBB warns consumers to use caution when buying from two auto dealerships]
A large number of victims that have reached out to News 4 live in Missouri.
We have reached out to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to see if legally they had any ground to investigate. A spokesperson said they are looking into this question.
For anyone in Illinois who would like to file a complaint, you can do so by calling the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-0618 (1-877-844-5461 TTY) or by visiting the Attorney General’s website.
Copyright 2020 KMOV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved