Lawsuit filed against Kia of Gastonia after WBTV Investigation

GASTONIA, N.C. (WBTV) - A WBTV Investigation helped launch legal action against a car dealership with questionable sales practices. The investigation found dozens of Kia of Gastonia customers who had their credit applications for car loans falsified without their knowledge.

In July Chinetta Brooks filed a lawsuit against Kia of Gastonia alleging the dealership falsified her monthly income on her credit application without her knowledge to get a loan approved. Her car was repossessed only months later.

The lawsuit also names Integrity Automotive Promotions, a company that staffed sales people at the dealership, and PNC Bank, which approved the loan.

“It’s clearly a pattern and practice of misrepresenting information in order to in their case achieve profits,” attorney Larry Serbin, of The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, told WBTV.

Serbin is representing Brooks and other customers from Kia of Gastonia.

“I’m speaking to new people almost daily who have been involved with this and we’ll be filing more and more lawsuits as time goes by,” Serbin said.

The lawsuit alleges that PNC failed to verify Brooks credit applications and is still demanding Brooks pay back more than $27,000.

PNC declined to comment because the lawsuit is still open.

WBTV tried contacting both Kia of Gastonia and Integrity Automotive Promotions. Owners for both businesses never responded.

Previously Kia of Gastonia owner Chris Hafer told WBTV that he was having heart surgery while those sales were happening at his dealership and that “I was made aware of these issues, I have attempted to resolve those issues.”

The owner for Integrity Automotive Promotions previously told WBTV “Nobody from Integrity Automotive Promotions does any financial work with the customers.”

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