Customers left confused and employees out of work after American Car Center unexpected closing
Customers are left confused and wondering what to do next after the used car dealership, American Car Center, has closed its doors for good across the country, without much notice at all to its customers and employees. Now, customers are left trying to figure out how and to who they need to continue making payments on their cars towards.
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“Nobody is answering the phone so I can make a payment,” Charlotte Studemire, an American Car Center customer told Action News Jax emotionally. “Then you have late fees that are occurring, who’s gonna pay that? Who’s fault is that?”
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Studemire is just one of many customers blindsided by this, now scrambling after an unexpected company-wide closure.
“I found an employee and another lady outside and they were just saying it went out of business … and I cried in my car, I’m not gonna lie,” Bella Williams told Action News Jax on Tuesday.
The company has now provided guidance to its customers online, with information on how to continue payments. However, Williams showed Action News Jax that the website it lists for payments, only provides error messages. Meanwhile, the phone number it provides, produces nothing more than a dropped call.
Furthermore, a man Action News Jax spoke to over the phone on Wednesday said he’s now left without a warranty on his vehicle.
Former employees have also had their lives turned upside down. One former employee Action News Jax spoke to off-camera Wednesday says they were simply told to go home when they showed up for work this past Friday. Now, a sign on the door of the American Center location off Blanding Boulevard in Argyle Forest reads “closed today.”
However, the store isn’t “closed today,” it’s closed for good, like every other location. That employee says him and the other employees simply didn’t know that at the time. It wasn’t until later that day the company sent an email out to its employees informing them of the company’s closure.
Now, a spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau says former employees have filed a class-action lawsuit for termination without proper notice.
The Better Business Bureau told Action News Jax on Wednesday that customers can contact the consumer protection agency here in Florida. They also advise customers to check their paperwork and contact the finance company directly to find out what should be done as far as payments being made.
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Action News Jax also reached out to the Florida Attorney General’s office on Wednesday, who says they aren’t investigating at this time.
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