FTC, Maryland Attorney General Secure Full Refunds and Additional Penalties Against Lindsay Auto Group for Deceptive Pricing Practices and Unwanted Add-ons

More than $75 million in charges may be eligible for refunds Lindsay Automotive Group and its executives will return money to resolve allegations that they deceived consumers for years with falsely advertised low prices and unwanted add-ons that led to buyers paying thousands of dollars more for their vehicles. Consumers who were charged a total of more than $75 million between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025, may be eligible for redress. In addition, Lindsay will pay a $3.1 million civil penalty to the Maryland Attorney General’s office. The proposed order settling the agencies’ complaint also requires Lindsay to provide the total price of the car, including all mandatory fees, to consumers looking to buy or lease a vehicle. “Lindsay Auto misled consumers by advertising false low car prices and then adding mandatory fees and other charges during the car buying process,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Trump-Vance FTC is focused on ensuring that auto dealers competitors’ are transparently competing on price.” The agencies’ joint complaint, filed in December 2024, charged Lindsay with systematically deceiving and overcharging car-buying consumers for years, costing them millions of dollars. The complaint named three Lindsay dealerships and their management company, along with the company’s part-owner and president Michael Lindsay, COO John Smallwood and the dealerships’ former general manager, Paul Smyth, as defendants. According to the complaint, Lindsay touted deceptively low prices and then charged the vast majority of consumers hundreds or thousands of dollars more once they arrived at the dealership. Lindsay often claimed consumers could not get the advertised prices because they did not qualify for a litany of rebates included in the advertised price. The complaint also alleged Lindsay deceptively told consumers they had to finance through the dealership to get the advertised price instead of the financing the consumers already had, including military consumers who had financing from their military branch’s credit union. Further, the agencies alleged Lindsay charged consumers for add-ons like extra service plans, tire and rim protection, and “guaranteed asset protection” that consumers did not want or agree to buy. According to the complaint, these additional charges often added hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the purchase. To address the deceptive conduct alleged in the complaint, the proposed order prohibits specific misrepresentations in connection with advertising, marketing, promoting, offering for sale, financing, leasing, or selling motor vehicles, including misrepresentations about whether vehicles are available at the advertised prices, and whether any type or source of financing is required, including to buy a vehicle or to get a particular price or other terms. The order also requires Lindsay to clearly and conspicuously disclose the total amount a consumer must pay for the car, excluding only required government charges. Lindsay must also obtain consumers’ express, informed consent before charging them, including for any vehicle-related fees. Under the order, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office will be sending notices to consumers who may be eligible for redress. Consumers can confirm their eligibility by answering a handful of questions in the notices and returning them to the refund claims administrator.