Tax scam or usual practice?

[merg]

I bought MME last week and dealership charged me sales tax on few tthings that i declined (paint protection plan and other optional accessories)... close to $500 dollar more in taxes than actual sales tax amount. When i questioned it they said , those numbers were already put in and it is in the "system". They are asking me to write them off in my tax returns? Isn't it illegal to tax me on something i did not buy?

Exected sales tax 8.25% on sale price. But they charged me 8.25% on sales price and accessories worth $5000 which i declined.

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[merg]

This is illegal.

 

[MotownMachdoc]

I bought MME last week and dealership charged me sales tax on few tthings that i declined (paint protection plan and other optional accessories)... close to $500 dollar more in taxes than actual sales tax amount. When i questioned it they said , those numbers were already put in and it is in the "system". They are asking me to write them off in my tax returns? Isn't it illegal to tax me on something i did not buy?

Exected sales tax 8.25% on sale price. But they charged me 8.25% on sales price and accessories worth $5000 which i declined.

The dealer accounting department needs to review it. They should audit it, explain the error and cut you a check. The finance advisor at my dealership made an error and that is how it was taken care off without problems

 

[Jiji]

I would think that the stealership would have to remit those taxes to the taxing authorities so this should be a wash for them. If they did you should be able to apply for the refund from the taxing authorities, if they didn't then they will be the ones needing a lawyer.

I would tell them that you have filed a refund request for the amount of the overpayment with the county/state tax departments and see if that doesn't get them moving fixing this.

And if they did it to you they likely do it to others so perhaps someone would take this on a contingency if they fail to refund the money.

 

[dml105]

So they want you to pay them, and then they want you to get the money back from your state tax authority?

Why don’t they just come straight out and tell you they want to have you abet their tax cheating?

 

[deadduck]

A) That's cow excrement. A computerized system made that invoice and it can remake that invoice.

LOL! When I was an accountant I used to make collection calls. All the tech companies who paid late and took a discount for quick paying (2% 10 Net 30) used that excuse, "it's how our system is programmed, we can't fix it", said the company paying in 90 days and taking the discount.

 

[Ride_the_lightning]

yeah, lets preserve the dealer model. who wouldn't want more of this sort of thing...

Yeah so much better that Tesla was accidentally debiting peoples bank accounts last year by accident for tens of thousands of dollars.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/03/29/tesla-double-charged-some-customers-for-new-cars.html

 

[deadduck]

Regarding the OP, this is a weird thing to try and scam. Guaranteed they'll get caught, eventually. They'd almost have to run a second transaction to pocket the difference. Is there any chance the full TTL is confusing things? In California, when all is said and done, the actual TTL adds about 1-1/2% to the transaction above the sales tax.

On the other hand, I just fired my doctor, because they have a really stupid billing practice* and wouldn't budge on it. I don't think it's billing fraud, just unrelenting stupidity that cost me $100 it shouldn't have because things happened.

Stupidity can look evil.

 

[deadduck]

One other thought, in California we have a TTL calculator so you can see the whole cost of the transaction. You should check your version of DMV and see if they have something similar.

 

[UsernameChecksOut]

Crap like this pisses me off.

I bought my Mach E just about 2 weeks ago. And the finance person was just trying to rush me to the final line. I looked at the final dollar amount, which did not match the number I had. I suspected there were various fees and levies I didn't know about (because Canada ?‍ ).

But I wanted them to prove it by showing me every single line item added on top of MSRP. It doesn't take a genius to understand this stuff. In the process, I found that they had thrown in extended warranty for 3k that I had never asked for, and wheel locks that weren't even on the vehicle. They tried to hand-wave the wheel locks number saying "Oh, it's standard on all vehicles."... BS!

The problem is that I'm guessing 3 out of 5 times they get away with this. Don't let them!!!!

 

[ChuckA]

I also received everything via USB instead of paper copies, but did go through and view and sign and initial a bunch of things on big flat monitor embedded in desk.

Definitely sounds suspect. If you have an accountant, ask them. Chances are how legal or not this is depends on the state, especially given it's state tax. If you already signed and taken delivery there might not be much you can do besides get it back on the taxes for the year (which means over a year from now), assuming you itemize.

I signed my paperwork the same way, but the finance guy printed the sales contract page and Options agreement page so I could review prior to signing.

After signing I got paper copies of everything. It was like a mortgage package.

I was overcharged for motor vehicle registration but received the $250 refund a month later without asking.

 

[ChuckA]

LOL! When I was an accountant I used to make collection calls. All the tech companies who paid late and took a discount for quick paying (2% 10 Net 30) used that excuse, "it's how our system is programmed, we can't fix it", said the company paying in 90 days and taking the discount.

I am an Accountant and know that many company’s policy is to take discounts and blame the computer. I would call them to inform that this is not acceptable but I’ll “allow it this time” so they know we’ll be watching.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

Get them to fix it for you individually, and then turn them into the tax authority. It's highly unlikely you're the first person they've done this to.

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