When a customer buys or leases a new vehicle, they may be charged a Destination Charge or a fee for the delivery of the vehicle to the dealership. But the complaint for this class action alleges that FCA US, LLC and Stellantis NV are overcharging customers, adding an inflated Destination Charge to every vehicle sold or leased, at $1,495 per vehicle.
FCA US makes and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Fiat brands. FCA was the North American branch of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, until that company merged with Peugeot SA in 2020. The resulting company is Stellantis NV.
The complaint alleges, “A vehicle’s ‘destination fee’ is generally understood in the automotive industry to reflect the manufacturer’s average cost of delivering one of its vehicles to a dealership.”
Customers are not allowed to negotiate the Destination Charge when bargaining over the vehicle price. “As a result,” the complaint claims, “consumers who desire to purchase or lease one of [FCA’s] vehicles are forced to pay the exorbitant Destination Charge and do so based on the belief that it is a legitimate charge directly related to the cost of delivering” their chosen vehicle. However, the complaint alleges, the companies “include a significant amount of profit in their Destination Charge and, in doing so, deceive customers…”
“While fuel and shipping costs have remained fairly constant over the last decade, the increase in [FCA’s and Stellantis’s] Destination Charges during that same period has been astronomical,” claims the complaint, noting that the charges have risen 74% on Ram trucks since 2011, an average of 90% on Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles since 2012, and 114% on Fiats since 2012. For example, from 2016 to 2019, the Destination Charge on a Jeep Cherokee rose from $995 to $1,495—an increase of 50% in just three years.
Other automakers have not raised their Destination Fees by nearly as much, the complaint contends, citing increases of less than 20% over the past decade for Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. It therefore claims that the increase in Destination Charges has nothing to do with increases in the actual cost of shipping vehicles over this time period.
Other companies have different names for similar charges. Toyota, the complaint says, calls its fee a “Delivery, Processing, and Handling Fee,” while its website admits that it may make a profit on the fee. The complaint adds, “[FCA and Stellantis] make no such disclosure.”
The complaint asks that the statute of limitations be tolled because of the companies’ “fraudulent concealment” of the true nature of the Destination Charge.
The New York Class is all consumers who, during the applicable statute of limitations, bought or leased a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, or Fiat brand vehicle in New York and paid a Destination Charge.
The New Jersey Class is all consumers who, during the applicable statute of limitations, bought or leased a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, or Fiat brand vehicle in New Jersey and paid a Destination Charge.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Automobile
Most Recent Case Event
FCA Inflated “Destination Charge” on Purchases and Leases Complaint
May 4, 2021
When a customer buys or leases a new vehicle, they may be charged a Destination Charge or a fee for the delivery of the vehicle to the dealership. But the complaint for this class action alleges that FCA US, LLC and Stellantis NV are overcharging customers, adding an inflated Destination Charge to every vehicle sold or leased, at $1,495 per vehicle.
FCA Inflated “Destination Charge” on Purchases and Leases ComplaintCase Event History
FCA Inflated “Destination Charge” on Purchases and Leases Complaint
May 4, 2021
When a customer buys or leases a new vehicle, they may be charged a Destination Charge or a fee for the delivery of the vehicle to the dealership. But the complaint for this class action alleges that FCA US, LLC and Stellantis NV are overcharging customers, adding an inflated Destination Charge to every vehicle sold or leased, at $1,495 per vehicle.
FCA Inflated “Destination Charge” on Purchases and Leases Complaint