Q-C auto business ordered to close shop

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By Kurt Allemeier | Saturday, January 27, 2007 1:06 AM CST | () comments

(Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Aardvark Auto Sales, Davenport, and its principal owners and operators, Bruce Duque, Tina Duque, and John Wille, have been ordered to stop doing business immediately pending a lawsuit.

A Davenport used auto dealership and its owners have been ordered to stop doing business immediately pending a lawsuit by the Iowa Attorney General alleging consumer fraud, and other advertising, repair, and financing violations.

Scott County District Judge J. Hobart Darbyshire approved the order Thursday to immediately shut down Aardvark Auto Sales, and stop its principal owners and operators, Bruce Duque, Tina Duque, and John Wille, from doing further business.

“We allege that the defendants target vulnerable, lower-income consumers with poor credit or no credit histories by promising them reliable and safe transportation at low prices and pay-offs within a year,” said Attorney General Tom Miller said in a press release. “In reality, the customers often make substantial payments to the defendants, only to end up without a working car, either because the consumers could not afford the car in the first place, or because the car broke down and was unlawfully repossessed by the defendants.”

The order specifically stated the business, with several other names, no longer could sell, buy, lease, repair, rent, title, finance, warranty, recycle, salvage, repossess, wholesale, transport, haul, carry, or tow any used vehicles.

Aardvark’s license was revoked by the Iowa Department of Transportation in September, but business continued, according to Miller’s office.

Friday afternoon, the business was open and a woman said car repairs still were being done though cars on the lot were snow covered from a storm earlier this week. Later, in a phone interview Friday afternoon, Bruce Duque said no work was being done at the site at 802 West 2nd St.

“Aardvark has been closed for over a month,” he said. “We are aware we are not supposed to be doing any business.”

Any car repair work being done there was by a friend working on his vehicles, Duque said. He and his partners intend to fight the lawsuit.

“We will turn it over to our attorney,” he said. “It will be disputed.”

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims the business used misleading advertising, deliberately misled customers of the quality of their used cars, refused to honor promised warranties, didn’t transfer titles in a timely manner, filed fraudulent title applications on behalf of consumers, failed to provide truth-in-lending disclosures required by the Iowa Consumer Credit Code, illegally repossessed cars, and sold cars without a license.

The Attorney General’s office first received complaints about Aardvark starting in September 2000.

The others area businesses also listed on the lawsuit include State Street Car Company, The Motorhaus, Auto Kings, UBA Auto Repair, URA Auto Repair, and The Car Boys, located in Moline.

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.