Dealership forces sale by blocking elderly woman’s driveway

When 78-year-old Gertrude Gelsey of Jacksonville, Florida, tried to purchase her latest vehicle, she had to get the police involved.

According to First Coast News, she went to a dealership on Sept. 20 to buy a vehicle, and found what she was looking for. She signed an agreement and took the car home.

However, the dealership called her a short time later and asked Gelsey to return to the dealership to sign more paperwork to complete the sale. The story says that she looked over the contract and saw she was paying $2,269 for a service contract, $799 for GAP insurance coverage and $437 for road hazard coverage.

“I believe this car was hurdled on me,” Gelsey said in the story. So when she returned to the dealership, she gave the keys back.

“I don’t want this car. I believe I can find one cheaper,” she said. The dealership gave back the car she traded, and she left.

Gelsey thought everything had been taken care of until she noticed something in her driveway a few days later. Someone from the dealership brought the car over and parked it at her home, and the keys weren’t anywhere to be found.

The story reported that Gelsey called police because she was unable to leave her driveway, which was deemed as a safety issue by law enforcement. Someone from the dealership was sent to move the vehicle, and Gelsey said she never finished signing the contract.

In the state of Florida, once you sign an agreement and take possession of the car, you have purchased the car, said Leslie Goller, a lawyer specializing in consumer law. She emphasized that there’s no “cooling off” period.

Since the media’s involvement in Gelsey’s experience with the dealership, the owner said he was willing to meet with the her to make her happy.

How do you think the situation should be handled? Leave a comment below, or send us a tweet to @PowerNationTV.

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