A Gainesville loan officer learned first-hand about what is considered to be a shady practice among some car dealerships.

In October, she selected an unused, white Nissan Altima at North Texas Nissan in Corinth, signed the paperwork with salesman Brian Hall, turned over her old car as a trade-in, and took her new car home.

“I just fell in love with the car,” said Judy Miller, a senior loan officer with Maverick Residential Mortgage in Gainesville.

Miller had the car for two weeks when Ruth, one of Hall’s assistants at the dealership, called to tell her the bank could not accept the terms she and Hall had agreed on.

“I was told that everything was a done deal, and I would begin making payments on my car on Nov. 26,” she said. “I was shocked.”

Miller explained to Ruth that she had a copy of her signed contract.

“They couldn’t just change the terms,” Miller said she told the assistant.

Then Ruth told Miller about a car contract provision Miller had never heard of.

“She informed me that the dealership had done a ‘spot delivery’ and that they could, in fact, change whatever they wanted,” Miller said.

Miller had the option of agreeing to a new contract with new terms or bringing back the new Nissan.

Miller turned to the Internet where she said she found lots of auto dealership horror stories.

“I could not believe what I was reading,” she said. “It was almost verbatim what was happening to me.”

Miller said she called the dealership back and told the assistant she planned to consult an attorney before making any decisions on the deal.

“I felt I had a binding contract,” she said.

That’s when Miller said Ruth got nasty.

“She told me since I decided to handle things like that they would need the car to be returned to them in the morning first thing, and if it wasn’t at the dealership by noon they would report the car stolen,” she said.

Miller said she asked to speak to Brian Hall and was told he was not available. She said she grew upset, and because she had a client waiting in her office, finally hung up on Ruth.

She said the assistant called her back 11 times that day, leaving voice mails many of which Miller saved.

In one, the assistant can be heard berating Miller for hanging up and suggesting that she “become human” and return her calls.

Not one to back down when she felt she had been wronged, Miller contacted various media outlets.

She said a Dallas-Fort Worth area consumer reporter talked to her about spot delivery, or “yo-yo scams” as they are sometimes called.

“The reporter said the car dealership is gambling that you’ll just go along with it, doing whatever it takes to keep your car,” she said.

Miller learned that dealers also sometimes have their clients sign purchase orders or conditional agreements, leaving blanks in the actual contract which is signed only after the financing agreement is finalized.

In addition, contractual amendments often allow dealerships to make other changes if the financing on a particular deal falls through. These measures include increasing interest rates or adding additional time to the life of the note — all of which drive up the costs of the transaction.

Miller said she has received dozens of responses to an e-mail she sent out telling the story of her experience with the Corinth auto dealership.

Of the many responses she received, Miller said at least two dozen are complaints from local people of experiences similar to her own.

She sent the dealership a written statement advising them they can have the car back. But she refuses to drive it to Corinth. Miller said she is not legally allowed to drive the car back to the dealership.

“Technically, I’m not insured to drive it,” she said.

Miller said she’s certain North Texas Nissan is not the only dealership that has found loopholes in Texas laws.

She contacted the state credit commissioner, Texas motor vehicles department and the Better Business Bureau.

She has some advice for others who are in the market for a new or used vehicle.

“People really need to check out the dealerships,” she said.

Miller said the Nissan Altima was the third car she or a family member purchased from the dealership over the past few years.

“I bought a pre-owned Mercedes, my daughter bought a new Nissan Sentra and I bought the Altima,” she said.

Meanwhile, Miller said her experience with North Texas Nissan has soured her on the car she once loved.

“I probably won’t keep it now,” she said. ‘I’ll go somewhere else and get another one.”

Chris Gurley, sales manager at North Texas Nissan, said he is sorry Miller is so upset about the deal.

“I hate a situation like this,” Gurley said. “Ms. Miller is a nice lady. I wish we could’ve helped her.”

Gurley said he and his associates have several measures in placed to assure that clients know the terms of their agreements before they leave the dealership.

“What we do to make sure everybody knows what’s going on is, we have a form that people sign that says this loan is conditional upon bank approval,” he said.

He said such flexible contract wording is necessary due to the dealership’s business hours, which include times when finance companies are not open.

“We open at 8:30 in the morning and sometimes don’t shut down until 11 or 11:30 at night,” he said.

Decisions and changes to conditional agreements are made by finance companies, he said, adding that North Texas Nissan works with the Nissan corporation as well as about 30 other lenders.

“We try hard to achieve a loan for someone,” he said. “We don’t approve or disapprove of any loans here.”

Reporter Delania Trigg may be contacted at dtrigg@ntin.net