A new $5M class-action lawsuit has been launched by the victims of Treadz, a defunct Calgary consignment dealer, against the provincial regulatory body they say should have protected them.
According to the suit, the victims say that the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council not only let Treadz get away with stealing their money and vehicles, but it knew about the situation and failed to take appropriate action or fix problems in the industry.
Stacy and Susan Rachkewich filed a complaint with AMVIC last year, saying that Treadz kept $14,000 due to the lienholder on their new van.
Susan says that her complaint wasn’t the first - AMVIC already had a lot of complaints about the dealer but she claims they didn’t do anything.
She says that if the regulatory body did its job, they along with dozens in a similar situation wouldn’t be out several hundred thousand dollars.
“For that place not to have been shut down, for it to have been left open to victimize more people, shows these complaints were coming in for a very, very long time,” Rachkewich said.
AMVIC eventually did revoke Treadz’ licence, but that wasn’t until the consignment dealer pulled up shop and made off with cars and cash.
AMVIC has not responded to the lawsuit, saying that the matter is still before the court.
Service Alberta, which is in charge of overseeing AMVIC, also didn’t have any comment, but promised to ensure the council will carry out its mandate.
