Customer claims Orlando car dealership didn’t pay off trade-in, ruined his credit
Benji Auto Sales is a dealership Action 9 has warned consumers about before.
Latest Headlines by Jeff Deal
Local family’s truck cloned and registered out of state
A truck that’s been in the Hempsted family nearly seven years was essentially taken from them, at least on paper. “So, it’s been a huge pain, but I don’t know how else to get around it,” Christine Hempsted told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. It appears someone cloned the Orange County family’s vehicle and registered it in another state hundreds of miles away. Christine Hempsted said she couldn’t re-register the truck in Florida after someone else registered it in Massachusetts. Part of what makes it so bizarre is that that they’ve never had the truck out of their possession since they got it in 2018. Now, because someone registered it up north earlier this year, they were stuck with expired Florida tags.
Taylor Swift-themed events canceled; thousands of dollars lost in suspected scam
Taylor Weekend 2025 was supposed to be a Taylor Swift-themed weekend of fun, but after organizers and customers spent thousands of dollars, it was suddenly called off.
Action 9: Timeshare exit nightmare. Local couple stuck with timeshare after spending thousands
A Volusia County couple has been trying to get rid of their timeshare since 2017. They got desperate and hired a timeshare cancellation company, but instead of getting help they got burned. “We wound up doing it. To this day I regret it,” Jeff Lamey told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. Jeff Lamey and his wife Sandy spent nearly $11,000 with the timeshare exit company and are still stuck with the timeshare.
‘It was pretty shocking’: Customer claims moving company held belongings hostage
A local woman thought she hired the right movers, then got hit with a huge bill. Ashley Rogers said, “We’re not the kind of people that have thousands and thousands of dollars just sitting around. So, it was definitely stressful.” Rogers claims the moving company threatened to hold their belongings hostage unless they paid up. This is the same type of scenario Action 9 has exposed before and the company involved appears to be connected to other companies that aren’t even allowed to do moves in Florida. Rogers told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal, the company let Rogers and her husband know about the new inflated price after their belongings were already loaded on the truck.
‘It’s super shady’: Consumers claim local car dealership didn’t pay off trade-in balance on time
When you trade in your car to buy a new one the dealership is supposed to pay off the old loan. But what if it doesn’t? That’s what Cody Alexander of Winter Garden said happened to him after buying a new ride at an Orlando car dealership. “As far as my bank is concerned, they’ve never received a check. They’ve never received anything validating the fact that I sold the car,” Alexander told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. He said he’d been waiting around two months for the payoff, and was still stuck with a loan on a car he no longer had in his possession.
‘He needs to be stopped’: More customers accuse fence company of taking money, not doing work
Heidi Busher of Orlando paid a $1500 deposit to replace part of her fence, but she claims the company never built the fence and won’t return the money. “I think it’s despicable, honestly,” Busher told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. The company, Knight Fence, is a company Action 9 has warned consumers about before.
Investors claim they lost big money with company often touted on social media
Action 9 is looking into a company that's been pushed hard on social media as a great investment. The investigation started after investors from all over the world, including many in central Florida started to believe it’s nothing but a scam. Even some law enforcement agencies are warning about it. A woman on Instagram showed off a new luxury SUV with a red bow wrapped around it. She said, “Guys, look at my gift. LSSC is not all about the car. It’s about unity.” On another video, Action 9 saw a man in a police uniform who said, “Making money in your free time. It’s literally at the push of a button.” He was also talking about a company often referred to as LSSC. That’s short for Lightning Shared Scooter Company.
“It feels violating”: Fraud investigation underway into Marion County business owner
Holly Schaefer is retired and now living in Marion County. She told Action 9, “I had a broker up in Illinois, and I wanted someone down here who I could see face to face.” But she claims after hiring Michael Hainsworth as a financial advisor, her money is missing and now she doesn’t know where he is either.
Back-to-School Shopping: How to find the best deals
With just days to go before heading back to the classroom, many parents and students may still have back-to-school shopping left to get done. Action 9 spoke with parents and experts about how to find the best deals.
