Bill Heard customers get no answers from state

The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs said its phones rang constantly Thursday with questions about Chevrolet auto seller Bill Heard Enterprises, which closed all its dealerships a day earlier.

Some customers said they had cars locked in the repair bays at one of Bill Heard’s shops. Others said they have extended warranties with the Columbus-based auto dealer. And some said they gave the company a check for a down payment on a car — but can’t trace either the money or the automobile.

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Jason Getz / jgetz@ajc.com

Bill Heard closed its 14 dealerships, putting 2,700 people out of work.

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LOCAL BILL HEARD LOCATIONS:
Buford
4490 South Lee Street
Buford, GA 30518
800-388-6343

Kennesaw
950 Barrett Pkwy,
Kennesaw, GA 30144
678-269-6409

Tom Jumper Chevrolet
7200 Roswell Road
Atlanta, GA 30328
888-467-7403

Union City
4310 Jonesboro Road
Union City, GA 30291
Phone: 888-674-5224

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Bill Cloud, a spokesman for the Consumer Affairs agency who summarized the conversations, said he has no idea what to tell them.

“They would love an easy answer to ‘What are you going to do?’” he said Thursday afternoon. “But the best thing I can tell them is, ‘I don’t know.’”

Alan Ulman, a spokesman for the company, said a small staff remained at some of the dealerships “doing the things that are necessary to close those businesses.” He said customers who have questions — such as how to get a car from the repair bay — can call the local dealerships or call the company’s headquarters.

Web sites for the individual dealerships gave no instructions about the situation, but Ulman said customers can submit questions via the sites.

Bill Heard Enterprises has four dealerships in metro Atlanta and nine in six other states — Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. The company closed its Scottsdale, Ariz., dealership on Sept. 12.

The shutdown put 2,700 people out of work. It is unclear how many of those jobs were in metro Atlanta.

Luis Priegos, who had worked at Bill Heard for six years detailing cars, said he was let go about 2 p.m. Wednesday.

“They said, ‘Everybody go.’ “

Priegos, who has a wife and four kids, asked whether he would be paid for 30 hours owed. “The boss says, ‘Maybe no pay.’ “

Jeff Lamas worked at the Buford dealership for nine months before the shutdown. The gates there were locked. A guard was stationed and only a few visitors were allowed in.

“I was lucky to even get my paycheck,” Lamas said as he drove out.

A lone serviceman at the Kennesaw location packed up his belongings, but there were no customers around and no signs notifying them about what had happened with the company.

At its Union City location Thursday morning, the gate was locked but customers with cars in for service were being allowed to retrieve them.

Transport trucks were already removing new vehicles from the lot.

The company said Wednesday that rising fuel prices, a slowdown in sales of heavy trucks and sport utility vehicles and problems in the banking sector piled up to “create a business environment in which the company simply did not have the resources needed to continue to operate.”

It also was hurt by GMAC Financial Services’ decision last month to discontinue credit for new inventory for some of Bill Heard’s dealerships. It cited concerns about financial losses at the company.

The company had not filed for bankruptcy as of late Thursday afternoon, according to an online search of public records. Ulman said he could not comment on whether the company was planning to do so.

The company has had several battles with the consumer affairs office, which has been investigating it since 2003.

Last year, the office filed a lawsuit that accused the company of engaging in a 16-year pattern of deceptive sales pitches.

When asked about the allegations, Ulman cited a statement the company had released last month.

“We have consistently stated that we have policies and procedures in place that require and enable legal, ethical and fair business practices including advertising and finance,” the statement says. “We deny the allegations, will continue to work constructively with the Office of Consumer Affairs.”

With tough times hitting all dealerships lately, one rival Chevy dealer sought to lure displaced customers.

Luis Rivera, a service adviser for Rick Hendrick Chevrolet, passed out fliers to anyone driving up to the Buford Heard dealership in a Chevrolet. The fliers had a phone number and Mapquest directions for Hendrick’s store 14 miles away.

“The customers got to go somehwere, Why can’t they come to us? We’re trying to get everybody at least in the door,” Rivera said.

— Staff writers John Hollis and Kay Powell contributed to this article.