A VOLKSWAGEN dealership staff have made an error which led to an arrest of their customer.
The perplexed driver was seen handcuffed after he splurged $15,000 on a down payment.
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Shane Sprague bought a grey Thunderstorm GMC 1500 truck valued at $61,000 back in June.
But on July 1, Sprague was pulled over and arrested over suspicions of theft.
The footage shows the confused driver as he is placed in the back of a cruiser by deputies.
He could be heard saying: “I have no idea what’s happening right now.”
Sprague was then put in a jail cell for four hours and questioned by detectives.
He told NBC: “I was pulled out of my truck by BSO and put in a jail cell for four hours.
“It was one of the scariest events of my life that I could haven’t ever prepared for.”
Doral Volkswagen dealership mistakenly reported the car as stolen after the employee entered the wrong VIN and put the error in the paperwork.
Sprague claims that after the entire experience, he is now forced to drive a rental car.
He said: “This incident has turned my life upside down.
“I’ve gone from a professional service member to somebody who is getting text messages and Facebook requests from people I don’t know talking about that I’m a criminal or why did I steal a truck.”
Sprague’s lawyers have now filed a lawsuit against the dealership as they seek over $50,000 in damages.
Ignacio Alvarez, who is representing Sprague, said: “Several weeks after buying his dream car, he gets taken down in a felony traffic stop at gun point, handcuffed and arrested because a dealership, through gross negligence, failed to do the basic due care to check to see if the car was stolen and instead reported the car stolen.”
Doral Volkswagen’s lawyers have submitted a move to hold an evidence hearing and to compel arbitration.
They want the matter settled out of court by an impartial third party.
In a statement, DW’s lawyers said: “We are aware of the situation and extend our sincere apologies to Mr. Sprauge. This was an isolated occurrence caused by human error.
“This is not reflective of the level of service that we provide to our customers at Doral Volkswagen.
“We are committed to working toward a resolution and are in direct contact with Mr. Sprauge’s attorney.”
