NORFOLK, Va. — There's a new business off-limits to Hampton Roads service members.
Thursday, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic announced Norfolk car dealership Icon Motor Sports had been added to the list.
The business is located on East Indian River Road.
As of Thursday, the business was among 13 on Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s off-limits list and was listed due to multiple complaints earlier in the year about unethical business practices.
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“After reaching out to the business, reviewing the complaints, we considered the complaints under the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board, also known as the Armed Forces Board, and we all voted unanimously," said Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Staff Judge Advocate Lt. Cmdr. Victor Marquez.
News 3 went to the business. It is surrounded by a fence, so our reporters couldn’t go inside. We got an “out of service” message when calling the number on the sign on the business.
“If a service member were to enter that premise, they would be engaged in an Article 92 UCMJ violation," Marquez explained. "That UCMJ violation would go to their commanding officer to deem as he or she deems appropriate."
For service members looking to buy a car, the Better Business Bureau has some advice, including staying away from businesses like Icon Motor Sports that are not BBB accredited.
“We first ask they go to the Better Business Bureau, BBB.org, to look up the business or the car dealership that they’re looking for," Hampton Roads Better Business Bureau Marketing Manager Fredlena Cosby said. "You want to look, first, to see if they’re BBB-accredited and what their rating is and if they have any current complaints."
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Businesses can get off the list if they address the issues that got them there. For Icon Motor Sports, that means multiple things.
“For example, not soliciting on base, assurances of that," said Marquez. "Maybe reviewing contracts and refunding money that was placed as a deposit. One of the cases was $5,000 placed as a deposit for a defective car."
A news release from Navy Region Mid-Atlantic said the owner of Icon Motor Sports was indefinitely administratively banned from Naval Station Norfolk and all Navy Region Mid-Atlantic installations Aug. 18, citing five unethical business practices Navy Region Mid-Atlantic claims he was engaging in.
"These practices include misrepresenting as a “free” driver safety course, rather than an auto dealership; coercing service members with no driver’s license to buy a car; refusing to refund thousands of dollars in deposits after selling defective cars; making false promises to resale a used car, causing service members to end up paying on two used cars; and the appearance of bird-dogging onboard the naval base."
The publicly-available state website that lists dealership license information has a number for the owner of Icon Motor Sports. News 3 called that number and asked the man who answered if he was aware the business was on the list. He said he was not and asked if he could call back, but as of Thursday afternoon had not called back.
Below are the additional 12 businesses on the off-limits list as of Nov. 30:
• 7 City’s Custom & Design, 1062 37th St., Norfolk
• 7 City’s Custom & Design, 117 E. Princess Anne Rd., Norfolk
• Autoworks, 6100 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk
• D Motors, 881 E. Little Creek Rd., Norfolk
• Best Price Auto Sales AKA US Auto Excellence, 3336 Holland Rd, Virginia Beach
• Mellow Smoke Tobacco Shop, 201 E. Berkely Ave., Ste. C, Norfolk
• Outer Edge Gifts, 760-B J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News
• Prime Auto AKA Skyline Auto, 4114 E. Indian River Rd, Chesapeake
• The Vault, 389 W. 21st St., Norfolk
• The Vault, 15435-B Warwick Blvd., Newport News
• The Vault, 731 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News
• TKYU Bar, 1910 Atlantic Ave, Virginia Beach
