UPDATE: Norfolk car dealership removed from Navy Region Mid-Atlantic's 'off-limits list'
NORFOLK, Va. — A car dealership has been placed on an “off-limits list" for Hampton Roads service members once again after reports of “bird-dogging” emerged, according to the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs Office.
“We’re always on the lookout,” said Rear Admiral Scott Gray.
The office says bird-dogging is defined as, “when someone refers a prospective customer to a particular dealership or salesperson for a given fee or compensation. Only salespersons licensed to a dealership can assist customers with the purchase of a vehicle.”
The Commander of the Navy’s Mid-Atlantic Region, RADM Scott Gray, personally made the decision to put Carafello’s Auto Sales in Norfolk on a so-called off-limits list to keep any military service member from doing business there.
RADM Gray said Carafello’s has been on the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s radar for about a year.
“What we found was that there was a lot more involved, a lot more unscrupulous practices that I felt like I had to act to protect our sailors,” he said.
Recently, reports have surfaced about the car dealership "targeting young Sailors outside the gates and Navy Exchange” and employing bird-dogging tactics, according to the office.
The office elaborated on the auto dealership’s conduct, stating that “Carafello’s practice of selling automobiles to personnel without driver’s licenses unfairly targets junior service members, taking advantage of their limited financial understanding or ability to walk away from a negotiation.”
The Admiral said he put Carafello’s on notice Thursday after several of their junior enlisted sailors reported they were recently pressured to buy cars or were sold cars without even having a driver’s licenses.
“It was a series of incidences over some time that led us to believe it wasn't a one off,” said RADM Gray. “It was a pattern and a pattern that I felt compelled to act to ensure that we protect our folks.”
Carafello’s was previously on the off-limits list in Nov. 2015, but the business was taken off the list after showing compliance with laws and regulations in March 2016.
“It certainly indicates maybe a longer-term pattern,” said RADM Gray.
But you can protect yourself.
Ceilidhe Brown-Owens with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) said be on alarm if someone approaches you to do business. There are other warning signs.
“You don't have to prove your driver's license; we're not going to run your credit; no money down. That's a big red flag right there,” Brown-Owens said.
A service member is not allowed to go to Carafello’s Auto Sales while it’s on the list. It’s considered a violation of a general order and that person could face disciplinary action.
Carafello’s owner Brian Carafello, didn’t want to do an interview with News 3 but said nothing illegal is going on at his dealership.
Carafello will have a chance to go before the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board (AFDCB) in about a month to defend his business or show they’re making changes to get off the list.
Here is the complete off-limits list, as provided by the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs Office:
- 7 City’s Custom & Design, 1062 37th St., Norfolk
- 7 City’s Custom & Design, 117 E. Princess Anne Rd., Norfolk
- Best Price Auto Sales AKA US Auto Excellence, 3336 Holland Rd, Virginia Beach
- Carafello’s Auto Sales, LLC, 6328 E. Virginia Beach Blvd., Norfolk
- Mellow Smoke Tobacco Shop, 1948 Diamond Springs Rd., Virginia Beach
- Outer Edge Gifts, 760-B J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News
- Prime Auto AKA Skyline Auto, 4114 E. Indian River Rd, Chesapeake
- The Vault, 86 W. Mercury Blvd., Hampton
- The Vault, 15435-B Warwick Blvd., Newport News
- The Vault, 4746 George Washington Memorial Hwy., Hayes
- TKYU Bar, 1910 Atlantic Ave, Virginia Beach
