16 January 2003
D&D Corvette/Dean Hoskins
Akron, Ohio USA

Excerpted from "The Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer" newspaper, 16 January 2003:

01/15/03
Karen Farkas, Plain Dealer Reporter

Akron (Ohio) William Hoskins builds replicas of 1963 Corvette race cars. His work attracted the interest of men around the country willing to pay about $50,000 for the striking vehicle. But Hoskins promised more than he could deliver, police said. He was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of theft by deception for taking money and not providing cars.

(Toledo attorney) Eugene Canestrano, whose client is involved in civil lawsuits against Hoskins, said Hoskins built two types of Corvette Grand Sport replicas. He said there are only about 22 original cars remaining. "If you saw it, it would turn your head because it has enormous curb appeal," he said. He said his client, Alpha Beta Design Inc. of Toledo, found Hoskins on the Internet and signed a contract in February 1995. "Hoskins has a certain amount of notoriety and as a craftsman, he's not bad," Canestrano said.

But after years without getting the car, Alpha Beta sued Hoskins in Summit County Common Pleas Court. It was granted a judgment of $56,434 in 2000 but agreed to let Hoskins finish building the car in lieu of payment. The car was delivered in November 2001, but was incomplete, and his client now seeks a judgment for work not done, Canestrano said. Foreclosure action against Hoskins is pending.

According to police documents, David Hudson of Kissimmee, Florida, paid Hoskins $52,000 for a car in July 2000; Dean Schumacher of Waterford, Michigan, paid $42,000 in July 2001, and Thomas Lutge of San Francisco paid $58,000 in August 2001 for Grand Sport replicas. Hoskins assured them the cars were built. But when buyers called his company, the phone was disconnected, so they contacted police.

Officers found no cars were built and the men had each been sent the same identification number for the car on their receipt.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
kfarkas@plaind.com, 1-800-628-6689
hotlink to entire 'Plain Dealer' newspaper article: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer

Footnote: I've been cautioning the world about D&D since 1994... and for several years right here on this Consumer Alert page (altho', sigh, all the while the kit car magazines went right on accepting their advertisements and--in lamentable disregard of reader complaints--publishing rave-review feature articles about them). Yet good folks still go right on swan diving into the empty pool. Sigh. Curt Scott

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1 June 2002: We received an inquiry from a reader who wants to know if "GSReplica," who is now advertising in Kit Car magazine, is one and the same as D&D Corvette. I just received a call from GSReplica's Mike Miller, who assured me that his company has absolutely no affiliation with D&D, and indeed are aware of the problems that D&D's customers have experienced.

Over the years we've received several serious complaints about this on-again, off-again advertiser of 1962 Corvette Grand Sport replicas and related component parts. Today we received, from D&D customer (Charles and Leslie Howard, in Colorado), an affidavit alleging that the firm and its principal William ("Dean") Hoskins have once again predictably failed to live up to their promises and contractual obligations. On or about 20 October 2000 the Howards, in accordance with prior agreement with D&D's Dean Hoskins, sent a cheque for $2500 for certain Corvette parts, accompanied with Mr. Hoskins' personal assurances of prompt delivery; on several occasions thereafter Hoskins promised Charles that the kit was scheduled for immediate shipment, or had already been shipped; no parts were ever received by the Howards. In the month of December 2000 alone, Mr. & Mrs. Howard left at least fifteen (15) telephone messages with D&D personnel or on the firm's answering machine, with not a single call ever having been returned. Sighhhhhh.

Once again here's an excerpt from the 4th Rule of our "10 Golden Rules for Selecting and Purchasing Your Specialty Car": "Apply the 'telephone test' of character: Don't even consider doing business with anyone who can't exhibit the simple courtesy of returning your telephone calls." And it's far more nefarious for a firm to disregard/avoid telephone calls from a good, paying customer, as is alleged in this case. How do you spell "Caveat Emptor"?