ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Luther Brookdale Buick Pontiac GMC in Brooklyn Park, Minn., agreed last week to pay $250,000 to the state to settle charges that it used over 12,000 consumers' credit information without their permission.

According to the office of Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, Luther Brookdale screened consumers using their credit information and then sent deceptive mailings to consumers with discharged bankruptcies. The solicitations were offers of auto financing in the form of fake checks that looked like they were from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The state alleged that Luther Brookdale violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Minnesota consumers fraud statutes.

As part of the settlement, the dealer must comply with the following terms:

• Luther can't obtain or use consumer credit information without first getting permission from the consumer or making a firm offer of credit as required by the FCRA.

  
  

• Luther will disclose to consumers that they have the right to stop the use of their credit information for marketing purposes.

  
  

• Luther won't send mailings pretending to be from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court or backed by the State of Minnesota.

  
  

• Luther won't send mailings saying that its offer for auto financing is only available to a limited list of consumers or for a limited time, when it isn't.

  
  

  The settlement must be approved by the U.S. District Court of Minnesota.