Thank you, CWB. While I did leave some details out, that's more or less what the dealer did to my mother and I have a vivid memory of her being upset about it.
Before that incident came to light, however, he also tried to charge an exorbitant price for a simple repair, stole parts from a KW transformer he was repairing, and assorted other disreputable behaviors. I wrote a very upset letter to Lionel at age 13 bringing his behavior to Lionel's attention and received a personal response.
SJS
