Car Dealer Forged My Signature To Steal $3k From Me.

Location: Texas

I recently financed a new vehicle, but the dealer didn’t realize I planned to pay off the loan immediately after purchase. When I went to pay off the loan, the loan amount was roughly $3K more than the price I had agreed to pay for the vehicle. Additionally, the interest rate had been lowered such that the monthly payments were almost exactly the same as they would have been had the total price not changed. When I called the dealer to ask what was going on, they claimed I had agreed to purchase a $3K warranty for the vehicle which in reality they *tried* to sell me but I declined. When I asked to see the documents I supposedly signed agreeing to purchase the warranty, they texted me pictures of two documents which both have signatures that are very obviously forged.

I know I can get them in a lot of trouble for this, and I can easily get the contract thrown out. But I came across some YouTube videos made by a consumer protection attorney indicating that he had successfully gotten a settlement for his client of around $50K in a case where the circumstances were almost identical to mine. I’ve read about a few other cases like this where large settlements were paid even though the dealer only tried to steal two or three grand. I don’t want to waste time and effort litigating this if that type of outcome is extremely uncommon, but if there is a decent chance I could essentially get the vehicle for free by hiring an attorney, I would certainly want to try.

Is this worth hiring an attorney for, or should I just confront the dealer about the forgery and see if they decide to make me a deal I can’t refuse? (They don’t know that I know the signatures were forged yet.) Can I even legally give the dealership an opportunity to “make amends” here, or would it be considered extortion if I simply confront them directly about what they did and then ask them how they plan to make me feel MUCH better about the experience I’ve had with their business so far?

Thanks in advance for any advice!