Auto buying asst, scam, frustration and the right thing to do?
July 17, 2018 2:56 PM   Subscribe

I recently singed up for help from a number of auto buying assistants online and one of them is sending me an invoice that seems inappropriate.

I am trying to find a car in Maine. I signed up for three services online.

http://www.autobuyingassistant.com/
http://autobuyingconsultantsofmaine.com/
www.1ClickAutoBrokers.com

One did not respond at all and two responded and started asking questions right away about what kind of car I was trying to find. I had filled out a form on the autobuyingassistant here: http://www.autobuyingassistant.com/contact-us/

Based on that I engaged in a week of questions and answers. I was also in the process of moving my family across the country and dealing with my 93 year old mother being moved into a new dementia care until, I was under a lot of stress and trying to see if there was help I could get from one of the brokers that made sense.

I had used AutoLine for the last three car purchases and found it a very easy, straight forward situation.

The person who runs auto buyingassistant started sending me invoices. I then started saying I had no idea I was being charged for any of the services (which is true) and we went back and forth, we spoke on the phone, he was aggressive, dismissive, antagonistic and all he would say is pay the invoice or it will go to collection. The bottom line is that http://www.autobuyingassistant.com/ supplied me with a not very interesting array of information, a quote form a dealer that was more than I was seeing other places. He says is went to seven dealerships in the area and negotiated the best price for me. When I asked why he actually went to any dealership he just told me to not tell him how to do his job.

What he is relying on is that in the form I filled out is a field that states:

Please print full name here*
By printing your name here you are authorizing Auto Buying Assistant & ABA Brokering Services to conduct services you have requested and have agreed to pay the full payment for the services based on the fee or hourly fee. Electronic signature is a binding contract.

There is no mention of fees on that page and I never received any contract or notice of fees or schedules of charges.

Perhaps this is all on th cup and up, it does not feel that way to me, in all honesty it seems quite shady. But I want to do what is right and correct.

I understand I may have acted impulsively when signing up and I was surely under too much stress could have done better, please dont fault me MeFi for my trespasses. I come her only to understand the best path towards solution.

Thanks
posted by silsurf to Computers & Internet (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
It does seem kind of shady and I expect that they do strong-arm people who aren't paying close attention to what they sign into paying for services. However, there is an easily-findable list of fees and charges here, and the notice that by signing up you are authorizing charges is not hidden in a pop-up or anything-- it's right there on the Contact form.
posted by Kpele at 3:19 PM on July 17, 2018


Yes, I agree. In this particular case, their fees are not hidden and their form specifically asks for what services you are looking for. You were likely in a bad place, but that doesn't change the agreement. I think you owe the guy his dues. That said, I'd suggest a negative review online.
posted by saeculorum at 4:29 PM on July 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: thanks
posted by silsurf at 4:34 AM on July 18, 2018


Response by poster: What do you think the best place to post reviews for such a situation as this is?
posted by silsurf at 4:34 AM on July 18, 2018


Response by poster: I filed a complaint with the BBB, the owner responded with this:


On 6/29/2018 our office receive a email inquiry from Mr. looking to obtain our services to assist him in purchasing a new 2017 Chevrolet Volt left over which he completed an online contract and signed his name stating that he agreed to pay for any all services that we provided for him and upon receiving we contacted him via email that he provide for us and told us he would prefer being contacted by email rather than phone or text. We reached out to him and confirmed that we received his email and asked him if he wanted us to begin the process for him and he emailed back that he would like for us to do so and that the sooner the better as he just relocated him family here from California as he also noted on the email client profile form/contract he completed online, I emailed him back and said that I would begin the process and start locating the Chevy Volt and that I would visit a minimum of 5 Chevrolet dealerships to make sure that i am securing the best pricing for you and he responded great thank you very much. I begin the locating process and i visited dealership as he also sent me an additional email stating that he would like to take delivery by 7/2/2018 and it was then when I stated to him that it may take me a bit longer than that because it was such short notice and that there are not a lot of 2017 left that he wanted the 0% financing on them. After doing a locate on our internal system we found to be no 2017 models as to what he was hoping for and it was at that point he emailed back stating maybe we would consider a 2015 Toyota Prius as we do not like the 2014 or older once, I emailed him back and said that i would run locates and see what was out here for 2015 Prius and also asked him if he would consider a 2018 Chevrolet Volt he mailed back and said he would consider that and would pay cash for the vehicle and would not elect to finance anything I acknowledged his email and would get pricing 2018 Chevrolet Volt and at that point visited 7 Chevrolet dealerships in the Southern Maine area and was able to secure him pricing saving him over $4,000.00 and so Ii emailed him quotes and also the invoices to this vehicle along with equipment option list and told him if he would like to see the vehicle I could set up a test drive and should he have any additional questions not to hesitate to contact me. On 7/2/2018 I received an email back from him stating he was thinking it over and would get back to me after he decided what he wanted to do and in this email he also asked me if I had found any 2015 or newer Prius and I shared with him that i did but after pulling car fax to check the history on the two I found and one had accident and resulted in lots of damage and the other had major issue with the electric system and he said he did not want that which I told him I did not blame him. After not hearing from him in 3 days I reached out by email on 7/5/2018 and asked if he had any additional questions and also to let him him know that no other 2015 Prius have him our locator and it was then when he said that he decided to go shopping himself and that he would not need me no more and so I emailed him back and said that he signed an electronic contract which states that you agreed to pay me for services that have and that I would have our office email him an electronic invoice or mail one whichever he preferred for the $315.00 fee and he mailed me back saying that never agreed to pay me and that he had a a auto broker in California that never collected money and so I let him know that when he completed the client profile form/contract on line when you printed your name above clearly marked it stated by printing your name here you are authorizing Auto Buying Assistant & ABA Brokering Services to conduct services you have requested and have agreed to pay the full payment for the services based on the fee or hourly fee. Electronic signature is a binding contract and he said he never filled anything out and that he emailed a few car brokers and again I stated to him that I have been emailing him now for almost 10 days where I was now 7/11/2018 when we were emailing back and forth so I said to him that my office would he email him an electronic invoice and he could pay that and I received an email back from him that he is not paying me as I did not do nothing for him for him and I emailed back that is a choice you can make however we will turn deal over to our collection agency should we need to go to that situation. My office emailed him the 1st invoice on 7/11/2018 and he never paid it nor did he email me as all, the 2nd late notice invoice went out via email on 7/15/2018 keep in mind not charging him any late fees but attempting to collect what he owed for services provide and we received nothing so the 3rd email invoice was sent on 7/17/2018 and this said this is the last attempt to collect the debt owed or the case will be turned over to the collection agency immediately. I received a phone call from Mr Cline on 7/17/2018 at 2:26pm that afternoon and he left a 18 minute message on how his mother he left in California who has dementia and had to travel across the country and is living his step mothers house with his family and that he really would like to speak to me and just if we could work something out regarding the invoice payment and maybe if I could just understand what he is going through I might be able to just save him a little money as he did not realize what he was completing online I returned his call on 7/18/2018 to get his voice mail and left a message that I would be happy to speak to him to discuss the situation and that he could contact me when he was able and i received a call back from him on 7/18 only to have him basically go off on me that he is going through so much and that he really was hoping I could agree to wave our fee as he did not know what he was doing and that he understands that I put time into this and he appreciates the work we did and did not realize that we charged for this and do you think we work for nothing and he said no but did not realize that you charged as the broker in California did not work this way and I said well its clearly stated on the form you completed that you printed your name on that you were being provided a service that fees were involved. I agreed at that point to only charge his the minimum 5 hours at $49.00 hour $245.00 not the full fee of $315.00 and he was argumentative about that getting into him mother again and everything else why he feels he should not have to pay for the services we provided and at that point I said we are going to have to end the call because no matter what I do you are going to argue the fact and I do not want to do this he continued to talk over me and would not allow me to talk at all and I ended the call by hanging up. I run a straight up company and if you Google or search the internet you will see that for your self and I am not into taking peoples money for fun as I have told clients at times that I really can not help them in for them to pay me would be crazy cause its just a situation I can do what they want. the statement giving by Mr. Henry Cline is a false accusation of me and I would expect it to be removed from the BBB and if it is not after your investigating I will plan of contacting my business attorney. Notes: * I have all the emails exchanges to support my statement. * I have the voicemail saved that was left to support my statement. * I have all the invoices saved to support my statement * I have a dealership personnel that will be a witness that Mr. took my numbers to the dealership to shop me support my case. Best regards Auto Buying Assistant
posted by silsurf at 8:04 AM on August 1, 2018


Response by poster: Better Business Bureau:

[I have no interest in getting into a dispute over who said what and when with the business owner. It is clear what his stance is and I have paid him the invoice as I understand that I signed a document and am responsible for it. My contest is only about the unclear and suspect way in which this business garners its clients. I did not know I was going to be charged and if I did I would have acted differently. Of course the burden is on me and I hope that my experience can help someone else avoid a similar end. I had complete strangers look at the website and they agreed that the site is "iffy" and misleading. It is my experience that this business is taking advantage of people like me and I think it is appropriate to point this out to any future possible clients. I know I will not get my money back, I am only doing a civic duty, again at the encouragement of strangers who agree with my findings.]

Regards,

He then called me and said he is starting legal action against me for slander. I only wish to report my findings in a way that might help a future customer and really do not wish to be in a nasty quarrel with this business owner. Any suggestions on how to proceed would be appreciated.
posted by silsurf at 8:08 AM on August 1, 2018


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