Last Emperor

so to make a long story short, the guy that i originally left a deposit with for the C63, has fallen off the face of the earth!

hes ducking me and avoiding my calls, and not returning messages!

i gave him a $1,000 deposit, and want to persur getting it back


www.directleaseamerica.com is the company

ive tracked all his #s and got some of his info, but he is out of state, and im in NY

on his website, it lists the company in YORK, PA.

when i left the depoist, his business was registered in BOYNTON BEACH, FL.
(i believe his father has an office there...i have the address)

and his cell phone and residence comes up as SAN JOSE, CA.





at this point, i dunno what to do.

i would find him and break his head....but that would get me in trouble
UNFORTUNATELY



am hoping some of you guys have usefull advice


if anyone is in the CA, PA, or FL area.....and willing to go check out his office, i will PAY YOU HANDSOMELY!!!


at this point i wouldnt mind giving the whole thousand away just to find this guy


i was told to sue him, as i have reciepts and contracts and all...
but not sure how this would work out of state, and lawyers would cost me more $$$


any help is GREATLY apreciated!

thanks fellas......good thing the 63 is still on oredr from RAY CATENA tho

AMGBeleza

How long since you last had contact with him?

YellowJacket

Did you give him a Credit card deposit? I hope it wasnt cash.

Last Emperor

unfortunately it was cash!

DIRECT LEASE AMERICA has a corporate account at commerce back.

he gave me his account info and i went to the bank and deposited the money into his account

obviously not as good as a credit card, but i do have a bank receipt stating i deposited money with hi co.

and a receipt from him that he recieved it



its been about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks that ive been getting the run around

Alex@wheelexperts

one of us should try inquiring about one of their vehicles and see what happens...

Last Emperor

it is IMPOSSIBLE to get him on the phone

he is the only employess at the company, and there # is forwarded to his cell phone

which if ALWAYS off now that ive been calling



i know for 100% tho that he checks and ignores my voice mails, and emails

QQQ

Sorry to hear about this... have you dealt with the company before?
It is a lesson that we should only deal with reputable dealers.

Last Emperor

no i havnt

and i had my suspisions about dealing with them, but the #s they gave me where so good that i thought it was worth the gamble to see if theyre for real or not

unfortunately they where not!

MB260E

I travel frequently to San Jose and Santa Clara, PM me and if it's on the way I may be able to check it out.

1st amg

Hey Last Emperor, sory to hear all the you are going through, is this the same guy who gave you your lease payments amount, I think you started a thread on this about how good his pricing was? Anyway, have you contacted the Better Business Bureau, they might be able to give you some direction on this, hope it works out for you...at least the car is still on order. If I was closer to you I would help out sending out the "gumbas" to pay a visit.

Last Emperor

yea im gonna do just tht!!


if youre in the business of ripping ppl of, you should atleast do some research as to WHO ur gonna try to rip off

yea i made a BBB complaint, and am looking into legal actions

UGOTMOPPED

that's why..when getting these types of cars..either you have the cash or not...haggle over a 100 or 2? if you know it could be a massive headache, why bother.

Last Emperor

well regardless if you have cash or not, you shouldnt throw it away!

you should always try to shop around, haggle, and get the best deal



1000 for 24 months
or
1200 for 39 is a huge difference!

obviously there was a lot of risk involved and i got burned.....but we should still haggle

all be it with reputible companies ;-)

Fikse

this sucks...

did he give the dealer a deposit to order the car? maybe you can use that as your deposit so you don't get taken for the entire thousand....

how did you initially get in contact with this guy? was he advertising somewhere?

Last Emperor

he kept telling me has was gonna order the car

but im 100% sure he never did!


i found his company while browsing online,
they used to do business with swapalease
and i found the link to his site there


i think this guy is in the business of taking deposits and then just dissapear




i where was close to either FL, or CA i would show up at his door step and make him pay me my money

Last Emperor

BTW, anyone in cali, florida, or penn. who helps me get a hold of this guy and get my $$, i would gladly split the deposit with them

i rather one of you guys have the ENTIRE thousand, than this piece of sh*t keep it!

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Why didn't you do this through a dealer????

That's your first issue, never use shady go-betweens for a new and in-demand car. They're more interested in taking your money than getting you what you want.

Last Emperor

yea, i went thru the dealer aswell as a back up

i figured witha contract and receipt in writing from this guy, i wouldnt have that much of a problem getting nmy funds back

i really didnt think that he would just take the deposit and then turn his phone off

1985mb

Don't think anyone physically going to any of these "offices" (assuming they exist or have anyone working in them) will solve anything.

Go to OT (Off Topic) and ask the lawyers on this board for some advice, or perhaps look into small claims court

Last Emperor

well, i have his home address

i am 110% POSITIVE that if i was sitting on his porch when he came home, i would get the money right then and there

NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT!

obviously, me flying to cali for this is not exactly cost efficient



about small claims, im looking into that issue


i just dont know exactly how it would work since im in NY, and hes in either CA or FL

if i would have to fly there for court, that would be pretty burnt out too

NORTH 44 C63

[QUOTE=Last Emperor;2899499]

Last Emperor, Sorry to hear about you getting scammed. I hate that. I do think you realized going in that this was a shot in the dark (based on your quotes below)

"i had my suspisions about dealing with them, but the #s they gave me where so good that i thought it was worth the gamble to see if theyre for real or not"

"obviously there was a lot of risk involved and i got burned.....but we should still haggle"

This was one of those "too good to be true" scenario's. I would be thankful you didn't get taken for more than just $1000.

Lesson learned. Move on.

Get an new order in somewhere legit asap......

Last Emperor

[QUOTE=NORTH 44 C55;2899605]
yes lesson definitely learned

and i do have an august build date at an ACTUAL mb dealer





but i dont feel right just letting it go!


at this point in time, if it costs me an additional 1000 just to find this guy, it will be money well spent

ohlord

the problems as I see it.If he is a real person with assets that can be collected if you had a judgment against him in small claims court.You can assign small claims out of state to a proxie(need not be a lawyer)and that person,friend,relative can be in court to present the facts when you have him hauled into court.You might get the maximum award just for the hassle it has caused you.

The other issue and this is the one that bothers me as much as him ripping you off. That is when you have this kind of convoluted thinking
and I quote
"but the #s they gave me where so good that i thought it was worth the gamble to see if theyre for real or not "
you became the problem,not him
It would have been more prudent to lay that grand down on the red side bar and wait for the roulette wheel to stop spinning.
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"

Last Emperor

point taken, but it was a leasing company that had an inventory of 1000 cars on swap a lease

they claimed to be in business for a long time too, had a pretty reputble looking site

i went to the bank and deposoited money into the companies account, got a receipt for it

and i also got a receipt from him directly


so i know in the end, i still got f*cked.......but its not like i just gave a guy in the street 1000 bucks sight unseen




about the small claims issue:

if im in new york, and want to sue him


would he be dragged into court here, or would i have to go there????

bizguy4u

Call the local Police in his area. If he's pulled this before then they can show he has a system of fraud and will probably know about him.

Dont act like its a bad business transaction. Focus on the FRAUDULENT aspect.

The more info you have to give them the better.