Seems to me the banks should be able to find out who owns the account the money went to .......?
1973 3.0CS
- Thread starter LNGBRD
- Start date
Oh boy, this is such a scary story. I purchased a car from a sketchy seller in Florida (what is it about the Florida sellers - ha ha). My experience was similar, but the notable differences were that I arranged for transportation, and the car actually arrived about a month later. This looks grim, but I am thinking positive thoughts and hoping that there is a mechanism for you to get your money back (or a car). Best of luck!!! Watching with interest.
So, as an intial matter, try to determine if your local law enforcement folks have an online crimes unit. Where I live in Fairfax County, VA, they have a "Financial Crimes Online" unit. I actually used them once when I purchased an amplifier for my home theater from Canada and it arrived with the serial numbers altered. See if you have access to something like this in Texas. If a unit is not available locally, try to determine if the State of Texas has an online financial crimes unit.
Your wire transfer description on March 18, 2020 states that the transfer went to "BA." If that is Bank of America, get their fraud people involved with this.
Next, CarDealFinder.com should not be allowing scammers to operate freely on their platform. File a negative online review with them; this will get their attention. If they do not jump in to help, file a local and/or State of Texas online financial crimes complaint against them.
From your description, it seems to me that this scam only works if the shipping company is in on it. That is why I asked about them earlier. It is possible that they too were duped, but this is their business and they should have procedures to prevent this. It is also possible that the seller used Starx's information but that Starx was not in fact involved. I would be prepared for either of these possibilities, but if they too are a victim, they should be applying their resources to help you.
Following the assumption that you need to light a fire under Starx shipping, I suggest the following:
-- Give Starx shipping LLC a strong negative review online. The company will have people who monitor these reviews closely and this is the fastest way to get their attention to your problem.
-- There is a Starx shipping LLC on the net with US offices in Miami, so I would file a complaint with the state of FL office of consumer protection against them.
-- The feds regulate interstate trucking companies, so I would try to determine where you might connect with the US Department of transportation to file a federal trucking company complaint against Starx shipping LLC.
-- Go after the escrow account piece of this hard. This is actually the worst part of the deal, from what I can see. No consumer would enter into a transaction like this without all the happy assurances about the escrow account. This is the key to the entire deal. I think the US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has jurisdiction over escrow accounts. File a complaint with them. Then look into state regulation of escrow agents in both FL and TX. Perhaps B of A can assist you with this piece of it.
Your wire transfer description on March 18, 2020 states that the transfer went to "BA." If that is Bank of America, get their fraud people involved with this.
Next, CarDealFinder.com should not be allowing scammers to operate freely on their platform. File a negative online review with them; this will get their attention. If they do not jump in to help, file a local and/or State of Texas online financial crimes complaint against them.
From your description, it seems to me that this scam only works if the shipping company is in on it. That is why I asked about them earlier. It is possible that they too were duped, but this is their business and they should have procedures to prevent this. It is also possible that the seller used Starx's information but that Starx was not in fact involved. I would be prepared for either of these possibilities, but if they too are a victim, they should be applying their resources to help you.
Following the assumption that you need to light a fire under Starx shipping, I suggest the following:
-- Give Starx shipping LLC a strong negative review online. The company will have people who monitor these reviews closely and this is the fastest way to get their attention to your problem.
-- There is a Starx shipping LLC on the net with US offices in Miami, so I would file a complaint with the state of FL office of consumer protection against them.
-- The feds regulate interstate trucking companies, so I would try to determine where you might connect with the US Department of transportation to file a federal trucking company complaint against Starx shipping LLC.
-- Go after the escrow account piece of this hard. This is actually the worst part of the deal, from what I can see. No consumer would enter into a transaction like this without all the happy assurances about the escrow account. This is the key to the entire deal. I think the US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has jurisdiction over escrow accounts. File a complaint with them. Then look into state regulation of escrow agents in both FL and TX. Perhaps B of A can assist you with this piece of it.
Steven, go to the Texas Attorney General website
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
file a consumer complaint
Consumer Protection | Office of the Attorney General
We protect Texas consumers by accepting complaints, filing civil cases in the public interest and educating Texans on how to spot and avoid possible scams.
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
Starx Shipping has no DOT record. I believe they only exist online and I think they are piggy-backing off of StarEx Transport out of MO, including modifying StarEx's logo. Starx doesn't show any of their trucks, only an all white generic photo on their main page. StarEx shows many photos of their trucks with logos on the side (would be hard to photoshop some of them) and also has private photos of their trucks uploaded on their facebook page.
There are a lot of transportation companies that don't look like much, including StarEx, but they have records to prove they can operate legally.
The other thing I think someone should consider doing is to find an add for that coupe for sale and act like you want to purchase it. If they respond and want to sell it that's all you need to know.
A question I have regarding payment for situations like this... How many different ways can you have buyer protection? Like a credit card, Paypal, etc? It seems everything time our company has a dispute about a sale the buyer gets their money back, no matter how much info we have on the contrary. I'm assuming sellers know this and don't take these types of payments?
There are a lot of transportation companies that don't look like much, including StarEx, but they have records to prove they can operate legally.
The other thing I think someone should consider doing is to find an add for that coupe for sale and act like you want to purchase it. If they respond and want to sell it that's all you need to know.
A question I have regarding payment for situations like this... How many different ways can you have buyer protection? Like a credit card, Paypal, etc? It seems everything time our company has a dispute about a sale the buyer gets their money back, no matter how much info we have on the contrary. I'm assuming sellers know this and don't take these types of payments?
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Nail in the coffin. The start-shipping domain was registered on 03-11, a few days prior to the scammer’s reference to said company. They probably built out the site during that time. I’m sure that the shame shipping site is used over and over, rebranded each time.
Not trying to be insensitive @LNGBRD. If there is a silver lining, it is that your transparency and participation in this discussion may inform future buyers.
Archived:
Starx Shipping LLC
web.archive.org
Okay, looking at the source code, they are using an “erp_cars” CSS template. Here is the BBB entry for erp_cars. One review, one star, listed as a scam seller:
www.bbb.org
More reviews, ignore any positive:
www.trustpilot.com
Scam Warning:
Company registration info:
www.flcompanyregistry.com
Here are other fake trucking companies using this template:
This is the area where erp_cars tested the site formatting:
<placeholder for way back archive. Behaving badly>
In the above test site, it references “Krishna Creations” with name and phone number. ERP_Cars is the registered user who first landed “Krishna Creations” on the these site above. The production site matches the format and the logo.
<placeholder for archive>
Domain history for Krishna Creations:
Facebook:
Also note that krishnacrearions.net also uses a similar template, same name, and was registered early this year. Selling printers and services.
Going to go reset my IP address now!
ERP Cars Trading Limited | Reviews | Better Business Bureau® Profile
View customer reviews of ERP Cars Trading Limited. Leave a review and share your experience with the BBB and ERP Cars Trading Limited.
More reviews, ignore any positive:
Erpcarstrading is rated "Poor" with 2.5 / 5 on Trustpilot
Do you agree with Erpcarstrading's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 7 customers have already said.
www.trustpilot.com
Scam Warning:
Vehicle scam - [email protected]
Auctions and online selling: Vehicle scam - [email protected]
www.scamwarners.com
Company registration info:
ERP CARS TRADING LLC | Florida Company Directory
Provide information about ERP CARS TRADING LLC, includes incorporation date, status, type, directors, address, contacts information & more.
Here are other fake trucking companies using this template:
This is the area where erp_cars tested the site formatting:
<placeholder for way back archive. Behaving badly>
In the above test site, it references “Krishna Creations” with name and phone number. ERP_Cars is the registered user who first landed “Krishna Creations” on the these site above. The production site matches the format and the logo.
Krishna Creations Boutique
Indian clothing store in Fremont, CA. A unique selection of ethnic Indian dresses in latest fashion. Saree, Anarkali, Patiala and Churidar Salwar Suits, Kurti, Bridal Lehengas, Indian dresses for kids, traditional Indian fashion jewelry, clutches
www.krishnacreationsboutique.com
<placeholder for archive>
Domain history for Krishna Creations:
Facebook:
Also note that krishnacrearions.net also uses a similar template, same name, and was registered early this year. Selling printers and services.
Going to go reset my IP address now!
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The BMW 3.0 CS US VIN 2240904 was manufactured on June 29th, 1973 and delivered on July 11th, 1973 to the UK. The original colour was Taiga metallic, paint code 072.
Taiga is a very rare, pale acid green color...About #7 in "Cars" in classifieds is one.
Is this the private message button?
To message someone direct or “privately” click on their handle (name) and start a conversation.
No buyer protection with a wire transfer. I wired money to buy my car, but my transaction was unique. Peter Coomaraswamy had discussed the car with the seller (and the lack of important detail about the car in her ad), and the seller allowed him to inspect it at his warehouse. Based on his evaluation, I jumped on a plane. Peter called the seller and said Chris is coming, why don't you leave the car here and then we can put it on my lift and Chris can get a really good look at it. The seller agreed, I inspected the car there, and immediately determined to buy it. Peter then talked the seller into allowing the car to remain with him while I returned to VA and arranged payment, simplifying the sale for both parties.
I know buyers worry about disclosing to folks on this site the really good bargain they are evaluating for fear that someone else watching this site might jump in and buy "their" car. I thought about this at the time, but determined it was better to open up about my interest in the car and seek assistance. If the seller doesn't want to deal with having knowledgeable e9 owners looking at their cars (and that happened to me with a car for sale in this area), well, that should set off alarms.
Was there ever a resolution to this? Hoping it ended well for the buyer.
Bad break. Really sorry to hear that, mate.If you're speaking of vin 2240904, the resolution was not good. No car, no money.