The Palm Beach Preowned Nightmare, or "An Example Of Why Capital One Is Useless"
My experience with Palm Beach Pre-Owned (pbpreowned.com)
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On April 10th, 2009, I found a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG for sale at Palm Beach Pre-owned (via an eBay posting). I spoke with a guy named Kerry and planned to purchase this car. He stated I'd need to put down a deposit if I wanted to buy the car, with the remainder due at shipping time. I explained that I wanted to have a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) performed on the car. He stated (in an email) that I could put the deposit down and if there were any problems with the PPI he'd refund it. He also stated that I would have to pay for a 3rd party PPI, and he would need a card number. He called me, and I gave him my card number. He used my same card to both pay for the PPI and take the deposit. Mercedes-Benz of Pembroke Pines performed the PPI and determined that the car needed $10k worth of repairs (various parts, suspension, shocks, brake components, etc.) I explained to Kerry that I couldn't afford to buy this car and repair it. At first, he was insisting that the Mercedes dealership was lying, and the service tech was lying about the repairs and the cost because she wanted to buy the car for herself. I was skeptical of this, but nonetheless, still unable to purchase the car with the repairs it needed. He was sorry that I couldn't buy it, but said that he would refund my deposit. Great, life goes on. For a week or so, anyway. I keep watching my card account and I never see this $500 charge refunded.
Through the next four months, I continue to check and continue to notice that the deposit has never been refunded. I emailed Kerry a total of 10 times between 04/09 and today, and he has yet to answer a single email. I have left him multiple voicemails, with no phone calls. I eventually started looking for the owner of Palm Beach Pre-owned, who was listed as Jeff Smith. I first called Jeff Smith sometime in July. He stated he'd have my deposit refunded immediately.
Fast forward to today, September 1st 2009. Almost five months of Palm Beach Preowned promising to return the $500 charge.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%201%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
2:51pm - I call Jeff Smith, who to date has been the only one who ever answers his phone. Jeff Smith has, over the last four months, told me he would look into this and have my deposit refunded. He has said this several times. Every time I've called him, I've told him that it still hasn't been refunded. Today, he told me I needed to talk to Kerry, and gave me Kerry's number. I asked him if they had refunded my money, and Jeff stated that they should have by now.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%202%20-%20Kerry%20hangs%20up.wma
2:59pm - I call Kerry. He answers, and as soon as he hears that it's me on the phone, hangs up. I call him and leave him a voicemail asking why he's been ducking me for the last four months, and politely ask if they could refund my money.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%203%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
3:07pm - I call Jeff back and explain that Kerry hung up on me as soon as I told him my name. I explain that Kerry has been ducking me for the last four months, that this is essentially fraud, and that I didn't authorize him to take this money. He asked why the deposit was taken and why I didn't buy the car. I explained that the car was inspected by Mercedes-Benz of Pembroke Pines, and found to require $10k of repairs. I told Kerry I couldn't buy the car because I couldn't afford the repairs. Kerry said that was alright, and the transaction was canceled, and he would refund my deposit. I have emails stating this as well. The deposit (which he took on April 10th, 2009), however, was never refunded. Jeff asks what kind of card. I have to call him back.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%204%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
3:11pm - I call Jeff back and give him the card information. He says he will call the owner with this information and have this straightened out.
Why not go through the credit card dispute? Well, I've tried to, four separate times. Capital One is completely useless and refuses to help me, because this transaction was performed "over the phone" and there were no "terms and conditions" on paper. I've explained that this Kerry fellow is essentially stealing my money through a fradulent transaction, but they explain they're helpless. I have sent them emails clearly showing Kerry promising to return my deposit, and Capital One says that isn't good enough. As soon as this situation is resolved, I will be cancelling my Capital One card immediately. Their dispute department is utterly incompetent and I am tired of speaking to a call center on the other side of a continent who is completely apathetic to my situation and does nothing to resolve it. Attention rip-off artists: you're safe ripping off anyone with a Capital One card, they will do absolutely nothing to protect you. I figured, however, that since I seemed to have made a little progress on the merchant side, maybe I could try again with Capital One.
So I call Capital One and ask for the dispute department. I explain my situation. They say they have already investigated this four times and there is no new information. They don't care that this car dealership has admitted that the money should have been refunded, and that I have recorded them saying so. Gee whiz, why am I surprised that they can't help me yet again. I ask for a supervisor.
I speak with the 'floor manager' whose name is Jimmy. He tells me to hold on a few minutes as he investigates the case and all of the information I have sent them in the past. Keep in mind, the documents I have sent them include:
* Emails from Kerry stating that my deposit will be refunded.
* The Mercedes-Benz repair estimate stating $10k for the repair work, and all the issues with the car
* Emails from Kerry stating that the deposit would not be taken unless I agreed to purchase the car
* Emails from Kerry stating that the deposit, once taken, would be refundable for ANY reason. He states, and I quote, "if that car gets there and it's not exactly the way it looks in these pictures, you tell them to send it right back to me and we'll refund everything 100% and pay the shipping."
I explain the entire situation yet again, to Jimmy. He puts "a note in my account" and tells me that "an account specialist will contact me", but that he cannot credit back the $500 charge (how surprising). He puts me on hold for a few minutes. He then says he's going to read me a disclosure (turned the recorder on at this point), stating the same thing as all the other dispute agents did. They're going to send me a form for me to fill out why I want it disputed, etc etc etc. Same thing I've done four times. Somehow I doubt anything different will happen this time, but who knows, maybe they will actually figure out that a car dealership ripping someone's money off and refusing to return it MIGHT BE SOMETHING THEY SHOULD HELP WITH!
sigh.
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On April 10th, 2009, I found a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG for sale at Palm Beach Pre-owned (via an eBay posting). I spoke with a guy named Kerry and planned to purchase this car. He stated I'd need to put down a deposit if I wanted to buy the car, with the remainder due at shipping time. I explained that I wanted to have a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) performed on the car. He stated (in an email) that I could put the deposit down and if there were any problems with the PPI he'd refund it. He also stated that I would have to pay for a 3rd party PPI, and he would need a card number. He called me, and I gave him my card number. He used my same card to both pay for the PPI and take the deposit. Mercedes-Benz of Pembroke Pines performed the PPI and determined that the car needed $10k worth of repairs (various parts, suspension, shocks, brake components, etc.) I explained to Kerry that I couldn't afford to buy this car and repair it. At first, he was insisting that the Mercedes dealership was lying, and the service tech was lying about the repairs and the cost because she wanted to buy the car for herself. I was skeptical of this, but nonetheless, still unable to purchase the car with the repairs it needed. He was sorry that I couldn't buy it, but said that he would refund my deposit. Great, life goes on. For a week or so, anyway. I keep watching my card account and I never see this $500 charge refunded.
Through the next four months, I continue to check and continue to notice that the deposit has never been refunded. I emailed Kerry a total of 10 times between 04/09 and today, and he has yet to answer a single email. I have left him multiple voicemails, with no phone calls. I eventually started looking for the owner of Palm Beach Pre-owned, who was listed as Jeff Smith. I first called Jeff Smith sometime in July. He stated he'd have my deposit refunded immediately.
Fast forward to today, September 1st 2009. Almost five months of Palm Beach Preowned promising to return the $500 charge.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%201%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
2:51pm - I call Jeff Smith, who to date has been the only one who ever answers his phone. Jeff Smith has, over the last four months, told me he would look into this and have my deposit refunded. He has said this several times. Every time I've called him, I've told him that it still hasn't been refunded. Today, he told me I needed to talk to Kerry, and gave me Kerry's number. I asked him if they had refunded my money, and Jeff stated that they should have by now.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%202%20-%20Kerry%20hangs%20up.wma
2:59pm - I call Kerry. He answers, and as soon as he hears that it's me on the phone, hangs up. I call him and leave him a voicemail asking why he's been ducking me for the last four months, and politely ask if they could refund my money.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%203%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
3:07pm - I call Jeff back and explain that Kerry hung up on me as soon as I told him my name. I explain that Kerry has been ducking me for the last four months, that this is essentially fraud, and that I didn't authorize him to take this money. He asked why the deposit was taken and why I didn't buy the car. I explained that the car was inspected by Mercedes-Benz of Pembroke Pines, and found to require $10k of repairs. I told Kerry I couldn't buy the car because I couldn't afford the repairs. Kerry said that was alright, and the transaction was canceled, and he would refund my deposit. I have emails stating this as well. The deposit (which he took on April 10th, 2009), however, was never refunded. Jeff asks what kind of card. I have to call him back.
http://www.lolutah.com/~nait_sirhc/palmbeach/Call%204%20-%20Jeff%20Smith.wma
3:11pm - I call Jeff back and give him the card information. He says he will call the owner with this information and have this straightened out.
Why not go through the credit card dispute? Well, I've tried to, four separate times. Capital One is completely useless and refuses to help me, because this transaction was performed "over the phone" and there were no "terms and conditions" on paper. I've explained that this Kerry fellow is essentially stealing my money through a fradulent transaction, but they explain they're helpless. I have sent them emails clearly showing Kerry promising to return my deposit, and Capital One says that isn't good enough. As soon as this situation is resolved, I will be cancelling my Capital One card immediately. Their dispute department is utterly incompetent and I am tired of speaking to a call center on the other side of a continent who is completely apathetic to my situation and does nothing to resolve it. Attention rip-off artists: you're safe ripping off anyone with a Capital One card, they will do absolutely nothing to protect you. I figured, however, that since I seemed to have made a little progress on the merchant side, maybe I could try again with Capital One.
So I call Capital One and ask for the dispute department. I explain my situation. They say they have already investigated this four times and there is no new information. They don't care that this car dealership has admitted that the money should have been refunded, and that I have recorded them saying so. Gee whiz, why am I surprised that they can't help me yet again. I ask for a supervisor.
I speak with the 'floor manager' whose name is Jimmy. He tells me to hold on a few minutes as he investigates the case and all of the information I have sent them in the past. Keep in mind, the documents I have sent them include:
* Emails from Kerry stating that my deposit will be refunded.
* The Mercedes-Benz repair estimate stating $10k for the repair work, and all the issues with the car
* Emails from Kerry stating that the deposit would not be taken unless I agreed to purchase the car
* Emails from Kerry stating that the deposit, once taken, would be refundable for ANY reason. He states, and I quote, "if that car gets there and it's not exactly the way it looks in these pictures, you tell them to send it right back to me and we'll refund everything 100% and pay the shipping."
I explain the entire situation yet again, to Jimmy. He puts "a note in my account" and tells me that "an account specialist will contact me", but that he cannot credit back the $500 charge (how surprising). He puts me on hold for a few minutes. He then says he's going to read me a disclosure (turned the recorder on at this point), stating the same thing as all the other dispute agents did. They're going to send me a form for me to fill out why I want it disputed, etc etc etc. Same thing I've done four times. Somehow I doubt anything different will happen this time, but who knows, maybe they will actually figure out that a car dealership ripping someone's money off and refusing to return it MIGHT BE SOMETHING THEY SHOULD HELP WITH!
sigh.