Complaint Review: Carl Winston Autotrader.com - Richmond Virginia

As the saying goes "if it is too good to be true". I also had a buyer contact me wishing to offer an overpayment. Here is the email sent to me. "I have concluded with my client and he has finally accepted your price. He was pleased with the pics and wants you to make sure that everything is ok with the car before the pick up. Meanwhile Here is the payment status which you will confirm before we can continue..... However,My client made out a certified cashiers check of($21,000) for the car and its shipment charges etc. The amount on the check he deposited is now meant for the total expenses which includes the purchase of your car, the pick up of the car from its present location and the shipping charges/other necessary shipping arrangements. However he has instructed us to carry on with this transaction. So you're required to deduct the cost of your car($14,300) and send the balance of($6,700) to the shipping agent via western union money transfer to enable the agent offsett shipping charges/ arrangements. once the transaction is concluded, My agent will be coming for the pick up of the car from its present location, on an open vehicle and then drive to a pre paid shipper for shipment,and also conclude other necessary shipping arrangements. so you dont have to bother yourself about the pick up and shipping arrangements,while title papers and other necessary documets will be sent by you via fedex courier to my customer. Please Confirm this and provide name,address and phone number for check payment to be delivered to you via courier . I will call you to confirm the receipt of the informations that you will send. Thanks and God bless, Regards,Eric Best advice...simply call the bank the check is drawn on. they will confirm it's validity before you cash it.

I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS GUY FOR A FEW DAYS, HIM ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VEHICLE, ETC. FINALLY I GET THIS ONE FROM HIM: Dear Blake, Thanks for the timely resonse.After your mail I got in touch with my client on the details of your reply to our enquiry on the vehicles condition and it is satifactory to him . He really commended your vehicle, from its features and its Autotrader advert lead ,and has instructed me to carry on the transaction at the price of $19,300 without further negotiating ,since the vehicle is still for sale and in good condition as described by the advert. I am therefore happy to tell you that I have concluded with my client and he has instructed me to carry on with the transaction, He said I should let you know that payment will get to you in a Cashiers check of ($26,500) which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by him. Due to companys policy this payment has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment to be settled in one single transaction the customer will transact after the cancelled one, so you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is ($19,300) when payment gets to you and refund balance which is ($7,200) to my client's shipper,who will come for inspection/pickup for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for inspection, pick up (of vehicle & signing of title papers), make some cosmetic touches then drive to a prepaid shipper for the vehicle to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made out to you as soon as possible. Your honesty, understanding and co-operation will behighly appreciated. God Bless. d**n SCAMMERS!

I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS GUY FOR A FEW DAYS, HIM ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VEHICLE, ETC. FINALLY I GET THIS ONE FROM HIM: Dear Blake, Thanks for the timely resonse.After your mail I got in touch with my client on the details of your reply to our enquiry on the vehicles condition and it is satifactory to him . He really commended your vehicle, from its features and its Autotrader advert lead ,and has instructed me to carry on the transaction at the price of $19,300 without further negotiating ,since the vehicle is still for sale and in good condition as described by the advert. I am therefore happy to tell you that I have concluded with my client and he has instructed me to carry on with the transaction, He said I should let you know that payment will get to you in a Cashiers check of ($26,500) which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by him. Due to companys policy this payment has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment to be settled in one single transaction the customer will transact after the cancelled one, so you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is ($19,300) when payment gets to you and refund balance which is ($7,200) to my client's shipper,who will come for inspection/pickup for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for inspection, pick up (of vehicle & signing of title papers), make some cosmetic touches then drive to a prepaid shipper for the vehicle to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made out to you as soon as possible. Your honesty, understanding and co-operation will behighly appreciated. God Bless. d**n SCAMMERS!

I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS GUY FOR A FEW DAYS, HIM ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VEHICLE, ETC. FINALLY I GET THIS ONE FROM HIM: Dear Blake, Thanks for the timely resonse.After your mail I got in touch with my client on the details of your reply to our enquiry on the vehicles condition and it is satifactory to him . He really commended your vehicle, from its features and its Autotrader advert lead ,and has instructed me to carry on the transaction at the price of $19,300 without further negotiating ,since the vehicle is still for sale and in good condition as described by the advert. I am therefore happy to tell you that I have concluded with my client and he has instructed me to carry on with the transaction, He said I should let you know that payment will get to you in a Cashiers check of ($26,500) which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by him. Due to companys policy this payment has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment to be settled in one single transaction the customer will transact after the cancelled one, so you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is ($19,300) when payment gets to you and refund balance which is ($7,200) to my client's shipper,who will come for inspection/pickup for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for inspection, pick up (of vehicle & signing of title papers), make some cosmetic touches then drive to a prepaid shipper for the vehicle to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made out to you as soon as possible. Your honesty, understanding and co-operation will behighly appreciated. God Bless. d**n SCAMMERS!

I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS GUY FOR A FEW DAYS, HIM ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VEHICLE, ETC. FINALLY I GET THIS ONE FROM HIM: Dear Blake, Thanks for the timely resonse.After your mail I got in touch with my client on the details of your reply to our enquiry on the vehicles condition and it is satifactory to him . He really commended your vehicle, from its features and its Autotrader advert lead ,and has instructed me to carry on the transaction at the price of $19,300 without further negotiating ,since the vehicle is still for sale and in good condition as described by the advert. I am therefore happy to tell you that I have concluded with my client and he has instructed me to carry on with the transaction, He said I should let you know that payment will get to you in a Cashiers check of ($26,500) which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by him. Due to companys policy this payment has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment to be settled in one single transaction the customer will transact after the cancelled one, so you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is ($19,300) when payment gets to you and refund balance which is ($7,200) to my client's shipper,who will come for inspection/pickup for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for inspection, pick up (of vehicle & signing of title papers), make some cosmetic touches then drive to a prepaid shipper for the vehicle to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made out to you as soon as possible. Your honesty, understanding and co-operation will behighly appreciated. God Bless. d**n SCAMMERS!

I nearly suffered due to the scam being run on autotrader.com. I received a cashier's check for about $2000 more than the asking price of the car. But I someone found a website that discussed this scam before sending the "extra" money using Western Union. ONLY SELL IN PERSON ON AUTOTRADER.COM!! I beg this of you...

Let's get this straight: -Someone bought a car from you from overseas without looking at it. -They sent you extra money and it was your responsibility to get the excess wired back to them. Weren't you the least suspicious? I work in law enforcement and see this all the time. Some things people do and have gotten ripped off just blow my mind. Fortunately you are out only $138. That was a cheap lesson for you.

This has been going on for a long time. It's always a scam. If you want to play with their heads, insist that the "buyer" to send the check to the "shipper" and have him cash it, then bring you the sale price in cash when he picks up the car. Of course they won't do that. Feel free to sell your car to someone else in the meantime. There are a few sites where people have posted copies of the "check" knowing full well it was a scam. They relish in how much the scammers paid FedEx or DHL to deliver the check. I don't think it's wise to mess with them that much. It's a large criminal syndicate of smooth-talking con men and murderous thugs. Sometimes with the same person filling both roles.

Many people assume a cashier's check is as good as cash. Up until recently, it was. But now, with new printers, people are able to make fake checks real enough to fool your bank. You deposit the check. The bank accepts it, and credits your account. The money is there for you to spend. You can't lose, right? Wrong! Days later, as the check works it's way through the financial system, someone will finally discover that the check is a fraud. Your bank will quickly take the money back out of your account. Plus, charge you a bad check fee. Meanwhile, you may have sent the extra money out to the frauds. You lose! Anything you sent is gone. Here's the tip-off. It's always a cashier's check for more than your item is selling for. You are always told to send the extra money somewhere. Quickly. Before you and your bank discover the fraud. Now you know. Tell your friends and relatives who have items listed in public newspapers.