After finding a car on HaggleMe.com that fit the description of a car we were searching for (a 1972 Chevy Impala CONVERTIBLE with a 350 motor), I decided to reach out to Haggleme.com and get more information. I talked with Jon Morrison, sales manager, and Phil, a salesman in California, from Haggle Me several times via phone before the sale and they both confirmed that the car was a convertible. Between the two of them, they answered all my questions. I was told the car was running, had a great engine, great body, had an interior that needed work and was a convertible car with a missing rag. I specifically asked was it a convertible or cut off and I was told that the car was a convertible that all the mechanisms were there and operable, but the rag was missing. I also asked them to specify what that meant to be missing a rag and Phil confirmed the frame was there it just needed the fabric on top. Phil told me that the car was in Jackson, MS which was great because it is close to me. Jon later confirmed that the car was in MS as well by looking at the stock number. The rag missing did not concern us because this was going to be a restoration project and we planned to replace it. However, it was made very clear that I needed a convertible and even asked Phil besides this car if they have any other convertibles that I may be interested in. So the convertible being a requirement was no secret. Also, we were told that the car was running which upon arrival learned was also false. I asked for more pictures and after Phil could not deliver because of what appeared to be time zone differences, I reached out to Jon who texted them to me.
After everything was said and done we decided this was what we needed and figured because the business was licensed, insured and bonded that they would look out for our best interest and could be trusted. We later found out this was false and that they advertised that falsely! I made the deposit payment of $500 on Friday, April 1st, 2016 around 6pm via debit card. Jon Morrison finally released the owner's address, name, and phone number to me on 2:16pm on April 5th because we had discussed going to see the car before the sale was finalized. It was at that point that we realized the car was not in Jackson MS like we were lead to believe the whole time. The address provided was 806 Miller Lake Ct., Slidell, La 70461.
I called the owner, Warren Williams, the next day to confirm that the car was in Slidell and not Jackson. He said yes and said that he didn't know why Haggle Me told me this information. He offered to take $300 off the original agreed upon price with Haggle Me from his own profit to help cover the cost of shipping the car because we were unable to look at it and pick it up ourselves. He also told us what days would be good for picking up the car for his schedule. Other than that, there was no contact with Warren on our behalf. When we realized there was no way to go and look at the car because of distance and scheduling we decided to trust HaggleMe's description.. I reached out to Jon again via email on 4/7/2016 and told Jon that we would wire Haggle Me the funds like they asked via their process and would have the car shipped on Sunday. I asked if he would provide us the bill of sales and he said yes, and the owner would send us the title. This seemed fine so the money was sent to HaggleMe on 4/8/2016 via instructions given HaggleMe Wire Instructions (Bank Name: Wells Fargo, N.A. Bank Address: 420 Montgomery, San Francisco CA, 94104, Bank Routing: 121000248, Name On Account: Haggle Me, Address: 2667 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108, Phone (231)-222-5210, Account Number: 2737948436). They texted us to say that they received the money and we were good to go with confirming shipping. They never sent us anything else.
The car arrived around noon on 4/10/2016. When the delivery guy delivered the car he notified us that the car was not running when he picked it up and used his wench to load it. He said the guy with the car told him it was out of gas. I don't know much about cars, so we had a mechanic do the inspection for us. So, I got the mechanic on it. He verified that the VIN matched everything. He notified us that the fuel pump was bad and could be replaced easily, but needed it running to take it to his shop for further inspection. He got it running, took it to his place, then checked everything else on the car and amongst other issues not disclosed to us (like wiring issues and a push button start) he realized that the car was in fact not convertible. I emailed and called Haggle Me on Sunday as soon as we knew of these issues expressing everything wrong with the vehicle.
On Mon, 4/11/2016 at 7:07am central standard time I called Haggle Me and talked to Roxanne Morrison because they were not open on Sunday. Roxanne notified me that Haggle Me keeps a record of all calls and wanted to confirm that Warren the owener had told them the car was a convertible. At 8:36am Roxanne emailed me asking me to call her. She informed me that she had 3 recorded phone calls were Warren told Haggle Me that the car was convertible. She said that recording calls were new for them. She stated that they had called Warren and left voicemails and would attempt to call him from a different number in hopes that he would do the "right" thing. If Warren did not then they would file internet fraud with the Louisiana Attorney General. Then after several phone calls and discussions, Haggle Me refuses to issue a refund and tell us where to return the car, or even let us talk to anyone except their secretary Roxanne Morrison who just hangs up on us and is now ignoring all calls and emails. This is very unprofessional. She claimed that we were not giving her a chance to speak and hung up. Roxanne has told us repeatedly that she is only the secretary who answers the phone and we think this issue is beyond her as the secretary, but she will not put us through to anyone else. As requested via phone before she ended our call, the only thing we would like is Jon Morrison's and her superior and a full refund and to return the vehicle. We need to move forward with the next step for a refund. We do not need excuses or lies anymore. They have lied enough. Roxanne Morrison said that Haggle Me is only a consignment agent and acted as a broker. However, Haggle Me appears to be licensed as a dealer. She says that we need to reach out to the owner, who they did not allow us to even talk to before the sale and can't contact now themselves! As a "consignment agent" one was supposed to take charge of the car.
Haggle Me advertised and told me numerous times this was a convertible with all working mechanisms except a rag fraudulently. All price negotiations, information regarding the car, payment; everything was handled through Haggle Me. We are a consumer of Haggle Me, not Warren Williams who they are telling us to seek recourse from. We wired money to Haggle Me. We have since talked to Warren who said that HaggleMe only gave him a small precentage of the profit and that they had an inspector come out and inspect it before the sale so they knew it wasnt truely a convertible. As a general rule, if what they are saying were true, just like any other store or business, it's illegal for consignment dealers to sell anything it knows - or should know - is stolen, counterfeit, or fraudulent. In this case, they would have had to have the VIN number to prove that this car was legit or sent someone to inspect to even post on their site which would have revealed that this car was not a convertible and according to Warren they did. They either knew this and misrepresented the car or did not do their due diligence as a licensed agent/dealer. The car was not as advertised so they did not fulfill their obligation in brokering the deal. The car was not missing a rag because it never had one. It is a cut off coupe. They have access to the cars' information and if they are selling cars should verify what they are selling via VIN, inspection, or title is correct and not misrepresent the vehicles they are selling. I emailed Roxanne and Jon requesting their superior or the owner and nothing. I do not understand the lack of cooperation. The only information revealed to us regarding the superior is that he is at their west coast office (California) and would contact us. However this was before she started to ignore our calls and hang up on us so this information may be false as well. We have not received any contact or confirmation yet. All the phone numbers listed on the website go directly to Roxanne. Since then we have had word that Roxanne and Jon were no longer with haggle me and anyone who answers only hangs up on us and our lawyer! We do not understand their refusal to handle this.
These are unacceptable business practices and we are now in the process of having to hire an attorney over a $7800 sale! The company claims to be insured and bonded which I assume is not true because if it were they would have dealt with this via those avenues and refund us our money. Everything about this company is fraudulent! The only thing we would like is a refund for the fraudulent car and arranges pickup to return it.
#2Author of original report
Wed, April 27, 2016
The car was purchased from a company that claimed to be licensed, insured and bonded. A company that claimed to have been in business for 10 plus years. We not only trusted pictures and the saleman's description but the company's reputation which turned out to be bogus. My report is in hopes that no one else makes the same mistake of trusting this company like we did while we are still dealing with this. False advertisement and internet fraud should not be tolerated. And information exists now for review when other consumers go to check the reputation of this company. Thanks for your input.
Jim
Florida,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, April 27, 2016
You send off your money to somebody you don't know to buy a used car you've never seen. Oh wait, I see. You based this stupid purchase on pictures, words on a computer screen and a voice on the other end of the phone. Yes sir...you just HAD to have THAT car!
You throw common sense out the window and now you want somebody to "help" you! Your money is gone! Check with a doctor to see if they can offer professional help for total loss of common sense!
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!