Additional Information for Total Car Sales Group

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/19723-boat-buyers-beware-online-purchases-using-shipping-company-evaporate?bbbid=0121

On 4/02/2019, Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York is warning consumers to be cautious when buying boats, campers or vehicles from listings online.

Since February 21, 2019, BBB Metro New York has received nine complaints from consumers about recreational vehicles or large equipment advertised for sale on websites that involve sellers using a broker called Total Car Sales Group.  

“Sellers requiring payment by a wire transfer before the delivery of merchandise is one of the signs that a transaction may be a scam” notes Claire Rosenzweig, President & CEO of BBB Metro New York, “Consumers should never wire money to someone whom they are not absolutely certain is legitimate.”

In reports filed with BBB Metro New York, complainants reported that they wired money to buy the advertised items which were allegedly located in various states in the U.S. After the money was transmitted, consumers were notified of the delivery time-frame of their purchase. In most cases, consumers reported that they then received communication from Total Car Sales Group stating that the shipment date would be delayed because the item was involved in an accident during delivery. In many cases, the next communication from the company indicated that an insurance company would be initiating a wire transfer refund for the purchase. Complainants reported that subsequent communication with the company ceased immediately; emails and phone calls were not returned. In all nine reports, the merchandise was allegedly not delivered, consumers have been unable to contact Total Car Sales Group, and they have not received refunds.

An investigation by BBB Metro New York finds that Total Car Sales Group is not registered with the New York State Department of State Division of Corporations. The website for Total Car Sales Group (https://www.totalcarsales.com) was active until March 28, 2019. WHOIS shows a domain registration in 2009, expiring on November 27, 2020. The address that was listed on the website and in the domain registration is Business Center #9, 25 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018. According to Agorafy, the whole 9th floor of that building is available for lease.  Mail sent by BBB on March 7, 2019 was returned by the U.S. Postal Service marked as “Undeliverable as Addressed.”

BBB Metro New York has received reports by individuals indicating residence in New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Nevada, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio.  Reported losses range from $8,600 to $14,000. BBB Metro New York has assigned the business an “F” rating. 

BBB Metro New York encourages people seeking to purchase vehicles from online sites to use caution and offers the following tips:

-Do not pay with a wire transfer. Scammers usually avoid payment by check, credit card or other traceable methods. Pay by credit card whenever possible in case you need to challenge the payment.
-Verify the authenticity of the broker, shipping company, or escrow service the seller wants to use. In efforts to appear legitimate, scammers posing as individuals will purport to use such services and the websites they direct buyers toward can appear to be sophisticated and legitimate. Check the website’s domain registration on a website such as icann.org to see when it was registered. If a website appears to have been recently registered, that may be a warning sign, particularly if the company website claims to have been in existence longer than their domain registration. 
-Shipping companies are required to register with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and have and post a U.S. DOT Motor Carrier Number (MC Docket) to operate in the United States. The company should post the number on its website and provide it over the phone if asked. -Verify the company at the S. Department of Transportation’s SAFER website. Avoid any transporter or broker that does not prominently display its MC Docket number on its website.
-Be suspicious of websites that have no verifiable physical location. If an address is listed, do an internet search to verify whether it is a legitimate address that would house a business.
-Do not trust photos as they can be easily copied from the internet. Do an internet search to see if a photo has been misappropriated from another website. Whenever possible, insist on meeting the seller and inspecting the vehicle before releasing any money.
-Check the vehicle’s book value with legitimate valuation tools. Scammers often lure buyers with prices that are a fraction of the vehicle's book price so buyers will act quickly. Deals that seem too good to be true usually are.
-Read business profiles at BBB.org to see if others have filed reviews or complaints about a particular company and search BBB’s Scam TrackerSM to see if any reports have been filed. Also conduct other online searches to see what others may have posted about the company.