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03-23-2008, 01:52 PM | #89 |
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dooma350
First thing Monday contact the Nebraska Attorney General's Office. Explain the issue and file a complaint. This is clearly a violation of Consumer Protection laws. Make sure you have a screen print of the changes made to the site as far as the BIN price changes. If pushed Ebay is obligated to provide any information needed to the AGs investigation. This proves the sellers intent and that thelisting price was not a mistake. Below is a portion of the Nebraska AGs guide to Consumer Protection and this section refers to the obligations of the seller on a Internet Auction Site. Usually once this information is presented to a violator they will do the right thing rather than get investigated. I am not an attorney but an educated consumer who has utilized consumer law effectively many times to correct improper behavior by companies who like to ignore consumer rights for their profit. Also I have included other phone numbers of agencies that have jurisdiction over this dealer. Contact them and file a complaint. IF YOU’RE A SELLER AT AN INTERNET AUCTION SITE: As a seller, you have certain obligations you need to understand before offering an item for sale on an online auction site: ■ Federal laws prohibit deceptive or misleading acts of any kind, including Internet auctions. ■ Sellers are prohibited from placing “shill” bids or posting false testimonials. ■ After the auction closes, you are required to ship the item to the buyer within the specifi ed period of time. If no time frame is specifi ed, then the item must be shipped within 30 days of the sale. If You Need Help If you run into problems with any transaction and cannot work things out with the buyer, seller, or the online auction company, you can fi le a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by calling toll-free (877) FTC-HELP (382-4357), or visit the FTC’s Web site at www.ftc.gov. You may also contact the Nebraska Attorney General’s offi ce at (402) 471-2682 or the Nebraska Consumer Protection Line at (800) 727-6432. Visit us online at www.ago.ne.gov. NE Motor Vehicle Industry Licensing Board http://mvdealerbd.ne.gov (402) 471-2148 Address: 301 Centennial Mall South P.O. Box 94697 Lincoln, NE 68509-4697 |
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03-23-2008, 01:52 PM | #90 |
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dooma350 - I just called the dealership and left a message for them to call me back. I live in Vancouver, Canada so I'd say its pretty good that in this short time its made it up here! I first saw it on Autoblog and then read through this forum. Definitely supporting you here. This type of action is wrong on the dealer's part and I think you should take this the whole way, mostly just on principle. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, maybe start a little action up here in Canada
Maybe it would stir up some emotions with BMW owners up here who have had bad experiences with their dealerships and would like to get some acknowledgement for their troubles as well. Anyways, good luck! You definitely don't have any lack of support. |
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03-23-2008, 01:53 PM | #91 |
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dooma350
First thing Monday contact the Nebraska Attorney General's Office. Explain the issue and file a complaint. This is clearly a violation of Consumer Protection laws. Make sure you have a screen print of the changes made to the site as far as the BIN price changes. If pushed Ebay is obligated to provide any information needed to the AGs investigation. This proves the sellers intent and that the listing price was not a mistake. Below is a portion of the Nebraska AGs guide to Consumer Protection and this section refers to the obligations of the seller on a Internet Auction Site. Usually once this information is presented to a violator they will do the right thing rather than get investigated. I am not an attorney but an educated consumer who has utilized consumer law effectively many times to correct improper behavior by companies who like to ignore consumer rights for their profit. BTW I don't own a BMW but read this on autoblog and was outraged. Unfortunately Ebay has been letting illegal acts by sellers go on for too long with no recourse against them. Maybe if there was they wouldn't let this happen. Also I have included other phone numbers of agencies that have jurisdiction over this dealer. Contact them and file a complaint. IF YOU’RE A SELLER AT AN INTERNET AUCTION SITE: As a seller, you have certain obligations you need to understand before offering an item for sale on an online auction site: ■ Federal laws prohibit deceptive or misleading acts of any kind, including Internet auctions. ■ Sellers are prohibited from placing “shill” bids or posting false testimonials. ■ After the auction closes, you are required to ship the item to the buyer within the specifi ed period of time. If no time frame is specifi ed, then the item must be shipped within 30 days of the sale. If You Need Help If you run into problems with any transaction and cannot work things out with the buyer, seller, or the online auction company, you can fi le a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by calling toll-free (877) FTC-HELP (382-4357), or visit the FTC’s Web site at www.ftc.gov. You may also contact the Nebraska Attorney General’s offi ce at (402) 471-2682 or the Nebraska Consumer Protection Line at (800) 727-6432. Visit us online at www.ago.ne.gov. NE Motor Vehicle Industry Licensing Board http://mvdealerbd.ne.gov (402) 471-2148 Address: 301 Centennial Mall South P.O. Box 94697 Lincoln, NE 68509-4697 Last edited by Manticorez; 03-23-2008 at 01:56 PM.. Reason: clarification |
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03-23-2008, 01:57 PM | #93 |
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I've e-mailed the editors at Car and Driver a link to that autoblog story. I don't know if it's something they would cover but it can't hurt. I wish you luck and admire your perseverance. Stick to your guns.
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03-23-2008, 01:59 PM | #94 |
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I don't own a BMW, but I came across your story on autoblog. I hope you make this dealer pay for its arrogant ways. Also, I sent a news tip to the Journal Star newspaper in Lincoln and maybe they will pickup your story. Good luck in your pursuit of the car.
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03-23-2008, 01:59 PM | #95 |
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Saw your story on Autoblog dude (see, it's attracting some people already). Can't really relate to this in terms of past experiences with cars (I'm 16...yeah, I'm a 16 year old car nut), or with Ebay, but I can tell how crushing this must be. Good luck with this and all that!
And btw, an M3 Saloon (that means sedan to you Americans) in the UK starts (and I emphasise STARTS) at around £50,000. That's about $100,000. Considering how much stuff your M3 comes with, I'm amazed that anyone would put it on auction for $60,000 (so £30,000), let alone a main dealer! And considering that BMW is the company that it is, I'm even more amazed that they didn't even take into account that this might happen. Seriously though, good luck! |
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03-23-2008, 02:10 PM | #97 |
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haha I just noticed that a lot of these posters are "New Members", including myself, I'd assume for the same reason, just to post on this topic, who have seen it on Autoblog.
dooma350, you've got the power of the world in your hands! I'd like to make a suggestion. Everyone who reads this story, call the dealership and complain about their poor business practice and assure them that they will get plenty of bad PR. I'm sure after 100 calls they'll begin to realize that it's not worth it. |
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03-23-2008, 02:11 PM | #98 |
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Minor Update; Fil, the GM just emailed me back.
Last night I shot off a short email to Fil. Hi Fil, I would like to see this resolved in a timely manner. At this time, I am only interested in completing the transaction at the auction ending price on ebay, which is 60,000 USD + doc fee 399. If BMW of Lincoln is refusing to honor this transaction, then please let me know in writing that this is the case. I'd appreciate if you could get back to me by Monday, 12 noon (PST) Otherwise, I will be retaining Counsel to pursue this further. His response?: I will converse with corporate on Monday. Yes, thats all he said. Fil, as Im sure he is taught is very, very careful with email communication. Remain noncommital, dont say anything. His emails are so short that you think his provider is charging him by the character. His other reply to my email was "call me". Im sure If it was Fil's choice, he would do away with all computers, internet, and email at the dealership so no hard evidence remains. If this dealer is so bold as to screw people over on ebay where a trail is present, imagine the bait & switch crap they must pull in their own dealership!!! Hopefully, we can hear from some of the people that have been screwed by BMW of Lincoln in the past. |
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03-23-2008, 02:20 PM | #99 |
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Call the local news stations around Lincoln, NE. If they're anything around where I live (Providence and Boston metro areas), they love to do all sorts of "investigative" reporting. Especially if there's no major stories.
A while back I bought a used '06 Corolla as a temporary car from the local Toyota dealership after a Ford Expedition cut my Evolution VIII MR in two. Family members had purchased 6 vehicles from them in 18 years. I was sour that I practically had to twist their arm over an attempt to glom $200 more onto the car that I was paying cash for. Next day I brought it for a safety inspection. State regulated. I watched as they simply put the inspection sticker on the windshield and failed to inspect the car at all (and this was a used vehicle). They also didn't change my oil, and one of the mechanics took the 5 quarts of Mobil 1 I brought and put it outside in his car. They then attempted to bill me for services that weren't performed. Unless having my car sit in the bay for 35 minutes counts as service performed. I raised hell. They told me to get lost. I raised my voice to ensure every customer in the dealership knew what had happened. End result? State investigation for fraudulent inspections. Investigative report by a local news station (thanks, WNAC!). Possibly a visit from Toyota of NA (A regional rep gave me a call, apologized, directed me to another dealership, and said they were investigating the issue). Everyone I know severing their business relationship with them. And myself dragging their name through the mud at every opportunity to harm their future sales. The old adage is that for every customer you lose, you lose 250 potential customers. I'd make 250 a minimum goal of yours. |
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03-23-2008, 02:22 PM | #100 |
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Keep up the pressure. People can Digg this story at the link below.
http://digg.com/autos/Dealer_auction...n_t_honor_deal |
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03-23-2008, 02:25 PM | #101 | |
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03-23-2008, 02:31 PM | #102 |
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I love the fact that hours within posting this on autoblog people from all over the world are signing up the boards just comment their support. Wow, power of the internet and press and still as strong as ever. This is actualy cool to watch......dooma350, if you need any help, let me know......
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"...it's not about the money and not about the brand of the car, it's about handling,performance and passion......And that, no other car has all together like an M3........when you talk about the most complete car the M is invincible." --Tony Kanaan. |
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03-23-2008, 02:36 PM | #103 |
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I saw the posting of your whole situation with the dealership on autoblog. From the sounds of it, their probably going to drag this out hoping that you'll just get tired of it. Send your story into www.consumerist.com . The site gets really good coverage, and a majority of the issues that are posted on this site seem to get resolved pretty well and in a timely manner. just fyi. good luck!
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03-23-2008, 02:36 PM | #104 |
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You can email their sales department with your dissatisfaction at sales@huskerautogroup.com
Good luck dooma350! |
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03-23-2008, 02:37 PM | #105 |
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Hope you get your car man, thats crap. I hate dealerships, but in my experience with shady dealerships, judges dont typically like businesses screwing innocent consumers and they will side with you. good luck, i hope to see this all over the media, bring that whole freakin auto group down!!! lets all help!
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03-23-2008, 02:40 PM | #106 |
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Must agree, it is very cool. I want to invite BMW of Lincoln to join our discussion here. Since I have already made up my mind I think I'll forward them links to this post and autoblog so they know what they are missing (Though it is possible they are already aware of this thread).
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03-23-2008, 02:56 PM | #109 |
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I feel for your story, and have written about it myself on my blog:
http://www.davidpitlyuk.com/2008/03/...ce-for-new-m3/ It's no Autoblog, but I do get over 40,000 pageviews a month. I'm sure every little bit helps. |
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03-23-2008, 03:03 PM | #110 | |
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1. They entered a legally binding agreement on a high ticket item 2. They denied you because it did not reach the $# the were expecting 3. The auction title proves that they were full aware that they were advertising the lowest price online 4. There short email answers blatantly ignoring what you said when you are asking for statements in writing is further proof that they are aware what they did is their fault (a judge would see through this in a heartbeat) 5. They have already tried to bait & switch you saying that even though you won this again, legally binding contract for $60,000, they will let you purchase it for a higher price of $6X,XXX. Contractually, they cannot charge you $0.01 over let alone a few extra $1,000. 6. Happy Easter! I'm looking forward to your review after you get your new M3! She is a beauty I read this on Digg. Thought it would help your case: Looking through their eBay feedback, the dealership pulled some stunt with a 2003 Corvette Z06 only about 6 weeks ago. http://feedback.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.d ... So this isn't a mistake. It's the sign of a trend. Hopefully this can help get their dealership account pulled. |
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