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CB Vehicle Rental and Leasing LeaseTrader.com Took Money out of my account with no authorization
LeaseTrader.com

LeaseTrader.com review: Took Money out of my account with no authorization 22

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Author of the review
1:34 pm EDT
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This website is a huge scam. First you have to sign up for 40.00 to put your car on the website. Then you find out it cost 10.00 to put pictures on it. Then about 20 minutes later you get an email saying they have found you a buyer but you have to upgrade to the gold package which is 69.99 to contact the interested buyer. Without me ever signing up for that package i check my bank account and see they took the liberty to go into my account and take 50.00 out to upgrade me themselves. DO NOT use this website

22 comments
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SDaniels
Oct 28, 2008 8:36 am EDT

I've had other experiences since posting my vehicle and I'm convinced its all a scam too. How surprising I found this comment this morning. The supposed buyer contacts are not real and after several of them you see a pattern begin with the same stupid questions being asked, and then you can bank on the deal blowing up after about a month of wasting your time going back and forth with them. The site shuts off any other parties so you're stuck locked to one bozo until they let you go. It's all way too coincidental to be trusted as legit. It's very frustrating and I definitely agree that I think its a scam too. Also the inspection company they use needs to be sued, SGS Inspections, because they totally misrepresented the condition of my car that, of course, lead to a deal blowing up. Leasetrader blew it off when I complained. If I had more time in life I would truly sick the feds on the site and the inspection company to investigate them. Agreed, don't bother with the site, keep your car or find another source to move it on.

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Allen
Oct 31, 2008 3:55 pm EDT

yes, they rip me off 2 years ago when I try to take over a Lexus Hybrid, the deal blew off as usual and refuse to give out refund. At the end I lost near $300 dollor without getting a car. Watch out guys, don't trust this company, and believe what other victim say, this company is scam.

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morgan
Clarence, US
Apr 13, 2009 5:15 pm EDT

I think you guys just had a bad experience! LeaseTrader.com worked for me!

I first checked with the BBB

With all the companies out there Leasetrader.com was the only company that found a credit qualified buyer for my car!

This is my second transfer with LeaseTrader.com

looking through the internet is tough!
The BBB seems to be the best way to check out any companies history!

Morgan

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elizaf
Bronxville, US
Jul 19, 2009 12:29 pm EDT

We paid the 50.00, found a car, paid the 250.00, weeks passed, no car. Leasetrader claims a 3 to 4 week wait; after 4 weeks of waiting, we're told by Mazda Credit Corp. to expect 8 to 10 weeks before a transfer can be made. Leasetrader was not up front about this at all and offered no intervention to speed up the process. We had to give up waiting and forfeit our fees. What a waste of time and money!

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derekwh
Glen Ridge, US
Jul 30, 2009 10:04 am EDT

we got a car from leasetrader but they grabbed an extra $100 from us, because we had not read the "fine print", so they are definitely on the "scammy" side... this business needs a customer friendly competitor to make the shady scammers like leasetrader.com shape up..

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user487
Miami, US
Jan 30, 2010 3:20 pm EST

I have used both swapalease.com and leasetrader.com to take over leases. My experience with swapalease was good because it allowed me instant access to the seller with my membership and there were no further hassles or charges. My experience with leasetrader was HORRIBLE. they prevent you from getting access to sellers (people who want to get rid of their lease) even after you pay for a membership. They tell you that you need to be credit qualified by them to access the sellers after buying membership, which isn't fair because I was currently in a BMW lease with BMW financial and didn't want my credit checked again by them. The bigger problem was that after the lease transfer was completed they charged my card $250 and said that I had agreed to that charge when I took over the lease...which I didn't. They put it in some semi-obscure place on their site and show you that message just before the button that says "Contact this seller" and then tell you you should have seen it. The reality is that when you want to lease a car you are more focused on contacting the seller than looking for the fine print. Anyway, they wouldn't adjust it and told me that if I had agreed to pay it at the beginning of my membership it would've been $150. I told them that I didn't see it then and asked for the discount anyway, and they refused. They are very formal on the phone, record your calls, have them reviewed by "managers", and then they say "in this case, we are not offering and refunds." In this case? What's that mean? That some people get the refund and other's don't? That's even more unfair because it means you don't have business rules and are just subjective in making your decisions. In summary, I would use swapalease again and I strongly urge you to AVOID USING LEASETRADER at all costs.

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ufcracing
Irvine, US
Mar 10, 2010 7:13 pm EST

basically, i was in the market to buy/lease a car and i went to leasetrader.com, i did a search and found a 2008 BMW M5 with a low lease monthly payment and i clicked to see all features and it looked like the car for me when i tried to find the phone number i was asked to open an account and get qualified and there's an initial fee to start the process which it allows me to get the phone number and the name of the owner of the car and process the transfer online, after doing so and paying the money, getting approved the car disappeared and all i can see is the other cars with the higher lease payment, I called over 4 times and i left one voice mail and never got an answer. I spoke to one of my friends and he told me the same thing happen to him, . so what i'm thinking is, that company is using a fake ad to lure costumers to register and pay the money, and right after they remove the ad, that should be illegal plus im worried that they pulled my credit to approve me and i'm not sure if this is a legitimate company since i don't see them on the bbb.

today i called my credit card company and they called them on 3 way to verify the charges we requested a manager to speak to and we asked what happen to the car that i applied for and disappeared he said that they don't keep those information and they cant provide me with any information also they said you paid for a service just buy any other car.

that seemed shady and i will never get a car from them and i don't think u guys should

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jweider
Santa Monica, US
Apr 02, 2010 12:23 pm EDT

I was attempted to use lease trader until I read the reviews. I posted my car on Autoleaselocator.com and it was free. I sold it in a week, no extra fees. They don't get involved in any of the financials and were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I would reccomend that anyone use AUTO LEASE LOCATOR to get rid of a lease.

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David Grenish
Modesto, US
Apr 07, 2010 1:52 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I was attempted to use Lease Trader until I read the reviews. I posted my car on TradeALease.com and it was free. Yes Free - I sold it in a week, no extra fees. They don't get involved in any of the financial s and were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I would recommend  everyone to use AUTO TradeALease.com to get rid of a lease.

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JohnTD
Miami, US
May 06, 2010 2:19 pm EDT

Leasetrader and LeaseTrader.com is a scam. I found they posted a fake lease takeover. I found pictures of a BMW that had been sold to my friend a year ago, yet it was listed available for taking over the lease. How can that be when my friend bought the car a long time ago? They post fake cars on their website so you think you can get a good deal. Then when you try to get more information about the car, they want you to pay? They also try to make you pay for a credit application. Its clearly a scam website because the car is not for sale or lease yet they are making people pay to try and get in contact with the supposed owner.

Also, if you do post a car for sale you get fake buyer inquires which is definitely generated by the people running leasetrader. How do you know? Because they are same questions copied and pasted over and over.

The guy Jack will call you every other day requesting you pay them. DO NOT! It is a big scam to steal your money and you will NEVER get ahold of the real owner of the car, nor will your lease be taken over.

Not only this, but most of the cars that are listed on their website DO NOT let lease transfers even happen. Why would they let cars be listed such as Hondas which Honda Leasing does not allow leases to be transferred to someone else. The reason why they do this is so you think you can take over the lease but after you pay you find out you can't.

Read all the comments above about leasetrader scam and leasetrader.com scam and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

DO NOT PAY THEM! YOU WILL GET NOTHING OUT OF IT!

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Leasetraderscam
Santa Monica, US
Feb 21, 2011 6:15 am EST

Only deal with lease trader if you have money to burn they are definitely offering a scam operation on many different levels. Try it, you'll see and you will be about 300.00 dollars lighter in the wallet.

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EB in Vegas
Las vegas, US
May 08, 2011 6:37 pm EDT

This website is an a full blown scam done "legally". The way they do this is that they put all of the disclosures in the "vistitors" agreement... The 3, 490 word Visitors Agreement. and like probably 95% of us out there we simply check the little box that says we have read and agree to the terms. We do this trusting that this is a legitimate company that provides a legitimate service and that trust is what the company banks on. If you subscribe to this service you won't find any of this out until after it's too late. Think you can dispute the charges on your card, you can, but the 3, 490 word Visitors Agreement states that they will sue you and that you will "agree" to be liable for ALL of their fee's, including what looks like a fee for their trouble to fight your dispute. The 3, 490 word visitors agreement also states that the venue for litigation is Florida. So, if you dispute the charges they will file a lawsuit in Florida against you (because you agreed to that in the visitors agreement) and you will have to travel to THEIR nearest courthouse and hope the judge sides with common sense and not the contract law (my guess is on the law). If you don't travel for the court date you will lose by default and get a judgment against you for the original money plus all of their fee's for the trouble of fighting you. From a quick Google search "Florida has not adopted the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Florida deceptive trade practices laws are stated in Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“Act”). The Act is enumerated in Florida Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 501, Part II.". I will still send a letter to the attorney general and the district attorney in their area, just so I felt I did something.

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Grune312
US
May 31, 2011 7:14 pm EDT

They take your money then turn down your credit. they say you have to have a credit line (available credit) to lease a car; not just a good credit score; but they do not say that on the site. a scam to take your $.

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Chau Guardino
Boynton Beach, US
Jun 15, 2011 7:46 pm EDT

I normally don’t write reviews because it takes time out of my life, but I had to write this one. I was doing research on getting a lease. I found a lease for a Honda on leasetrader.com that offered lower monthly payments than from Honda itself! So I paid $39.95 to get my credit check from LeaseTrader. I also had a co-signer, with excellent credit scores, put on the credit check. If the credit check came back good then you could communicate with the seller. LeaseTrader emailed back to say they would not allow me to contact the seller because I didn’t get approved through the credit check. I thought it was because of my credit score, so I took LeaseTrader’s option to re-do the credit check again for $29.95. This time I removed my name. I was sure the other person would pass the credit check because of his excellent credit scores. LeaseTrader emailed back and did not approve the credit check. I didn’t understand why the person with a great credit score didn’t get approved to just contact the seller. I called LeaseTrader and they told me that although he had great credit scores, his credit history might not have been long enough and would not offer a refund per their policy.

I later got a lease for a Honda through a Honda dealer. Note: I got the lease just fine. I also contacted Honda Financial Services, the financial institution that was providing the lease, and asked if someone could take over a lease. They said NO. I could ¬not transfer a lease but could add someone to the lease but my name could not be taken off the lease. I asked if the person that was added needed to have good credit. They said NO. To add someone to your existing lease, it doesn’t matter the other person’s credit score. So, two red flags for LeaseTrader. Is LeaseTrader a scam? You make that determination but I think it’s a scam. First, LeaseTrader makes it difficult for you to get approved for a credit check to be able to contact the seller. Second, if I was able to contact the seller, I would not have been added to take over the lease because Honda Financial Services does not allow this. I asked a couple of dealerships while I was shopping for a lease if they had lease transfers I could take over and they all said they do not offer such a thing and would not recommend me doing that. So, I lost $70 on a learning experience. I will never use them again and would not recommend anyone doing the same.

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justsaying11
US
Jul 07, 2011 2:17 am EDT

Finance companies do not charge excise tazes. They're from your state. If you didn't cancel your plates, and the dealership didn't cancel your plates, a finance company has no way to stop the state charging taxes. If they get a bill, they send it to you. Tough noogies.

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unhappycouple12
US
Jul 13, 2011 9:03 pm EDT

Just happened to my wife and I and we have amazing credit. All calls to the person we dealt with on the phone were hung up on.

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Manuelita6
Jamaica, US
Dec 21, 2011 10:53 am EST

Same just happened to me. I've been approved for car loans with two other companies for much more money than the lease I was interested in picking up. Seems like a rip-off to me.

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Narutoe
US
Jun 21, 2012 2:43 am EDT

I have been searching to find truth about car leasing scams in the SERP from previous couple of days. But not found quality results about this scam. After passing some time, finally i got some good quality result that help me about how can we prevent from this type of scam.

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crookleasetrader
Alexandria, US
Aug 24, 2012 1:47 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This company charges without any approvals. When you ask them to refund because they charged you without approval they say yes but when you call back to see what happened with your refund they lie to you and tell you that you actually asked them to charge. Big crooks, watch out!

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honestjon
Los Angeles, US
Sep 25, 2012 10:08 pm EDT

Thanks guys! I am definitely NOT going to use LeaseTrader.com after reading this. I am a lease buyer seriously looking to take over a lease and the fact that they make you do a CREDIT APPLICATION! Just for seeing a car made me smell a scam. That is a HUGE price to pay just to browse and /or contact a seller who may not even exist anymore. Their business model is horrible and it makes me sad that the owners are probably going to run away with a few million bucks even though they probably made a ton of people miserable. Thanks for your stories. I'll be moving on until I find a site that is free to contact the seller. Why wouldn't a company WANT their sellers to be successful? No wonder you guys who put your cars on there didn't get any buyers. I'm not doing a credit application by some risky company just so I can test the waters... grr.

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rsml
US
Dec 06, 2012 9:42 pm EST

I called their toll free number to find out some details even before i red this blog or even signed up for credit check. As soon as I started some easy question they couldn't provide me professional answer. The very first thing that struck me was like other bloggers mentioned that listing of vehicles which are not transferrable by their own admission. While I wanted to get more info from them they get caught up in their own web by transferring the call to some one who never return your message. I called their 800 number several times every time same person "Sean" picks up the phone and transfered the phone to guy named "Mike" who never, as I mentioned earlier, return the phone call. When I realized that it is nothing but a scam, just prove my point I kept call repeatedly same day and "sean" picks up the phone and transfer to the same guy "Mike" repeatedly, then finally a girl picked up the Phone. That girl was not trained enough to receive the call and when I asked which department she belong to; her answer was "I am in answering department"; I asked what is answering department several times then she said " I am in buyers department". I asked later, how many people work for this company, her answer was "so many people work for this company, I can not tell you the number". They are such a lousy scam that they can not get their acts together to tell professional lie!

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KBBBB
US
May 18, 2015 4:01 pm EDT

LeaseTrader.com is terrible! You must sign up first and pay $30 minimum. If you do not pass their credit check, you CANNOT use their site, cannot contact car owners to negotiate leases. No refunds, no partial refunds. 24 hours in, cannot use their site at all and out a membership fee!

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