Over a dozen consumers file complaints about losing money to online auto parts store operating out of fake Bronx address
The BBB of Metro New York has logged over a dozen complaints from customers who say they paid thousands of dollars to Freeman Auto, only to get nothing in return.
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More than a dozen consumers have filed complaints about losing money to an online auto parts store operating out of a fake address in the Bronx.
Jeff Robbins is one of them.
He needed an engine for his nephew’s car, and he was thrilled at a deal he found online: a fully rebuilt engine for less than $2,000 from a company calling itself Freeman Auto Store.
Robbins lives in Virginia and Freeman claimed to have an office in the Bronx, so Robbins did as much research as possible.
"I'm Googling the address and getting the satellite imagery, and it looks legit," Robbins says. "I texted my nephew. I'm like, ‘yeah, I found the engine.'"
But the engine did not arrive. And Jeff Robbins isn't alone.
The BBB of Metro New York has logged over a dozen complaints from customers who say they paid thousands of dollars to Freeman Auto, only to get nothing in return.
Kane In Your Corner checked out the address in the Bronx where Freeman Auto claimed to be located and found that while it was once a real auto salvage yard, it had been closed for a while and is now a construction site.
The BBB says this is a new trend it is seeing in scams: fake online companies using real addresses to fool prospective victims.
"It's not just auto stores," says Claire Rosenzweig, President and CEO, BBB of Metro New York. "It's florists that we've seen use Long Island addresses. It's jewelers we've see use the Diamond District as addresses."
The BBB advises consumers to avoid unsolicited offers, and research a company's complaint history with their own "scam tracker" app or with their state's department of consumer affairs.
Kane in Your Corner tried to contact Freeman Auto Store by calling the phone number on the website.
The calls could not be completed.
