Car leasing is a hot topic in Ukraine right now. It's also a scam. As a result of tempting offers, people either don't receive the car, lose money, or pay significantly more for it than it's worth at the dealership. Fraudsters are completely transparent; their offices and advertisements are everywhere. Why do law enforcement officers so completely ignore these scammers? The usual answer is that fools need to be taught a lesson; no one forced them to hand over money to crooks, and so on. However, the answer is actually simpler. Fraudsters, as always, pay protection money to law enforcement. But this is unsafe these days. A colleague or associate might very well want to improve their reputation with a high-profile fraud case. And a "protector in uniform" in such a case would be the icing on the cake.
Here's what our readers write about car scammers.
"YOUR CAR IS A CRAFTSMAN AND A FRAUDSTER. Despite everything, I believe that higher justice exists!!! This kind of rip-off of people who saved for years and then lost it all in an instant cannot go unpunished. GOD will surely punish these lying managers and the organizers of this scheme. The curses of the victims directed at them cannot go unnoticed!!!"
Now, I'll tell you my story briefly: I got involved with these scammers in June 2015. It's a typical story: I was lured by the low price, the managers' tall tales, who plied me with coffee, wiggled their asses, and convinced me I was the lucky one who was getting a ZAZ for 99,000 UAH under incredibly favorable terms! According to their managers, the scheme is as follows: we sign a contract, I pay 25,000 UAH, they deliver the car to my driveway within five days, I pay the rest of the price on the spot, and I'm the happy owner of a new car.
They wrote me some kind of payment slip on the spot (they didn't let me read the contract—lunch at the bank, etc.) and I, the happy buyer, flew off to pay for my car, which I'd been saving up for for years. I paid 25 UAH (it turned out to be an administrative fee), immediately handed the slip over to the office, and waited 5 days. 6 days. 7 days. 8 days. 10 days. 20 days. 30 days.
After reading the contract at home (the day after signing it), I discovered it listed a price of 250 UAH! Shocked, I flew to VASH AVTO, where they reassured me it was a technical error and that clause such, subclause such, paragraph three, and paragraph eight would all be corrected and the invoice would be reissued.
On the 30th day they called and said that something had changed and I needed to make a payment of 65 thousand UAH, and on the 35th day they also needed to make a final payment of 15 thousand UAH (advance payments).
After paying all these fees, on the 45th day they call and say I can pick up the car, but I have to travel 400 km to another region. There's nothing I can do – I fly with a friend, in his car, using my gas, to the ends of the earth to pick up my car. They actually give me the car, but I have to pay the full CASCO insurance (13 UAH) and the dealership's return fee (5 UAH). With no choice, I pay. At the dealership, I sign some more paperwork and head home.
TOTAL PAID AT THE TIME OF RECEIVING THE CAR: 25 thousand (administrative fee for printing 13 pages of the contract) + 80 thousand (advance payment) + 13 thousand (CASCO) + 5 (to the dealership for issuing the car) = 123 thousand UAH.
I arrive home (in a car registered to YOUR CAR) and two days later I receive a letter of happiness with a 5-year repayment schedule!!! It turns out I still have 5 years to pay for the car, and the total amount remaining is 180,000 UAH!!!!! So, the final cost of the car will be 303,000 UAH (a similar car would cost 135,000 UAH at any dealership).
During this period, my hair has turned grey, I hate this car, I can’t bring myself to call it a swallow, and I hate the managers of VASH AVTO and the organizers of this scheme even more.
P.S.: Take a grenade, fascist, and I will curse you all!!!”
"I have already found myself in a similar situation. How can I remember all my unslept nights, tears... I (bad and old) went back to Euroleasing LLC, and with my “absolute honesty” signed the documents, I believed that after 7-10 business days the car would arrive, I paid 10% of the deposit amount. At home, I calmly checked for myself when my car arrived. Having passed the deadline, I decided to call before then. “fraudulent and fraudulent” office, where they calmed me down once again, that the car will still be axle-axle. As soon as my calls came, the stench began to be ignored, and I, impatiently, called Kharkov (where their head office is). There they were even more “calmed”, saying that 10% was actually the payment for completing the contract and that they should pay 50% more and sign addendums before the contract. I realized a little bit about what I had gotten myself into and told them “screw you, not 50%” and decided to contact a lawyer. I found a good lawyer and Having signed the agreement, he asked the head: “Why did I sign the additional provisions”! I started singing, no! So, without missing a beat, we filed an application before the court, because WITHOUT SIGNED ADDITIONS, THE AGREEMENT IS NOT EFFECTIVE! It was also stated in the statements that an arrest would be placed on her immediately pending the investigation of this certificate. Like it or not, if they set a hearing day, they immediately voluntarily returned me 10%. I still think about this process and sing to these people, who were caught in the same similar situation. Remember, if you haven’t signed up for add-ons yet, you have no chance of winning.”
"The story is about how I got a car from Autofinance. On the 1st of April 2013 (perhaps unexpectedly I got into trouble with Autofinance for the day of April Fools' Day) I arrived at the car leasing office in Sumi. The girls got everything done smoothly and miraculously, not I forgot to spin my coins and my money. They decided to pay 50% of the price to see the car in 14 days maximum. I ran to the bank, paid the money and started checking for ten days. “History” and speaking requires 10%. Garazd, here you go. As it was explained later, the company takes 10% of the profit for signing the agreement. Having paid. I check. Deafly!!! Pishov barks. They gave me the phone number of a lawyer in the central office. I call - check, the car will be there. And this lasted for 3 months. I'm already boiling. Having shown the agreement to the lawyer, he barked that I had signed such crap (and said so). Start calling Kiev and threaten the prosecutor's office and court. Start to calm down and take control of the problem in the near future. It dragged on like this for another month. Having presented your option to them, let’s say, pay the sum and let us find the car. It worked!!! Ale and they covered it here. The contract was signed for 5 rocks, so they promised me hundreds of rocks for all the rocks in advance. The results are summarized. The procedure from signing the contract to picking up the car took exactly 5 months (day to day). For 111,000 UAH, the cost of the car was overpaid by almost 25,000 UAH. my phone 099-763-88-48 whoever you need to call, maybe I’ll tell my brothers and sisters about misfortune”
“Your company, Avtofinans, has the same attitude towards leasing as I do towards the planet Mars. If you are so honest, why are there hundreds of court decisions all over Ukraine in favor of the victims? Your company, Avtofinans, and the entire Atollholding, to which you belong, are not in jail for one reason - corruption and impunity in Ukraine. CITIZENS, FELLOW COUNTRYMEN! Don’t get involved with the leasing company Avtofinans. They are engaged in fraud. They won’t give you the entire contract to read, you will find out the final amount after you pay 50% of the installments, and then it’s a complete mess. To get the car, you will pay 70-90% of the cost, and then another 180-300%, provided that the scammers don’t close their office until you receive the goods. IF AVTOFINANCE CONSIDERS ME A LIAR, LET THEM SUIT ME FOR DEFAMATION. But you don’t You will file because everything that is written is TRUE. And the truth is that you bought the police, the prosecutor's office, the executive service, and the Pechersky District Court."
"AUTOFINANCE is a complete scam!!!!!!!!! They're leasing it, but they don't even have a leasing license. The overpayment is over 100%, plus only their insurance (full coverage), plus late fees and penalties (even though, by law, no one has the right to impose a fine twice!). The contract, it turns out, is for 84 months, and only then, according to them, can you pick up the goods. You pay a minimum of 30% of the total upfront, plus 25000 UAH for the Vinograd, and a mandatory monthly payment of 1500 UAH, which turns out to be Vinograd, but it must be paid for all 84 months! This company has no director. There's no one to even sue, only the company itself. And if the company goes bankrupt or, like they do, renames the company, then naturally there will be no one to demand the money from. And Igor Tsegelnyuk will get it back. What kind of MORONS profit from others like this."
"I ended up with this company, Avtofinans, in Odessa. They charged me 10% of the car's value. I paid 21900 UAH. No car, no money. They told me to write a letter of termination and MAYBE we'll refund my money. I filed a police report. What should I expect?"
"Avtofinans LLC is an organization that is part of Atoll Holding, headed by Mr. Barinov. This network includes up to 50 companies engaged in the production, sale, insurance, maintenance, and repair of automobiles in Ukraine. All of these companies are engaged in the same thing as Avtofinans—fraud. Our guarantor of the constitution, Poroshenko, and his entourage lobby for their interests. This is a 100% fact. For those interested, I'll continue the list of these companies and a way out of this impasse..."
“Director of Avtofinans Vinnik O.O. - residence address: Kharkiv region, Kupyansky district, 63700, Grushovka village, Lenina Street, 6. m.t. 098-834-11-84; Nersesov S.A. - residence address: Kharkiv region, KHARKIV, Gagarin Avenue, 56, apt. 360 m.t. 0502984902”
"The Etalon company is the same as Avtofinans, just with a different name. Their entire database of suckers is in their black bookkeeping. So if they promise to help you, keep falling for it."
"Etalon Leasing Company LLC is a scam!!! In an attempt to buy a car at the best possible price, people, unfortunately, fall for the scams of companies like Etalon Leasing Company or Avtofinance.
How it works.
A person finds an ad online for a new car, for example, on sites like Slando (OLX), Avtoria, and others.
Etalon Leasing Company's ad attracts customers with a competitive price compared to other sellers. Furthermore, the ad states that the down payment is small—10% of the car's purchase price.
Here, for example, is an advertisement for this company posted on Slando (link: https://kiev.ko.olx.ua/uk/obyavlenie/avtobus-baz-a079-52-prigorod-v-rassrochku-ID 8oQnl.html):
"BAZ A079.52 suburban bus (Euro-4). The vehicle is priced at 410,000 hryvnias. Monthly lease payments with an option to purchase starting from 6000 hryvnias. Down payment from 42,000 hryvnias. The bus is new and under warranty."
And then the technical data of the car is listed.
The conditions are favorable, you must admit.
It is worth noting that in the advert, the seller column does not list the name of Etalon Leasing Company LLC, but simply the name of a person, for example, Anna (as in the advert above).
In my opinion, this is done because the name "Etalon" has long been known as a company that cheats. Otherwise, a client will come, sign a financial leasing agreement, pay the money, and only then pay attention to who they're dealing with.
So, here's the deal. So, the person calls the seller and then comes to the office, where they confirm the ad's price. It sounds something like this: "Pay 10% of the car's price, and you'll have it in 7 days."
How does the procedure proceed?
You sign the Agreement, but the time for signing it is specially chosen so that you do not have time to read it, for example, before lunch.
For what?
As a responsible person, you want to read the financial leasing agreement before signing it, but... since bank branches may close for lunch, you're asked to quickly sign a 12-page agreement, go pay the agreed-upon amount at the bank, and then read as much as you can.
There is no doubt in the person's mind about this account, because he compares this office to a bank, where 99,9% of people sign contracts without reading them, because they are sure that reading them will not change anything anyway and they will still have to sign what is offered.
Farther.
After the money is paid, you immediately return to Etalon, where they give you several more additions to the contract to sign, as a “formality” that you will definitely not read.
Then you go home, all in thoughts about the car that will arrive in a week.
But soon, either after reading the contract or learning from Etalon employees, it turns out that the amount and payment procedure under the contract are stipulated in the Addenda to the contract.
According to these additions, you must pay not 10%, but 63% of the car's value. The 10% you pay isn't even an advance payment, but merely a commission for organizational arrangements. Furthermore, after you've paid all the necessary fees, the leasing company has the right to deliver the car within up to 90 days!!!
In general, for example, if a car costs 220,000 hryvnias, in order for a leasing company to lease the car to you with subsequent payment, you must pay 138,600 hryvnias.
Naturally, you are not satisfied with this state of affairs, and you demand that the contract be terminated and the money returned.
They terminate the contract with you, but refuse to return the money, citing a clause in the contract regarding a 20% penalty in the event of early termination of the contract on your initiative.
It's worth noting that Etalon Leasing Company LLC and Avtofinance conduct such activities throughout Ukraine. And there are numerous victims.
What to do?
The only correct way to get your money back is to go to court.
Currently, there is no definitive judicial practice. There are both positive and negative decisions from courts at various levels.
At present, there are reasonable and reasoned court decisions that will subsequently form the basis for the formation of unambiguous judicial practice on the above issue.
Also, in my opinion, it is necessary to contact the authorities that oversee the activities of such organizations: the National Commission for Financial Services and the Consumer Protection Inspectorate.”
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