Car dealer refuses to refund $9,000 and instead sends customer pictures of human feces

A New Zealand dealer argued with a couple over a faulty hybrid Nissan that they never received

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/                                    

from Chris Chilton

November 30, 2024 at 9:01 p.m

There are many honest car dealers who are pleasant to work with and who earn the trust of customers who reward them with repeat business. And then there are the other type of dealers who give the entire industry a bad name. Traders like Chris Schwartz, who reportedly stole his customers’ money and emailed them pictures of human feces.

Schwartz is the boss of iSeeCars Ltd in New Zealand and had a dispute with Johannes and Chizelle Cilliers, who had agreed to buy a hybrid Nissan Skyline from him. Due to mechanical problems with the Skyline, the couple were never able to take possession of the car and unsuccessfully requested rejection and a refund three times New Zealand Herald Reports.

More: Five Nissan dealers pay $1.9 million for allegedly ripping off customers

A month later, when Schwartz still hadn’t returned their NZD15,000 (US$8,883), the Cilliers took him to a tribunal, where the judge learned that Schwartz had pocketed the money. He had written to the company that sold him the car, Autofleet Capital Limited, telling them that he had refunded the Cilliers – which he had not done – and Autofleet refunded Schwartz, who then did not pass on the money .

Court decision and ongoing battles

Although the court ruled in the couple’s favor, Schwartz threatened to close his dealership, which would have meant the Cilliers would have lost out. But then they received an email that initially seemed to give hope.

“Please see the attachment, which has been paid in full,” Schwartz wrote. “I wish you a fantastic, great day. I’ll split it into two payment sections.” However, the two attached files were not proof of payment; These were images of what appeared to be human excrement.

A prank that went too far

One image showed smeared feces on the outside back seat of a used SUV and the other showed a toilet bowl with feces splattered on the bottom. Both situations likely required a surprising degree of agility from the perpetrator.

Schwartz’s previous company was declared bankrupt, but he has opened a new one, iSeeCars Holdings Limited, registered at the same address as the liquidated company. He has since described his bizarre actions as a “terrible staff prank that should never have happened to a customer.”

“I tried to recall all the emails that were sent but couldn’t,” he told the owners of the New Zealand Herald. NZMEHe explained that he now wanted to pay back the money owed. “I deeply regret the measures taken in this regard. I and my previous company are deeply remorseful and deeply regret any of these actions.”

Schwartz’s new venture and his apology

The Cilliers said that despite the ruling, they still aren’t entirely sure where they stand. You are still registered as the owner of the car and technically still owe money.

“Who can you trust?” We don’t know how this situation will affect our creditworthiness or whether we will even be able to finance another car in the future,” said Chizelle Cillier. “We just wanted to buy a car. Instead, he essentially took our money and then sent us pictures of poop. Who does that?”

A pattern of disruptive behavior

But this strange incident was not an isolated incident for Schwartz. Things reports that the feces-obsessed dealer sent another man a picture of…feces in a pizza box and claims the emails were actually sent by a former employee who had access to his phone.