Consumer reviews and reports on scam companies, bad products and services
Autohut
Autohut, Englewood, CO Autohut didn't pay
2nd of Jan, 2011 by User601968
I signed a consignment contract with Autohut to sell my car, to avoid the hassle of selling it myself. It sold on 08/18/2010; the contract stated I would be paid "upon completion of sale". I was told I would receive payment when the bank sent the money to Autohut within 4 weeks.

After the first 4 weeks, I was told that the bank paperwork was filled out in error by Autohut, and would have to be re-sent to get money from the financed sale from the buyer's bank, another 2 or 3 weeks. I waited and heard nothing. On 9/30/10, I contacted Autohut and requested payment for my car.


Autohut claimed not to have the money due to slow car sales. Autohut had apparently used my money as a free personal loan at my expense, instead of handing it over to me on completion of sale as in the contract. I mentioned I would seek an attorney's advice on other options I may take and get back with him. That day he deposited $8000 of the $16900 owed me.


Instead I decided to be patient, so again on 10/30/10, I visited Autohut to request payment, and I got a $2000 check. On 12/9/10 I again visited and was paid $900. On 12/22/10 I issued a final request by letter emailed to Autohut. I demanded payment of the remaining $6000 by 12/24/10 or I would have to file a small claims suit for $6000 owed plus 8% interest and fees. Autohut begged me to give them until 12/31/10 to sell some cars at a loss to pay me. I agreed to wait; 12/31/10 passed and I heard nothing.


On the morning of 1/3/11 I filed suit, filed a complaint with the DMV, filed complaint with the FTC and the BBB. Tomorrow I will file a police report with the Englewood P.D. Later that afternoon, I got a call from the DMV detective who sounded very biased in favor of Autohut.


A DMV detective, in the dealer division, said Autohut told him they paid me today. I said I had not checked my account today, butdid on 12/31 and 1/1 and saw nothing deposited by the final deadline we agreed on. Also, I wanted Autohut investigated for this activity with others and have fines imposed. He seemed to dismiss this. He also mentioned the contract had no time frame for Autohut to pay as far as he read it. I simply suggested looking at the first line that included the clause saying payment is made "upon completion of sale". He went on to dismiss his originalpointhe had prepared to use against me, saying something to the affect of "Yes, normally so in a good economy, but this isn't a good economy, so that isn't the way things are done." It was starting too feel like the DMV is in it with the dealers who are the ones doing wrong.


What about the contract? He said that is a civil matter for the court. When I mentioned I was filing a police report, he said he was a former P.D. Detective as well, and that I would be told it was a civil matter, but don't let me discourage you from it. There is nothing criminal in defrauding people? I was perplexed!


Part of his job at the DMV dealer enforcement division is to protect the public from auto dealer fraud! It's obvious to me that I can't count on the DMV to do its job in protecting me or others from crooked dealers.


I got home and checked my account; I had been paid the final $6000; but it's too late; it's outside the time frame of our final agreement which is saved in email. I have already spent hours and paid over $100 to file suit and have Autohut and Lowell Andrews served. I will seek the interest and fees I am out. I am also out a lot of time, miles on my car, and hassle which I never should have been so I will also ask the court for my $500 fee I paid Autohut to relieve me of the stress by selling my car in the first place.


I suspect Autohut is playing this game with other less aggressive people, suggested by comments to that affect made in person by Lowell. If you are one please contact the Englewood P.D. and the CO DMV dealer enforcement division, but don't expect too much to happen on your behalf.


I researched Autohut before signing with them, and found nothing other than their website. No complaints, nothing. So, in retrospect, Iran a background check onLowell Leslie Andrews. It's not pretty. I encourage anyone to do this before dealing with anyauto salespeople or dealers, if you must deal with them at all. In my opinion, not the DMV's soft opinion, he has unsuitable character to hold an auto sales license.


Comments
4922 days ago by Almosthad
I just dealt with this unsavory character. Lowell got into some situation and had to shut down the car lot (Autohut). Not quite sure exactly what he did but he called me to tell me I would need to contact the owner of the property to pick up my vehicle. Said he couldn't step back on the lot b/c he would be arrested!! What a piece of human waste. Luckily my vehicle was still on the lot and the owner was understanding and gave me my keys and allowed me to go on with my life. There were a lot of people on the lot discussing how Lowell basically had committed fraud. Some of the reports say he sold others cars and pocketed the cash. Never really sure what you can believe but Lowell certainly did some bad things here. The DMV has taken charge of the situation and are trying to sort out Lowell's mess. Funny thing is when I first went to the lot I got a bad feeling about the whole thing but I chalked it up to him just being a slimy used car salesman, especially b/c the ratings (BBB!) and posted comments didn't indicate a problem. But as it happens Lowell was building up to a grand finale to take in as many cars as possible so he could pocket as much cash as possible and hit the road - onto his next scam. If you ever come across Lowell Leslie Andrews in ANY business dealings run in the opposite direction.
4922 days ago by Verymadgirl
Wish I would have found this months ago :( He sold my car and I am out $14, 000. Hope to recover some of it. I thought I did my due diligence by checking out his BBB record which was fine - obviously not good enough.
4921 days ago by Almosthad
Sorry to hear that. BBB works when people complain enough. Apparently this crook was sly enough to know just how to get by without making people aware of what he really was. The only thing I had ever found was the original post here (above). Even then I wasn't too concerned b/c it looked like the situation ended up working out (albeit with a lot of frustration and headache). The person who had the original post is right and I have certainly learned my lesson: background checks on EVERYONE i deal with now beforehand.
4920 days ago by Cubluffs
Lowell screwed me over too! I purchased a car from him back in late March 2011. He never sent the title/submitted the paperwork to the DMV. After the temporary plates expired, I went into the DMV and found out that someone had reported the vehicle I bought as stolen - good thing I didn't get pulled over, I could have gone to jail! I tried to get a hold of him several times and only got a recording that said he was out of town until Tuesday May 24th. When he finally returned my call, he informed me that Autohut was out of business and I would have to return the vehicle to Autohut (even though I had paid him in full), basicallly ignoring the fact that we had ever completed a transaction. How convenient that he was "out of town" right up until the business was shut down. Filed a complaint with the Dep. of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division. I'm most likely going to be out $15k as a result - sounds like he owes lot of people money and I'm guessing I'm about last on the list.
4914 days ago by Anonymous
Cubluffs, was it a Chrylser 300?
4914 days ago by Evman007
Cubluffs, that was me above asking... Please let me know at emartinez5 (at) aol dot com. Thanks.
4909 days ago by Santhosh
I bought a Nissan Sentra 2005 car from Autohut on Apr 5 2011.I was told by the Autohut guy that the documents needed for registration will be mailed to me. I didn't get any documents and I went to Autohut May 25th and found that Autohut was closed. I called the CO Dept of revenue and filed a complaint against Autohut.
Waiting for the investigations officer to respond back. Has any one got the title after filing the complaint?
4907 days ago by Verymadgirl
I have my title but no car...this is a god damn mess. I would LIKE to report my car stolen but I don't want to screw someone innocent over. We are obviously all in a bad situation. According to the Auto Board they may open his bond but it sounds like there are a lot of people involved and probably not enough money. They are going to give us names of who has who's car but I'm not sure what that will solve. maybe that the parties involved with one another can get a lawyer together? I don't know. My car was a 2008 Nissan Altima if anyone has that...
4907 days ago by User666
my car has disappeared from this lot as well. was told by the police that i can't report it stolen because someone else unknowingly would be in possession of a stolen vehicle. anyone buy a 2005 mazda 3? i never got a penny for it and am owed $8500. Lowell Andrews is still in the Denver area. It's up to us to track him down to serve him with civil court papers. was told by police that this scam involves "38 to 39 cases so far." how the police CAN'T be pursuing criminal charges against someone who has screwed that many people is beyond me. i think Englewood PD is being lazy.
4905 days ago by Rdd
FYI...Autohut is in the process of a filing bankruptcy. To my understanding all involved will be receiving information from the bankruptcy court. The owner of Autohut and Lowell Andrews who was a salesman at Autohut are cooporating with the Colorado dept of revenue dealer board and the Englewood police dept. All records and financial statements have been turned over to authorities. Only one of two things could have happened here. Fraud was committed or another business went bankrupt in America. If fraud was committed action would have been taken by authorities. If fraud was not committed it becomes a civil matter.
4903 days ago by Gotscamed
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AutoHut-Englewood-Colorado-Help-Page/215654315133329
4903 days ago by Nickheinzen
I too am one of the many people that got SCREWED in this Autohut ripoff. I had a 2006 silver Ford F 150 STX pick up truck that had 58, 500 miles on it when I left it with Lowell back in Dec 2010 and was told it was sold late Feb 2011. Has anyone filed a civil suit yet? The auto dealer divisions answer could take months and who knows what THEY will decide. Rdd, are your facts reliable?
4903 days ago by Rdd
Facts are reliable. There was no ripoff or fraud. Its a bankrupt business. Its not pretty but it was not intended or intentional. No missing money, no money is stolen, no scam, no ripoff. No one from Autohut is on the run. Autohut's owner and staff are cooperating with all authorities involved. All customers affected will be receiving papers from a bankruptcy court soon. Autohut most likely cannot release the information to its customers as the people affected would start going after each other and cause even more problems. The best advice would be to let law enforcement take its course, finish its investigation, and for you to seek legal council.
4903 days ago by Nickheinzen
So should I file a civil suit now or wait until I recieve these bankruptcy papers? By the way, how is it not a ripoff when so many people were affected?
4903 days ago by Almosthad
Rdd, then why does the Metro Intelligence Agency report that Andrews and his partner fled the State when they learned that complaints had been filed against them. Furthermore, they report that neither of these jerk offs (owners of Auto hut, Lowell Andrews and Joseph Palilla) are willing to help make things right by providing this information either. Yet, you are the ONLY one saying they are cooperating.

Sure doesn't sound like simply a bankrupt business to me. If it were truly just poorly run (and don't get me wrong it was a VERY poorly run lot) why would these thieves have taken the money from almost 40 rightful owners and only stop when they were reported??

You know you seem to have WAY more detail and information (reliable or not) than any of the official agencies and individuals reporting on this criminal act. And you sure are adamant in defending these thieves. What/who is your source? Or is Rdd really Andrews and/or Palilla?
4902 days ago by Rdd
Research metro. They are not a police agency. They dont know what they are taliking about. Get council and quit listening to me or anyone else. No one fled anywhere. Everyone knows someone and I know my facts are correct from my source. Good luck...
4900 days ago by Autohutvictim
Looks like the BBB has FINALLY realized the truth here. And just like everybody else they are searching for Andrews and Palilla. But not to worry everyone Rdd says they are cooperating fully.

In case any of you haven't seen it yet CBS did a story on this: "Dept. of Revenue confirms 70 Victims in Car Dealer Case"

link: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/06/15/autohut-victims-lose-cars-money/

Now tell us why we should not believe the Dept. of Revenue Rdd and explain again how the owners of Autohut are cooperating so well.
4897 days ago by Bikenut
I have been working with the bonding agency. They told me the State of Colorado only requires a $50, 000 bond for used car sales (the most crooked ones of course). What the hell is that all about? If you buy one nice car you could be out $50k?!! Did they make that amount mandatory in 1955? I am going after the state for under-regulating! So the 50 people in this case will each get their $1000 even they are out 10-20 times that amount. Good job state of Colorado!
And I am absolutely pursuing fraud charges against Autohut!! Bankruptcy? You can NOT be serious that this is simply a bankruptcy issue.
So I left my 2003 Honda Element there and picked up a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The title was being ordered since January and never arrived. Sounds like typical FRAUD to me.
I am getting a lawer and going sue crazy on everyone involved (of course criminals and not vicitms). Not stopping until Lowell is in jail. It is the safest place for him and any consumer that would ever get scammed by him.
4891 days ago by Angry
any body know where tie SCUM BAG is?
4891 days ago by Angry
Some one said Lowell is Human waste!!!...He's not that good. Dog shit is better than he is!!

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