Possible scam alert on cheap bikes (MotoSensation)

[ronnath]

this morning i found this email from one of our club members:

Gang:

Is this a scam? Russ
www.motosensation.com/inc/sdetail/591


first reply from another member:

Don't know...
But if you are interested I would call if there was a phone number available. Unfortunately there is not! I am wary of sending email to places like this that don't want to be contacted in person.
Robert

second reply:

And what are YOU doing searching for Japanese bikes anyway???

next reply:

Scam. The website is owned by some guy in Santa Rosa, CA, but the business is listed as up and running in Washington, DC. There is no telephone listing for a MotoSensation in Washington, DC. The part of DC in which the business is listed is residential.

The website is owned by a John Fitzpatrick with address listed as 3965 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. According to Google, there is a guy with that name that lives at that address: John S Fitzpatrick [phone] 3965 Guerneville Rd,Santa Rosa, CA 95401. The phone number listed on the site does not match the telephone number listed with Whois.net. I'd say give the guy a call to ask him why he is in California and the business noted to be in DC.

The business "MotoSensations" is not a registered entity with the corporations division in Washington, DC. Therefore, it would be illegal for this entity to conduct business in the city.

The bottom line: If it sounds too good to be true . . . .

Brad


this was my reply:

Gotta be.

All their prices are roughly half MSRP
Their site claims they only do mail order
I typed in their address in google maps and it showed a house
The Washington DC better business bureau had no record of them


if you go to the site you'll find all the bikes are listed at roughly half the MSRP.

[daveb]

From the terms and conditions page:

You agree that all matters relating to your access to or use of the Site, including all disputes, will be governed by the laws of Germany. You agree to the personal jurisdiction of the German courts in Munich, and waive any objection to such jurisdiction or venue.

Prices posted may be in Euros. 3000 euros = $4367 US dollars

[earlwb]

Yeah it is a scam. The price is too good to be true.
You cannot sell new Major Brand name Bikes at less than half price. That would cause you to lose money. They do not have that large of a markup on these scooters.
If a motorcycle store had gone out of business, other dealers would have gotten the bikes to sell in their stores. It would not be a guy selling stuff off of the internet.
This guy is using that old fashioned method of getting suckers to give him the money. He'll then drag out the process as long as possible. Then when he has enough suckers on the line, he will sudenly disapear.
The home address is probably wrong too. Identity theft comes to mind.

[randy]

Brand new Harley Ultra Classic for 10 grand? Yeah I think this might be a scam! If I am wrong I WILL be riding a new V Rod in the spring!! Free Shipping also. Maybe I will have them throw a Vespa 250 on the pallet also.

[Jacine]

Report this dealer or lack there of the Harley Davidson MC. If he is fake they will know an will actively close him down. HD is very active in monitoring anything that interferes with their profits. If they say he's ligit the let's have a group buy and lower the price even more.

Harley will be informed shortly.

[Dennis D]

If you take the time to go through the order process(using fake info).... you will find there is only ONE WAY they accept payment: WIRE TRANSFER!!
Never do a wire transfer for anything you do over the internet, or to anyone other than someone you know well and trust completely!

[Jacine]

Find a real dealer that will match any price (internet or otherwise), copy the page and buy a new bike for cheap. Does anyone know of one?

["Big Guy"]

I called HD and there is no dealer by that name in their network. Customer Service said that the prices were far below cost and it must be a scam site, however they had no interest in following up.

Since there is no contact info on the site, I sent them this message from the Live Messenger button:

"Hi,
I am interested in the HD Street Bob and I would like more information on your company and the bike, such as, company name address and phone, and the Street Bob information (in black) including the VIN# of the bike you will ship. You can reach me at 504-452-4209 or by email."

I'm sure no one will reply... they're after the greedy people who will use the shopping cart.

EDIT: HD Customer Service: 1-414-343-4056

["Big Guy"]

Anyone that wants to report it as a fraudulent website can do so here at the FBI's website, but not me! I don't want ANY dealings with the FBI.

[daveb]

This a pretty elaborate scheme. According to the WHOIS registry, he purchased the name motosensation.com on 11/10/07, listed a California address, a South Carolina phone number and shows Washington DC in the footer of the site. And then uses a German (probably copied) terms and conditions page.

He put the site up in less than a month and will probably find a few suckers to wire him some money. He should be able to be tracked down by the authorities though once somebody can provide to the authorities the bank routing number for the wire transfer.

The hosting company that hosts his site should also have his initial payment info.

They better work quick though, because a few transactions and he will be GONE.

[earlwb]

Well you know the police, until it is a crime, they usually aren't interested.
Then you have to determine jurisdiction.
Then you have to find him, in order to sue him in civil court or even if you can determine a crime took place arrest him.
I would hate to be the sucker that falls that that scam.

If I remember right, this kind of a scam has been going on for many many years. They used to place ads in newspapers or motorcyle magazines and such years ago.
Now they use the internet.

[riverwabbit703]

If it's too good to be true, most of the time, it's not true.

[rerun2]

No question this guy is a rip off artist! Just look at the claims he makes on his first page, been in business for years and we have the best.... blah blah blah

I don't do business with anyone that LIES, and especially those liars that are so stupid they think they can pass off easy to check details as facts!

But then, he is certainly not the only 'dealer' that is a fraud. He is just easier to identify than others!

[aep]

Hey Troops:

I live here in Santa Rosa, CA. If you like I could take a look at the address listed on Guerneville Road.

Andy

[Jacine]

Site has been Closed down. Wonder where they will pop up next?