Car Match USA - RUNNING A CROOKED BUSINESS - West Palm Beach Florida

I needed help getting out of a lease, and I came across CarMatch's websites where they advertise their services as matching "car sellers with interested parties whom desire to use your vehicle and pay all related expenses for the agreed duration of the agreement." I reviewed the currently listed vehicles and noticed they had a clear BBB rating and felt comfortable moving forward.

Prior to giving possession of the vehicle to CarMatch, there were a number of documents that were executed, including Power of Attorney that required notarized and mailed to them. These documents can be provided upon request. The contract stated "Owner shall receive a copy of all final documentation via US mail, facsimile, email or personal delivery." I still have not received any of the final executed documents, even after many attempts by my attorney speaking to Mr. Palange on the phone. These documents outlined very specific responsibilities of myself as the "Seller," those of the matched "Buyer," and CarMatch's as the service provider for arrangement. These documents stated screening requirements of the matched client, loss prevention and GPS tracking to be installed by CarMatch, ensuring payment and enforcement for lease and insurance (among other expenses such as registration and tolls) and the enforcement procedures, contractually obligating their service to take any measure to ensure all protections to the vehicle as if they were acting as me, including repossessing the vehicle for any reason and without warning if any default was not remedied.

The costs I have incurred because of the failure of Mr. Palange to act on my behalf (or even when I demanded) is well over $15,000, including extreme damage to the exterior (rear windshield smashed, spoiler ripped off and trunk dented over 6 inches deep, front damage to tie bar suspension, damage to the rims and numerous dents and scratches) and interior of the car (mold growth on the back carpeting, holes in the leather seats, resin burned into rear seats, damage to the dashboard), excessive tolls throughout the entire east coast over the course of months that went unpaid (over 10), unpaid lease payments, mechanical expenses as the car was never serviced but driven over 23,000 miles in a 7 month period (tires bald, uneven wear, and chunks missing). 

One of the biggest concerns is that while Mr. Palange states there was a tracking device installed in the vehicle (and stated in the contract), when I recovered the vehicle and towed it immediately to the mechanic, neither the mechanic, body shop, nor dealership found a GPS device. The device was to have been able to not only track the location, but also notify if the car left the state, and disable the vehicle. In the past, when I confronted Mr. Palange to contact the driver, disable the vehicle, and recover it, he refused and said he was afraid the Buyer may get upset. Or Alan just simply did not return my calls for extended periods of time. 

I wasn't able to reach the driver ever, and the name of the person that signed the documents to drive the vehicle was different from the name Mr. Palange said was driving it. Mr. Palange continued with a story that the driver was having the vehicle shipped to Maryland, etc because of family issues, and was receiving the toll violations there. They were never paid, and this made no sense. But Mr. Palange still would not disable the vehicle to have it picked up.

I didn't get any responses for weeks, my car somewhere out of the state and I had no ability to locate it, until one day Alan answers and tells me he sees the vehicle in Fort Lauderdale. He told me where it was and I hung up the phone to drive there. What I discovered was a nightmare. How he knew the vehicle was there when there was no tracking device is very questionable...

Mr. Palange spoke with my attorney on numerous occasions and promised to co-operate; he has never followed through. I am seeking to remedy this situation without court intervention.

----------UPDATE------------

Today I received a response via text from Alan. I will post it below along with my text replies and also responses to some of the statements (I have had to edit the text to remove vulgar words in order to post. The original was not censored.):

9/8/16, 9:44 AM

1:07 PM (received from Alan)
I assume you don't want to go for tit for tat. I will guarantee you that this will be a game you lose

9:37 AM (sent to Alan)
I've already lost a lot and I'm not looking for a fight. I just want to settle this reasonably and I'd be more than willing to step down and disappear as if nothing happened. Until then, Alan, a lot happened, and I got royally f***ed by your company, and I won't be silent about it.

9:42 AM (sent to Alan)
Please don't text my cell phone. You have an open line of communication through PeopleClaim, etc. I wasn't able to begin medical school this term because I can't afford my living expenses. I'm not looking to grow a business or buy a new car - in fact I had to sell my year old car. I'm not asking you to care or to like me, neither of which matters; I'm asking for you to be fair and reasonable. I'll add this conversation to the claim later today as it is your first communication with me, and I think it's important to be transparent.

9:42 AM (received from Alan)
David, you are your worst enemy. I offered for you to leave the car in the program and I would've fixed the small amount of damage to the car. You literally made a molehill into a mountain.
***Leaving my car in your "program" was not an option after this experience. The damage was in no way "small amount," but if it's true that you were willing to fix the damage to the car, then I have removed $5507.32 for paying off the Acura lease, $2500 in Attorney's fees, and the fees paid to PeopleClaim to make this publish. Now my offer is for damage to the interior and exterior as well as the toll violations, the driver's key, and tires that were bald and damaged. If this can be resolved, I'll remove all mentioning of this experience and let it be.***
The relief you need to seek is not with my company, it's with the individual you had rented the car to. Try to keep one thing in mind, we did not charge you a penny for our services. Quite frankly, we did it to try to help you.
***You charged him for your services. I used your service to find a competent driver and act on my behalf to protect the car. The contract states your duties and obligations, including power of attorney, so I won't argue this point unless and until you send copies of the notarized documents.***
I remember you overreacting almost from day one when you had given up the car, thinking that somebody was joyriding the car and you were freaking out.
***Someone was joyriding my car. Up and down the east coast. 23,000 miles in 7 months. The car was cluttered with spilled drinks, mold on the carpeting, food, broken glass, cigarettes, trash, gum, receipts, and a handful of lottery and casino tickets and cards.***

9:42 AM (received from Alan)
From the moment that you would not give him a registration, everything went downhill from that moment
***According to the contract, he was responsible for renewing the registration. He had a POA to do so. He was not paying the lease payments on time and never paid the extensive toll violations. I gave in and still sent the registration. Nothing resolved.***

9:43 AM (received from Alan)
In your complaint you mentioned I did not have a GPS car. That's complete bullsh-t, I can show you the receipt for the installation. How the f-ck do you think I knew where the car was.

9:44 AM (received from Alan)
Anyway, I'll leave you to your own vices. You're barking up the wrong tree, it is not I who should be upset with, and what happened was nothing other than a derivative of the way you acted and conducted yourself.