Insurance Auto Auctions "Bait and Switch" Medford, New York, Nationwide

Insurance Auto Auctions is an online service that purchases cars from individuals to be auctioned off.

A fill-in the blank Q&A on their website (www.iaai.com) walks the seller through a check list and provides the seller of a vehicle with a guaranteed price. The seller is asked to set up a pickup date and time to have their car picked up. After arriving the seller is told that Insurance Auto Auctions will pay far less than the stated guarantee. Most sellers are either in need of cash or need to sell the vehicle and are cajoled into selling at a far lesser price than was guaranteed.

While the seller has the option to say no, often financial necessity forces the seller to accept less than 50% of the guaranteed price. The fact remains that Insurance Auto Auctions uses very deceptive tactics to get desperate people to agree to sell a vehicle at a guaranteed price (the bait) and switches prices when couriers arrive to pick up the vehicle.

I submitted a vehicle for sale, and was given a guaranteed price and was given a date and time the vehicle would be picked up. The final price after pushing them was only 40% of their supposed guaranteed price. I was told that the guaranteed price is not really a guarantee. I declined the offer.