Business ProfileforEZ Auto Auction

BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaint. Specifically. consumers allege that the business:

-Fails to deliver titles to vehicles purchased through EZautoauction.com in a reasonable amount of time, or attempts to charge consumers additional fees for title delivery;

-Refuses to issue refunds upon request;

-Becomes hard to reach and fails to respond in a timely manner to consumer requests for refunds.

BBB serving Central Indiana notified the company of this pattern on 08/26/2019. The company has failed to provide BBB with a response. 

Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises consumers to use caution when doing businesses with AIA Direct, Inc., the parent company of two salvage auto-auction websites: EZ Auto Auction and I Bid Safely. The company ostensibly permits consumers to bid on salvage and insurance auto-auctions which are typically restricted to dealers. Consumers allege that the company received payment but never delivered vehicles, failed to issue refunds, held titles hostage, and represented vehicles as available for purchase which were not actually eligible for sale.

BBB complaints on EZ Auto Auction (Indianapolis, IN) and I Bid Safely (Chadds Ford, PA) amount to almost $300,000 in consumer losses. According to consumer complaints, vehicles are rarely delivered and when they are the titles are often withheld until consumers agree to pay additional funds to have them released.

It’s difficult to determine the identity of the individuals behind AIA Direct, Inc. The company is incorporated in Delaware, a state which does not require corporations to publicly disclose officers on charter documents. However, BBB investigators requested the company’s annual franchise tax reports for the years 2017 and 2018 and found a name: Jimel Brown.

The two websites operated by the company, EZAutoAuction.com and IBidSafely.com, maintain no real physical locations. The addresses listed on the websites - 8888 Keystone Crossing Suite 1300, Indianapolis, IN and 225 Wilmington West Chester Pike #202 Chadds Ford, PA, respectively – are virtual offices. However, the company has responded to some BBB complaints with letterheads and documentation identifying themselves as Insurance Auctions, Inc. Utilizing the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine,” BBB investigators found that in 2017 both websites represented themselves as being owned by Insurance Auctions, Inc. Furthermore, in 2017 EZ Auto Auction claimed to be located at 333 SE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL. Both Insurance Auctions, Inc. and this Miami address are associated with Merkurios Alexopoulos, an individual who recently pled guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with Salvage World Auctions, a website that offered services nearly identical to EZ Auto Auction and I Bid Safely.