Beware of austousa PHIL NEWELL (2 Viewers)

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Spidermcglurk

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Mar 17, 2019
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Hi,I am in Australia and this is my first time I have posted on this site,in fact first time on any forum,I'm not even on Facebook.I am posting this as a warning to others about a company that frequents on here,AUSTOUSA or USATOAUS and its owner Lawrence ryan(in the USA) and PHIL and INDIRA NEWELL(based in Australia) My wife and I run a farm over here,we are good people(my wife looks after disabled kids) and we consider ourselves hard working and honest.I am a car enthusiast(particularly early toyota fj40s) I unfortunately first met PHIL a few years ago,when I sold one of my troop carriers on eBay.He told me he was an importer/exporter and asked if I was interested in sending some cars over to the USA to sell and make some money on.To cut a long story short,he shipped 6 cars over in succesion,the first being over 2 years ago and he now owes me somewhere between $20,000-$30,000.To be honest,I am not sure exactly how much,because he has lied about when and how much they have sold for.Some of the members on here may actually be driving around in cars still owned by me,as I know he advertised them on this site for sale,before they landed in the USA.He refuses to answer my phone calls,emails and texts(he took six months to answer one of my texts) Over the last 2 years,I have sent about 30 emails requesting the money owed.I am not the only person complaining about this company,have a look on the Internet,they say the same thing,they go to ground and don't respond.I have also just found out that you cannot take any legal action here in Australia,because it's a USA company and they are not registered here.I have also tried to make contact with LAWRENCE RYAN in the USA.He also refuses to answer any phone calls.He did text and say he was sending me the whole ammount(6 months ago)but the server dropped out and he couldn't do it.He has also made broken promises.Both he and PHIL have admitted they owe me a lot of money,but after trying for more than 2 years to get what's owed to me,I'm more than a bit pissed,in fact,it's been depressing and has completely sapped my love of old cars.To make matters worse,I had a terrible accident and was almost killed.I broke both my feet and badly broke my back and ended up in the Gold Coast hospital in the spinal unit,strapped to a rotating bed.I then spent 8 months wearing a full body cast,learning to walk again.I unfortunately didn't have any insurance and so,couldn't run my farm and had to put all our weekly bills on credit cards.We accumulated huge debt.Phil knew this and still wouldn't pay me what he owed.I can't tell you how much strain our marriage was under.If any of you are thinking of doing business with this company,BE VERY CAREFULL AND DO SOME RESEARCH FIRST.They have no address anywhere on their website,they refuse to give it out and only 1 person answers the phone,so if you have issues like me,you CANNOT contact them.Phil is a good talker,I am sure he will come on here and defend himself,but the facts are,he owes me a lot of money and has for a long time........I don't want anyone else to go through what we have had to.Thanks for listening guys,regards,kelly
 
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@Spidermcglurk

Sad story Kelly, sorry to welcome you on Mud this way,

To fully understand, what was the exact agreement of the deal from the start ?
 
Hey,thanks for the welcome and I also wish it were under other circumstances.The deal was,that we would go halves in the profits of all the cars.We sent 6 of them,the first arrived in April 2017.Two of the cars were my own and out of my own collection in my shed,the first was a 1983 dual cab diesel hilux.Phil put it straight on eBay USA ad it sold for $12,000 straight away.Even though this was my own car,I am a generous person and told him he could still get half of what we got for it.I spent 12 months asking where the money was,before he sent me a few thousand dollars.I am still waiting to be paid the rest for it.There were 4 more sent quickly,a blue 1970 fj45 pickup,a 1970s fj45 troop carrier,a 1970s fj45 Arkana,a 1960s fj45 yellow tow truck and another of my own personal cars,worth the most,a 1981 hj47 style side pickup.The other 4 cars,we went halves in.The 4 cars were sent and sold and I never saw any money.....zip.I must have sent 30 emails in the last 2 years,asking,begging PHIL for money.There was one stretch,where he took 6 months to answer my texts......6 months,he would never answer the phone or my emails.I was quite concerned about my 1981 style side pickup,as it was in my private collection and was worth around $27,000 and I hadn't seen it advertised for over 18 months.After sending many texts asking where the hell my car was,PHIL told me in a text that it was sitting in their warehouse in North Carolina.I decided to call their bluff.I phoned a classic car dealer in North Carolina,organised to put it in their showroom on consignment for $30,000,they gave me their contact for transport and I organised to get it picked up.I texted both PHIL and Lawrence(this is the only way they will both communicate with me)and told them both,that I was flying to the USA and organising to pick up my truck and move it.Suddenly,I receive a text from Lawrence in the USA,that the style side has miraculously sold for around $25,000.......I have never seen this money........PHIL tells me Lawrence sold the car and Lawrence told me PHIL sold the car....confused? I actually believe my pickup sold 18 months ago,when it was last on eBay USA.Lawrence and PHIL have admitted they owe me a lot of money.In his last text,PHIL said he has NEVER received any money from the cars in 2 years,and told me to deal with Lawrence in the USA.Lawrence texted(his only form of communication with me) and said he will pay me what I am owed,although this was at xmas and he tells me that he is waiting on an important person to pay him a huge sum of money and then I will get paid,but as I say,that was 6 months ago,at xmas,when my style side sold for an undisclosed amount of money.Need I say this......do business with these people at your own peril.......
 
Do you have any written contracts with these people? There are laws and attorneys in both countries--use them. Provide your legal team with all the documents and records of communication. Stop begging for your money and start being proactive. You will have to spend money to ever hope to get the return of your vehicles and or money owed you. And don't go around your attorneys and try to privately negotiate with these jerks. It's long time to turn up the heat and use your Big Guns.

Good luck.
 
The biggest mistake I made,was not getting any paperwork.I do have evidence in emails and text messages from them of cars sent and money owed though.The issue legally is a problem though,as I only just found out recently that they have their company registered in the USA,but operate out of Australia.I was told it was near impossible to proceed with legal action because of that.I don't normally get duped like this,but PHIL and his wife INDIRA are both religious and I kinda assumed they were good,honest people.I still can't believe I've ended up in this situation.They still have full page adds in the current classic car magazines now with their company operating,so they are still working and earning money,just not paying me.......
 
Again, until you contact a competent attorney for advice, everything else is just hot air. Ask around about an attorney with international experience. Friends cheat friends every day. And as you know, some of the world's biggest swindlers have hidden behind religious trappings. Go talk to a legal expert.
 
I have talked to a few legal experts.Because of the way USATOAUS have set up their business,an American company,but operating here in Australia,it's not easy to take legal action.Phil can shift any blame to his boss(Lawrence Ryan) in the USA,which is exactly what he has done.After pursuing PHIL here in Australia for 2 years,he has suddenly shifted the Entire blame to the USA.It is VERY costly pursuing internationally,but I hate being ripped off and the main reason I am on this forum,is as a fellow car enthusiast,don't want to see any of you guys getting treated the same way I have.I will not give up,this weeks aim,is to continue my legal options
 
I have no advice to offer that hasn't already been said but I'm extremely sorry to hear about your situation. I hope it gets resolved and thanks for the heads up!
 
If I read this right you shipped the cars overseas without your re-seller paying for them before you loaded them so he could split the profit on something he had no buy in on ??
Dude that's got scam written all over it if you were chasing the big bucks I cant add anything.
 
Yep,same person.I have just had some news on this whole saga,even though it's not the best outcome I was hoping for.The company has finally made contact and admitted they owe me a substantial amount of money,but have spent it and therefore,can't pay me what they owe me.They have said the only option is for them to pay me over a period of 12 months.That will mean,it will have taken them over 3 years to pay me out.......I am by no means happy with this outcome,but at least I will hopefully,finally,get paid what I'm owed.I can only blame myself for not getting paperwork in the first place from them,although that wouldn't 100% have covered me as well.Doing business between countries,has turned out to be very tricky.....
 
Get as much as you can in writing--emails, letters, faxes. Keep very good records of dates, payment amounts. And pray very hard that they follow through. Good luck.
 
Do you have the contact info for Lawrence Ryan? Unfortunately, I need to contact him too.
 
Hi,sorry,I am away atm and just saw your message.The contact number I have been messaging him on from Australia,is 1(503)8043117.Good luck
 
Hi Guys,Yes,my situation has improved in that I have been receiving monthly payments from Lawrence Ryan,although they have required lots of texts and attempted phone calls to him,as they have been late on our agreed date each month to pay.The first 2 monthly payments just went into my bank account on time,then the last 2 were late.Currently he is 5 weeks behind in a payment.Frustrating at best.At least I know they have some honor in paying back what they owe me,otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten anything at all out of them.This is like dragging on a bad relationship,without the fun part.........
 
No,neither of those,although,funnily enough,I am about to sell my fully restored 1983 bj42.After all the financial hardship I’ve been put through,I need to sell a couple of my vintage Toyota’s to pay some bills.This time,I will do it myself.My daughter goes to college in the USA and said she can put it on her eBay US account.This time,at least I will have control of the whole process
 
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