On March 16th, 2011, I was contacted by phone and text by Steve Raso for an offer to purchase his eBay listed car which I had bid on but did not won. The bid had expired not meeting minimum on eBay. I agreed with Steve Raso to purchase teh car. I applied for a bank loan at Suntrust Bank and Bank of America. Meanwhile, Steve Raso asked for a $1500 refundable deposit pending loan approval. I attempted to give steve the deposit through eBay Paypal, but he indicated that he did not use it. I discovered that it was a lie to collect the money where he thought he would not be held accountable to eBay. I found out that all of his transactions on eBay including all of his current listings require a PayPal account and much smaller deposit. I should have never fallen for his trick to give him money outside of eBay Paypal, but unfortunately I did.

I tried to protect myself by securing a written agreement with Steve that if my loan was not approved, that my deposit was totally and unconditionally refundable. I also specified on the bank check memo section that this is a deposit pending loan approval. In every conversation I had with Steve, he assured me that if my loan was not approved, he would happily return my deposit.
Few days later, I learned from both Suntrust and Bank of America loan payments can be made only to franchise dealers, and Steve Raso doing business as Motorcars LTD and MGGD on eBay is not a franchise dealer. I tried several other banks for loans, but they had similar conditions or did not do business outside of NC. I immediately contacted Steve, and requested my deposit, but he disappeared and stopped taking my calls. Prior to getting the deposit, Steve would call me or text me several times a day. I made several attempts via certified mail, email, letters from my attorney and at least a dozen phone calls asking for my deposit, but he never responded and to this date he continues to hold my $1500.00
Looking back at this transaction now, I realize that Steve did not have good intentions in this transaction. he used his used sales-car tactic so that I can drop my gaurd and give him the $1500 large deposit. He asked for and collected a large deposit; most deposits on eBay range from $200 to highest at $500.00. He used his salesman skills to force me into a scenario where he demanded large amount of money quickly calling me every day to box me into the deal that I could lose if I did not give him the money right away. I started doing business with Motorcars ltd, and then was asked to make the check to “MGGD”. He used several addresses through this transaction; which I have listed above; certainly an indicator of someone who is trying to hide his tracks. He continues as you would easily be able to see to sell cars, and will do this to other consumers if not stopped.
I would like for my $1500 refundable deposit to be returned immediately. It is very unlikely that this is a first time event, it seems like he has a system for requesting and keeping consumers deposit. I also respectfully request DMV to please review his record, deprive him of the opportunity to prey on other non-suspecting consumers who might just not even fight to get their deposit back. His license should be revoked if he has done this to other people.

Before doing business with Steve Raso at "motocarsltd", be very careful.