Christopher Schwartz from iSeeCars Limited in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
Christopher Schwartz from iSeeCars Limited in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
A “surreal” dispute with a car dealer has ended with a couple being sent pictures of a faeces-splattered toilet and car seat after they took him to a tribunal to get a refund on a car they financed, but was never delivered to them.
“Please see attached paid in full. Have a fantastic great day, I split it in two payment parts,” the email from Christopher Schwartz from iSeeCars Limited read to his customers.
But instead of a long-awaited refund, Johannes and Chizelle Cilliers found two explicit pictures of what appears to be human excrement sent from the car dealer.
The offending email was sent to the couple after they took Schwartz to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal to get a refund on $15,000 they financed for a car from his dealership, but never received.
Johannes and Chizelle Cilliers never even got to drive the hybrid Nissan Skyline as a fault was discovered with the vehicle before it could be shipped to them. After nearly a month, the car still hadn’t arrived and the Cilliers applied three times to reject the car and get a refund.
Schwartz continually refused to refund the Cilliers before the Nissan dealership confirmed in September that the car couldn’t be fixed.
Schwartz then wrote to the company that sold him the vehicle, Autofleet Capital Limited, and told them he’d refunded the Cilliers their $15,000. Autofleet Capital then refunded Schwartz $15,000.
Christopher Schwartz from iSeeCars Limited in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
Essentially, Schwartz just pocketed the funds that were meant to be refunded to the Cilliers, according to a recently released ruling from the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal.
The tribunal held a hearing in October where Schwartz claimed he was out of the country, that he had IT issues and couldn’t connect remotely and was looking at putting his company into liquidation.
At that hearing a representative from Autofleet Capital, the original supplier of the vehicle, had registered a security interest on the car after the company found out Schwartz had kept the refunded money which should have been paid to the Cilliers.
While Autofleet is still working to repair the vehicle, essentially both it and the Cilliers are its registered owners.
Tribunal adjudicator Shaurya Malaviya said the car was sold with substantial faults and then never delivered.
“Mr Schwartz had received $15,000 from Autofleet Capital Limited to refund Mr Cilliers for the vehicle. Instead of refunding the money he made a decision to retain the funds for his own use,” Maruviya said.
“He has also threatened to liquidate the company in what seems like an attempt to avoid his obligations to Mr Cilliers.
The Cilliers received two photos of faeces by email from Schwartz after taking him to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. Photo / Supplied
“I find his actions improper and well below the standard expected from registered motor vehicle dealers.”
Maruviya said that following the hearing Schwartz had sent his former customers an email with two attachments containing “highly objectionable content”.
“I am unsure as to what prompted such an action from Mr Schwartz, but this, in my mind, certainly raises questions about his suitability to be a motor vehicle trader,” she said, and referred the matter to MBIE and the Commerce Commission.
Malaviya said Cilliers was entitled to reject the vehicle and receive a refund and she vested the debt owed on the car into iSeeCars’ name.
However, Schwartz told the tribunal that he was looking at liquidating his company, and as an unsecured creditor, Cilliers was unlikely to get his money back.
The hearing went ahead on October 10 on the basis that the business was still operating, but on November 14 a receiver was appointed and noted that iSeeCars owed creditors over $30,000.
Schwartz has also surrendered his motor vehicle trading licence effective as of November 9.
However, in July this year Schwartz opened a new company, iSeeCars Holdings Limited which is registered to the same address as the liquidated business of the same name.
Following the conclusion of the hearing Schwartz sent the Cilliers an email stating; “Please see attached in full.” But instead of an invoice, it was two explicit pictures of excrement.
The photos Schwartz sent to his customers prompted the tribunal adjudicator to refer him to MBIE and the Commerce Commission. Photo / Supplied
He told NZME in a statement that the pictures were a “terrible prank amongst staff that should never have happened to a customer”.
“I did try to recall all emails sent however was unable to do so,” he said.
“I fully regret the actions regarding this, I and my previous company are deeply remorseful and fully regret any and all of these actions.”
Despite appealing the decision after it was released, Schwartz said his position had now changed and he intended to repay the money.
The Cilliers told NZME that despite the ruling they’re still not entirely sure where they stand. They’re still registered as the owners of the car and still technically have money owing on it.
“Who can you trust? We don’t know how this situation will affect our credit score, and whether we’ll even be able to finance another car in the future,” Chizelle Cillier said.
“Instead he essentially took our money and then sent us pictures of poo. Who does that?”
The Cilliers described the situation as “surreal” and said they are now wary of dealing with another trader and have instead kept their old car, fixing it up instead of taking a punt on another used car.
“Really, we just don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
