RALEIGH -- North Carolina off-road vehicle seller can no longer do business in the state after collecting more than $400,000 in payments and deposits and failing to deliver vehicles as promised, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced.

“We expect North Carolina businesses to do right by consumers and follow the law,” Cooper said in a press release.  “When consumers aren’t getting what they’ve paid for, my office will work to make it right.”

Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins signed off on Cooper’s to permanently bar Barry T. Moose, Jr. of Statesville and his company, Mooser Moto, LLC, from advertising, selling or collecting payments for any products or services in North Carolina.  The order also requires that Moose and his company, which did business as Riders Wholesale, pay $438,022.06 in consumer refunds. 

Cooper’s office will work to recover as much of the money for consumers as possible.

Cooper’s office first filed suit against Riders Wholesale in August 2014 after hearing from consumers that the company collected money upfront—either the full purchase price or a substantial deposit for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles (UTVs), scooters, go-carts and mopeds sold online.  Consumers were often asked to pay by check or wire funds directly from their bank account but Riders Wholesale routinely failed to deliver the vehicles they paid for and when asked refused to provide refunds.  In other cases, consumers received vehicles that were damaged or in bad shape.

Approximately 140 consumers filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division about Riders Wholesale, including a physically disabled man in Kansas who paid the company $5,524.15 for a vehicle that he planned to use to get around his property.  Months went by and no vehicle arrived, so the consumer complained to both the Kansas and North Carolina Attorneys General.  Riders Wholesale sent him a refund of $1,000 but has yet to either deliver what he ordered or repay him in full.

Cooper encourages consumers to thoroughly check out a company before making large purchases, especially online. 

“Think twice before paying a large upfront deposit for an item you can only see online,” Cooper said.  “If you must pay upfront, consider paying by credit card so your chances of getting your money back are greater.”