PSA: I Signed a Contract With Applewood Motors' General Manager, Built Them a Team, and Was Left With $33,793 Unpaid. Here Is My Warning to Anyone Thinking of Working There.
In this first-person PSA, Justin Plosz says he negotiated and signed a services contract with Alexander Peterson, General Manager of Applewood Motors Auto Group in British Columbia, in September 2019. He was paid for September and October — then, he says, the deposits stopped. When he pressed for payment, he recounts that VP of Sales Brent Sayles declared the contract void because his own signature wasn't on it, even after the same GM signed a second settlement document. Justin says he holds recorded phone calls, bank statements, and video evidence, and calculates $33,793.55 remains unpaid. These allegations are his account and have not been tested in court.
August 17, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · British Columbia · Business · 9 min read read
Editor's Note
The following is a first-person account written by Justin Plosz describing his experience with Applewood Motors Auto Group in British Columbia between August 2019 and February 2020. All statements, dollar figures, dates, and characterizations in this article are Mr. Plosz's own claims, based on records he says he holds — including bank statements, recorded phone calls, and video — and they have not been independently verified by Public Relations Canada or tested in court. Mr. Plosz says a file has been started with the Employment Standards Branch. Applewood Motors Auto Group, Alexander Peterson, Brent Sayles, and Darren Graham are invited to respond, and this article will be updated to include any response received. This account was originally published on Mr. Plosz's own website and is re-published here at his request.
The Contract: Seven Meetings, a Signed Deal, and a Desk Next to the Owner's Office
In August 2019 I began negotiating a services contract with Alexander Peterson, the General Manager of Applewood Motors, who represented himself as having the power to make the deal. Negotiations started in a meeting on Monday, August 12, 2019, and continued through six more separate meetings over the terms and conditions. On September 4, 2019, we reached an agreement and the contract was drawn up and signed in Alex's office at the Original Applewood Motors store.
Everything about the situation looked legitimate. Alex's desk sits right next door to the office of Darren Graham, the owner of the entire Applewood Motors franchise. When the General Manager of a dealership group signs a contract in his own office, steps away from the owner's door, a reasonable person believes that contract is real. I did.
The magnitude of this contract had me working exclusively with Applewood Motors. It became my only source of income, and it drew on the resources and relationships I had built over 13 years in the auto industry. I brought a full team with me — a finance director, salespeople I scouted, people I moved from Edmonton and housed in my own home so they could take the job.
Payment History: Two Months of Deposits, Then Silence in November
For the first two months, Applewood paid. I received four direct deposits into my account for my services:
• $2,000.00 — September advance, deposited Monday, September 30, 2019
• $6,289.78 — September pay, deposited Tuesday, October 15, 2019
• $2,000.00 — October advance, deposited Thursday, October 31, 2019
• $6,525.22 — October pay, deposited Friday, November 15, 2019
Then November's money never came. I called the dealership and asked for the CFO, and was told he couldn't talk to me about it — talk to Alexander Peterson. Alex told me he would fix it. He said he'd send me money from his own account until the error was resolved, and he did: $2,000 by email transfer on December 3, 2019, $2,900 on December 16, and $500 on December 31 — $5,400 total, paid personally by the General Manager while the business paid nothing.
The problem was only fully laid bare on Monday, January 6, 2020, in a face-to-face meeting with Alex at the Original Applewood Motors location. That day I picked up the red customer-satisfaction phone in the showroom, reached Glen, and was redirected to Brent Sayles, the Vice President of Sales and Operations. I have over 18 minutes of recorded phone conversations with Alex and bank statements documenting every figure above.
The Dispute: 'His Signature Isn't on It' — Then the Same GM Signs a Second Document
On the morning of Wednesday, January 8, 2020, I sent an offer directly to Brent Sayles' cell phone: close the account, renegotiate the contract, and let me keep my team at the store. The offer expired at the end of the business day.
Sayles called me back later that day. His answer: because his signature was not on the document and he knew nothing about it, Applewood was not going to honour the contract any longer. He said Alex Peterson did not have signing authority for the dealership, so the contract was null and void.
Then came the part that made no sense. Around 6:00 pm the next evening — January 9, 2020 — Alexander Peterson told me to come down to the dealership to receive payment for my services. Without money for rent, I felt I had no choice but to go. When I arrived, I was presented with an offer of $5,000 and asked to sign another contract, titled 'Full, Final and Absolute Release,' to get the money. On page 2 of that document, the person signing off at the bottom of a legally binding document on behalf of Applewood — for the second time — was Alexander Peterson. The same man the VP of Sales had just claimed had no signing authority. That didn't seem right to me, so I took the document and contacted a lawyer. I have an 8-plus-minute video recording of that settlement negotiation.
The Unpaid Balance: $33,793.55 as of February 15, 2020
Here is the itemized statement of what Applewood left unpaid between November 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020:
• November salary: $7,500
• November commission (2.5% true net profit): $5,000+
• December salary: $7,500
• December commission (2.5% true net profit): $5,000+
• January salary: $7,500 ($241.94 per day)
• January commission (2.5% true net profit): $5,000+
• February salary to Feb 15 ($258.62 per day): $3,879.31
• February commission: $2,500
That comes to $26,379.31 in outstanding salary and an estimated $17,500+ in outstanding commission — $39,193.55 earned and unpaid. Subtracting the $5,400 Alexander Peterson sent personally by email transfer leaves an unpaid grand total of $33,793.55 to close the contract as of February 15, 2020.
On top of the unpaid balance itself, I endured the cost of late fees, interest, NSF charges, travelling expenses, and lost opportunity. Because the contract had me working exclusively for Applewood, losing it meant losing my only source of income — and unwinding 13 years of work building a stable team and reputation in the auto industry.
The Team: The People I Hired, Applewood Kept
Part of what I brought to Applewood was a team — people I recruited, moved, and in some cases housed personally so they could work at the store:
• Justin Stener — team lead and finance director, involved in the corporate agreement
• Rishi V. — moved from Edmonton; I provided him a home rent-free for three months so he could take the job
• Ashley T. — scouted from another team
• Altaf E. — scouted
• Roman J. — brought over from Edmonton; lived with me for three months
• Trevor V. — brought over from a previous contract
• Matt T. — brought over from a previous contract
That team produced an average net profit of $100,000 to $200,000 per month for the store. Both Alexander Peterson and Brent Sayles told me the dealership refuses to pay the full amount I am owed, has not asked to renegotiate the contract, and plans on keeping the employees I hired to work at the dealership. They kept the team. They kept the profit the team generates. They did not pay the person who built it.
Warning to Workers: Verify Signing Authority Before You Sign Anything
I put this out there to help people not make the same mistake I did. If you are a job-seeker, contractor, or manager considering a deal with any dealership — Applewood or anyone else — here is what my experience taught me:
Do not assume a title equals authority. A General Manager whose desk sits next to the owner's office signed my contract, and the company later claimed he had no power to do so. Before you sign, ask in writing who holds signing authority for the corporate entity, and get the contract executed by that person — or get written confirmation that your signatory is authorized.
Keep records of everything from day one. The only reason I can tell this story with dates and dollar figures is that I kept bank statements, recorded calls where legal, and documented every meeting. When the money stopped, my records were the only thing standing between my account of events and theirs.
Act fast when a payment is missed. I accepted personal e-transfers and verbal assurances for two months while the debt grew. A missed payroll deposit from a business is a red flag, not an administrative hiccup. A file has been started with Employment Standards, and I will be updating this story as time goes on.
Key takeaways
- Justin Plosz says he signed a services contract with Applewood Motors General Manager Alexander Peterson on September 4, 2019, after seven meetings of negotiation.
- According to his records, Applewood paid for September and October 2019, then payments stopped in November — with the GM personally e-transferring $5,400 while the business paid nothing.
- Justin says VP of Sales Brent Sayles declared the contract null and void on January 8, 2020, claiming Peterson lacked signing authority — yet, in Justin's account, Peterson signed a second settlement document the very next day.
- By Justin's calculation, $33,793.55 in salary and commission remained unpaid as of February 15, 2020.
- Justin says he holds recorded phone calls, bank statements, and video evidence of the settlement negotiation, and that a file has been opened with Employment Standards in BC.
- His warning to all workers and contractors: verify in writing who actually holds signing authority before signing any agreement with a dealership.
- These allegations are Justin Plosz's first-person account; they have not been independently verified or tested in court, and the named parties are invited to respond.
Frequently asked questions
- Who does Justin Plosz say signed the contract?
- According to Justin's account, Alexander Peterson, the General Manager of Applewood Motors, negotiated the deal across seven meetings beginning August 12, 2019, and signed the contract in his office at the Original Applewood Motors store on September 4, 2019. Justin says Peterson represented himself as having the power to do so, and that his desk sits next door to the office of owner Darren Graham.
- How much does Justin Plosz say he is owed?
- By Justin's calculation, the unpaid total as of February 15, 2020 was $33,793.55 — $26,379.31 in outstanding salary plus an estimated $17,500+ in outstanding commission ($39,193.55 total, by his account), less $5,400 he says Alexander Peterson sent personally by email transfer. This figure is Justin's claim and has not been determined by a court or tribunal.
- Was a settlement offered?
- According to Justin, yes. He says that on the evening of January 9, 2020 he was called to the dealership and offered $5,000 on the condition he sign a document titled 'Full, Final and Absolute Release' — and that the person signing that release on Applewood's behalf was Alexander Peterson, the same GM the company had just said had no signing authority. Justin says he declined, took the document, and contacted a lawyer.
- What evidence does Justin Plosz say he has?
- Justin says he holds over 18 minutes of recorded phone conversations with Alexander Peterson, bank statements documenting the deposits and missed payments, and an 8-plus-minute video recording of the January 9, 2020 settlement negotiation, along with the signed contract and the proposed release document. This evidence has not been independently reviewed by Public Relations Canada.
- Was this reported to Employment Standards?
- Justin says a file has been started with the Employment Standards Branch in British Columbia, and that he will update this account as the matter progresses.
- What should contractors verify before signing with a dealership?
- Confirm in writing who holds signing authority for the corporate entity and have the contract executed by that person — or obtain written confirmation that your signatory is authorized. Keep bank statements and records of every meeting from day one, and treat any missed payment as a serious red flag requiring immediate written follow-up, not verbal assurances.
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