Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:29/07/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Was given a quote on a motorcycle repair and when the bike was ready to be picked up they wanted $6000.00 more then the original quote. I never agreed to pay anymore then the original quote. There was no communication between the business and myself in regards to extra cost to the repair. I never agreed to pay more then the original quote.

  Business Response

  Date: 23/08/2022

  ***** **** *** ****** *********** *********************
  ***** ******** ****** *** **** ***** **
  *** ***** ******* **********************
  ******** **** ********

   

  Good day *****, 
  

  
  

  My name is ****, ******* mentioned that we should get you some info about the complaint lodged by *** *****, ** ********.

  
  

  I have attached the total invoice for $8313.37 after taxes. plus the original estimate emailed to the customer for $5367.80.  The original estimate was a ballpark estimate sent to *** back on October 25, 2021, after *** verbally authorized us to investigate an engine ticking noise (original diagnosis was October 14 2021, further diagnosed october 19th/20th ,2021). Once **** dug into the sound we found the engine case was damaged, we called the customer and gave him the bad news, it was noted that he had a donor engine/trans combo that we could pillage parts from (engine case and other knick knacks) so we put together the estimate as best we could, using the best of both engines. When the estimate was sent to *** back on October 25th, *** mentioned that he needed some time to think about it, (as it was a big cost for a bike he said he just recently acquired).

  
  

  The initial estimate was for the motor job only, he was informed that further inspection will need to be done. Parts costs had increased since the estimate as well as the scope of the work as we continued to dig further into the damage.

  
  

  The bike then stayed in our storage location (free of charge). We had contacted him and left him some messages to see if we could get the ball rolling on the special order parts, however a deposit was required to order the pistons needed to get the job done. 

  
  

  Fast forward to January 24th, the customer agreed to proceed with the work and placed a $2000.00 deposit to get the special order (back ordered) Harley Davidson HTCC replacement pistons on the way.  The pistons were on national backorder and this really put the bike on the back burner. 

  
  

  In the interim there were a couple phone calls from *** about the status of the parts, however at this time, nothing had been done as we were still waiting on the pistons to arrive. At one point *** picked up a bunch of items from the donor motor, and we went through the pains of waiting on parts. 

  
  

  Pistons arrived on April 24th, the pistons and cylinders, plus the cylinder heads were dropped off at our machinists on the next run out to him in early May, and put in queue.  May 27th is when we were informed that there was damage to the heads that would warrant a full teardown and rebuild (Valve made contact with the other valve causing damage), plus the machinist had surgery in the meantime so that was another setback in the timeline. Tear down happened, and the replacement valve guides were ordered but again they were on backorder, once we knew what we were dealing with we emailed *** with multiple pictures and the bad news on June 10th that the head had damage, we didn't have an updated cost estimate to provide to him. Nor did he ask about the updated cost. However, it was very clear that the scope of work had changed and he understood this

  
  

  
  

  July 13th *** emailed and asked about an update on the bike, And we let him know that the heads were now ready, we had to go collect them and then put the bike back on a bench for full reassembly. 

  
  

  In the interim, there were multiple phone calls from both us to him and him to us, *** was always wondering when he could "ride his bike again" plus there were even visits from myself to ***'s place of work since I have a friendship with the owner of the company.

  
  

  ******* had phoned *** on July 25th noting that the technician noticed that the bike needed the rear drive belt and rear wheel bearings, this had nothing to do with the engine rebuild, however was a safety concern, and was something that would save 3.5 hours in labour if it had to be addressed in the near future. In addition she wanted to update him on where the bike was sitting cost wise now that we were getting closer to the end with the addition of the belt and bearings. *** came in on the 26th, ******* attempted to go through the current invoice, however there were some emotions involved, so at this time we gave *** the option to continue or we would be more than accommodating to halt final assembly, box up the parts and bike so he could get some time to make some decisions. At this time he asked to put it on hold for a bit since he needed some time to think about the job, final estimate etc...

  
  

  In consideration of the shock to *** about the ****, **** took a good look at the **** after *** left and decided to discount the labour to $90.00/hour on any time into the bike prior to April, and $99.00/hour for any time after April. Plus discounted some of the higher ticketed parts. *** needed a couple more days to think about this.

  
  

  On July 28th, we received an email from ****** ***** requesting all communications about where/when *** had Authorized any more money then the original Authorization. (See the screenshots below). 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  *** had then called back nearly a week later. He spoke to *******, she gave him a total of where the **** was at. She also was very clear in explaining that there were going to be additional charges as the job comes to a finish with break in oil changes, and final miscellaneous items. With a very forward and understanding conversation, *** agreed to finish the job, fully understanding the extra charges involved, including the first couple break in oil changes. (The Final 3 oil changes were left to *** to perform on his own with very clear instructions)
  

  
  

  The motorcycle was reassembled, test ridden, 2 oil changes were done as with any rebuild performed. The motorcycle was picked up on Saturday August 13th.

  
  

  
  

  Additional costs not on the Original Estimate as the scope of work had changed as issues arrose with more teardown and thorough inspection... 
  

  
  

  -Cylinder head rebuild (as it was discovered after the customer approved the work and we continued to dis-assemble the engine further in preparation for the rebuild) *** was made aware but no definitive costs given         $1765.00

  
  

  -2 oil changes performed, oil filters cut apart and inspected for metal shavings, this process is part of every rebuild and not included in the rebuild price as they are usually done on separate invoices as the bike is getting ridden/broken in by the customer. But in this case, we wanted to be the ones to do the initial break in miles due to the Harley Davidson HTCC engine being a bit of a high strung engine setup.   *** authorized this over the phone                     

   $344.26   

  **However *** did not Authorize the 3 final oil changes as he noted he was going to tackle that himself.                                           

  
  

  -Prepping, painting and baking the provided engine (the original engine was a black case, and the donor was Blonde case, so we had to wrinkle coat the case and cylinders black to match the bike) *** approved this person with ****        

  $183.65                                                                                              

  
  

  -Replacement of the rear wheel bearings and drive belt, due to damage noted while the motorcycle was dis-assembled, this was discussed over the phone with *** during the reassembly of the motorcycle.

   *** Authorized this over the phone after originally declining. but the cost to do these items after the reassembly were substantially more due to additional labour to disassemble the rear end to install the belt.                          $373.18

    

  
  

  Quick personal note, not that this should have an effect on the outcome, but since I know ***'s Boss personally, that makes him a friend of a friend, we were trying to help him out, gave him an incredible shop rate under $100 per hour where our normal rate is $118 per hour, we even hooked him up with an even better price since we felt for him and the situation his "New to him" motorcycle was putting him through. I will be the first to admit that *** did not get updates as often as he should have, mostly due to the long periods of waiting between events, From inspection/estimate, to the go ahead, to the parts arriving, to the machining taking longer than normal. 
  

  
  

  I even sat at his desk on the Friday before he and his son picked his bike up and we had some laughs about how Harley's are the worst habit to have and not once did he mention that he was unhappy. I did look into Sherry's post on facebook and noticed that the motorcycle was up for sale a week before they picked it up.

  
  

  When *** and his son came to pick up the bike on Saturday, August 13th. **** went through the build with both of them and explained the importance of the next 3 oil changes. The conversation was easy going and there was excitement to get the bike back. There was a discussion between *** and his son about who was paying what portion of the ****, however *** also mentioned that he already had the bike sold, and did well with the sale. There were no signs of an unhappy customer at this time.

  
  

  
  

  We truly pride ourselves in the work that we do here, and in no way shape or form are we here to have blindsided the customer with extra charges. What needed to happen to get the bike riding was what *** was ****ed for, with discounted labour, and some of the higher ticketed parts. We appreciate your time and consideration with our side of the story, and hope this resolves what needs to be resolved. 
  

  
  

  Thank you for your time,

  ****, ******* & ****

  ***** ******** ******
  

  UGLY but HONEST 

             Motorcycles

             200 1st Ave East
  

             Spruce Grove, AB

             T7X 3A8

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 23/08/2022

  ********** ********
  
  

  
  I am rejecting this response because: Their story is completely fabricated.  I have attached the document which clearly shows it's a "QUOTE".

  There was never an agreement in writing nor verbal to pay anymore then the Quoted amount, and if so, they have failed to provide it.

  Unfortunately the *** is not the route to continue at this time. I have contacted legal representation on this matter going forward.

  Regards,

  *** *****

   

  What Is a Quotation?
  A quotation will be given by a business to a customer. 
  It is a fixed price offer that neither party can then change after it is agreed. It results from a detailed inspection of the work required and accounting for the cost of both labor and materials. 

  
  
  

   

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  *** *****