Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:28/08/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  I had car trouble on August 11, 2023.
  
  The issue with my vehicle was that the oil light came on and once I pulled over, I discovered the oil was leaking. I was driving home from Moncton when this happened, so I pulled off the highway about 45 minutes from Fredericton and called Allstate’s roadside assistance service.
  
  The mechanic they referred me to was:
  
  *******’s Garage
  5******** ****** **** ***** ** *** *** ****** **** ******* **** ************
  
  The representative I spoke with at roadside assistance asked me to call the mechanic before they sent a tow truck to ensure that they were available to repair my vehicle.
  
  I did call *******’s and spoke with a gentleman named ****. He told me he could take the vehicle in, however it would take hours for a tow truck, so he encouraged me to just drive my vehicle to the garage since it was only 14 km down the **** from where I had brown down.
  
  At this point, I had also spoken to my brothers who both told me not to drive it without oil because that could seize the engine. When I told **** about this and that I wasn’t comfortable driving it, I asked if he might have somebody at the garage who could come have a quick look at it and tell me if it was in good shape to drive. If it was, I would follow his employee back to the garage. **** said someone was available and sent them to where I was.
  
  A gentleman by the name of ***** showed up where I was parked. I asked him if he was a mechanic, and he said he was. He poured some oil into the engine, and looked under it. Sure enough, it was leaking through the bottom. He agreed with me that it was not safe to drive, and told me to wait for it to be towed. He looked under the car and determined that there was a pinhole in the oil line, but assured me that it was an easy fix.
  
  I spoke to **** a few more times that day to give him an ETA of when I would be arriving and to ensure that he would still have time to repair the vehicle before their closing time. It was going to be a few hours before I could get there since the tow truck was busy with another customer, and they were coming from Moncton.
  
  Once I arrived at the garage, after having being towed a few hours later, Anderson’s proceeded to repair my vehicle without telling me that they did not have the correct part.
  
  Instead, they completed a repair using the wrong part. When they were done, they backed my vehicle out of their garage bay, and then proceeded to tell me that they didn’t have the necessary part, so instead, they cut off a piece of hose from a heater elbow.
  
  I asked ****, the person I had been speaking to over the phone throughout the day and the same person who told me what they did, if this was a temporary fix, and he assured me that it was fine, and it would hold.
  
  I drove the car for a total of one hour when the oil light came on again, and upon pulling over and checking, the oil was gushing out.
  
  I had to leave the vehicle where it was and the following morning, I accessed roadside service again, and had it towed to my local mechanic, **** *******, at D & M garage on the ****** **** in Fredericton.
  
  I explained to **** what I had experienced, and after looking at the work that was done, he pointed out that the repair *******’s did was inadequate and that incorrect parts where used that could not withstand the need. He further explained that the rubber heating hose is meant for cooling fluids, and that oil is not meant to go through this because it’s hot, and naturally, it would rip open.
  
  While D&M was working on my vehicle, they took a few pictures and shared them with me later on. The first picture is the work that Andamson’s garage completed, where you can see that they added the rubber cooling hose, and the second picture is the work that D&M did where they actually installed the proper oil line kit, which is made of chrome.
  
  As a side note, I have been servicing my vehicle at D & M for about 10 years. **** said that if anyone wished to call him and ask questions, he would be happy to help if he can. His number is 506-452-8121.
  
  I also called **** *******, the owner of *******’s Garage to discuss what happened and ask if he would issue a refund.
  
  I tried to explain that the people working at the garage that day knew that they did not have the correct part and they should have told me this. He said that was true, but that his “boys” had gotten me back on the road, and that I should just be happy about that.
  
  As I tried to talk to Gary, my experience was that he continued to talk over me, told me repeatedly that he wasn’t obligated to do anything for me, laughed at me, mocked me, and hung up on me after I told him that I had been speaking with my insurance provider AllState earlier that day.
  
  Needless to say, the experience was extremely unpleasant, and I am not satisfied with the service or the repair that they did. I believe they should have told me upfront that they didn’t have the part, and they never should’ve installed a part that wouldn’t hold to begin with. I could have potentially sustained major damage by driving after they installed this part. Had they been honest, I could’ve easily made other arrangements with a different mechanic if I had been given this information. Also, I believe that a reputable mechanic would guarantee their work.
  
  Also, *******’s would only take cash and would not issue a receipt. I only found this out after the work was completed. I sent them an e-transfer for $249.99. I’m attaching a copy of the transaction record.
  
  I am seeking for a full refund from *******’s plus the additional labour time that D & M performed to remove the faulty part.
  
  Thank you,
  
  J******* ******* ***** ********