Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/26/2023

  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.

  12-21-23 held vehicle over 3 wks for a radio no audio, found blown breakers & antenna wire off. charged excessively for entire fuse box/fuses without ever ID of cause of electrical fault. further found a brake line leak (prior owner had patched with ** **** at fitting which held up 14 mos 'til slow leak began--replaced both rear main hard lines rather than replacing the leaking fitting--a difference of $140 hr shop rate for 1 hr diag/repair/fix double flared connector unit versus what he ultimately charged at approx $1500 tearing out both lines due to potential of a future problem, plus the additional amount of the original $334 audio excessive repair charge, still incomplete. leveraged charges against release of car after 3wks--total misrepresentations of what he would authoritatively do & not what the customer suggested as viable. he stated his way was only legal way without any other option, unquestionably incorrect, ethically or legally, on which he hung his entire presentation/argument, then holding us hostage to his methodology 3 wks later. first day ultimatum tear down of brake lines, no other work 'til put back together on last day, 12-21-23. owner forced full statement payment for release of vehicle, a claim now under financial & legal claim protests. my opinion of egregious wrongdoing work & pricing. if mutually rectified, i will honor reasonable payment for EARNED product/service, not a greedy last min pre-Christmas ripoff of that with was absolutely not without legal alternative solutions. there were several low cost, yet, once i gleaned what might be going on, he stated he'd already pulled the lines before my return call on that first day & no further progress on incomplete work for 3wks. the invoice pricing does match what he did, but was well advised not what was desired to meet customer expectations, proprietor CHARGING ahead without due regard diligence, highly authoritatively! Buyers beware leveraging to place customer in untenable scenario!

  Business Response

  Date: 12/28/2023

  On 11-29-23 Mr ********* brought is vehicle in to my repair facility to figure out why is radio was not playing any sound. We looked at it that day and found that the audio amplifier was not getting any power due to a melted fuse box. Which is common on these cars. Told Mr ********* the cause and a price of $334 for parts and labor to correct problem. He agreed with the price and we ordered the part. On 12/01/23 the part arrived and was installed into the car to find there was now sound from the cd player but not the radio. Called Mr ********* to explain what was going on and that there maybe an antenna problem. He had us order an aftermarket antenna and he also wanted us to look into why his brake pedal was soft. We got back with him later that day and explained that the two rear braked lines were rusted though and that someone at some point tried to use ** **** to correct. I explained the only way that we would be able to fix the brake lines was to replace both rear sections of the brake lines due to multiple rust spots along the lines. Mr ********* tried to persuade me into only using a brass coupler to correct the leak but I told him I could not due to lability if it failed. We also told for the brake line repair it would be an additional $1000-1500 and the brake lines would need to be bent at a different location with the correct equipment and could take two weeks for them to do them. At first he declined the repair and then called back later that day and approved the repair. Mr ********* also wanted us to remove a broken left front wheel speed sensor which he already had the part. He brought that part to me later that day. I ordered the brake lines from the dealer and received them on 12/05/23. On 12/06/23 I dropped off the old brake lines and new ones to get bent at the other shop. On 12/20/23 we received the lines back and started installing on vehicle. We finished the lines on the car on 12/21/23. We charged $978 for parts and labor and the other shop charged $200 to bend them. We also had to drill the wheel speed sensor out of the left front hub due to it being stuck in there and someone else previously broke off.  We charged $216 for that repair. When we were going to install the aftermarket antenna we found that the antenna wire was just unplugged and the radio stations worked fine. We did not charge him for that. The total bill was $1747.32. When Mr ********* came to pick up his vehicle on 12/21/23 and I gave him the total which was less then we told him it might be he was in shock. He thought his total bill would have been only $1500 total. I explained that was only for the brake lines and he agreed to pay. When we tried to pay with his credit card it was declined due to insufficient funds. We tried again for a lesser amount $999.00 and that went through. We tried the remaining balance and it was declined again. Mr ********* then called his credit card company to see what the problem was to find out it only had a $1500 dollar limit and only $347 was available. He tried to get a credit increase and was denied. We ran the $347 on the card and he wrote a check for the $401.32. Tried to run it though tele check to find it was also declined with them. At this point he was in my office for 1 1/2 hours and it was closing time. I took the check on good faith and he thanked me for the service and would reschedule for a door latch issue that he was having. On Tuesday 12/26/23 received a call from BBB telling me of the complaint. On 12/28/23 received notice from my bank the the check he wrote had a stop payment.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/29/2023

  what invalidates the work paid invoice which was forced, later disputed, was all based on not work done as claimed, rather, that the claim was made that his was was the only LEGAL way the repair could be done.  that assertion was found to be false, but too late to halt work he stated he'd already broken down, immediately upon his false assertion of LEGAL to me.  i was sold on the assertion that there was damage in areas that my suggestions for repair would not work, per his insinuations, later found to be absolutely false upon cursory investigation.  later, numerous parts/labor apps per amazon, ebay,, part houses & ebay completely support my position in this complaint--hundreds of competitive findings.  proprietor demanded his LEGAL way only was totally misleading, false & incorrect manipulation, easily defended by one knowledgeable to him but not the general public.  only he knows what he did & why he chose to do it in this instance.  he called me to demand payment & threaten legal action, not knowing it had already been filed with the Dorchester Co Magistrate.  to reiterate, he is a knowledgeable, experienced owner who knew he could generate a $1750 job vice $550 repair.  i took the car in for a stereo repair, charged $334 prior to the add-on brake line dispute for another $1400, held car for 3 wks, then last minute release 6pm thur night, before his last operations day, fri, Christmas Eve, Eve (closed afterwards).  wanted & demanded full pmy only or would not release car, or could address it afterwards like this in civil dispute.  i live 35 miles away & he was recommended over a close local, so i trusted him.  the bulk of my claim is the brake line fitting leak that he totally misrepresented to sell at an egregious profit increase.  additionally, the perfection he stated he wanted on the sound system was poor due diligence as 3 of the 6 door & rear speaker still do not work after he stated it all worked & an added antenna wasn't required because its wire to the power unit was disconnected.  from ABS to front & rear calipers there are approx 5 sections of hard & soft high pressure lines on each side.  he removed/rebult the easiest long middle 2 sections, rather than repair of the leaking fitting, appropriate & LEGAL.  he will now fight his rear off th disguise his false misleadings, now, to try to validate what he's done, regardless of whether he ever has our business or not.  that might have had great potential, but never again!  rlc

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/02/2024

  
  I am rejecting this response because: what invalidates the work paid invoice which was forced, later disputed, was all based on not work done as claimed, rather, that the claim was made that his was was the only LEGAL way the repair could be done.  that assertion was found to be false, but too late to halt work he stated he'd already broken down, immediately upon his false assertion of LEGAL to me.  i was sold on the assertion that there was damage in areas that my suggestions for repair would not work, per his insinuations, later found to be absolutely false upon cursory investigation.  later, numerous parts/labor apps per ******, ****,, part houses & **** completely support my position in this complaint--hundreds of competitive findings.  proprietor demanded his LEGAL way only was totally misleading, false & incorrect manipulation, easily defended by one knowledgeable to him but not the general public.  only he knows what he did & why he chose to do it in this instance.  he called me to demand payment & threaten legal action, not knowing it had already been filed with the ********** Co Magistrate.  to reiterate, he is a knowledgeable, experienced owner who knew he could generate a $1750 job vice $550 repair.  i took the car in for a stereo repair, charged $334 prior to the add-on brake line dispute for another $1400, held car for 3 wks, then last minute release 6pm thur night, before his last operations day, fri, Christmas Eve, Eve (closed afterwards).  wanted & demanded full pmy only or would not release car, or could address it afterwards like this in civil dispute.  i live 35 miles away & he was recommended over a close local, so i trusted him.  the bulk of my claim is the brake line fitting leak that he totally misrepresented to sell at an egregious profit increase.  additionally, the perfection he stated he wanted on the sound system was poor due diligence as 3 of the 6 door & rear speaker still do not work after he stated it all worked & an added antenna wasn't required because its wire to the power unit was disconnected.  from ABS to front & rear calipers there are approx 5 sections of hard & soft high pressure lines on each side.  he removed/rebult the easiest long middle 2 sections, rather than repair of the leaking fitting, appropriate & LEGAL.  he will now fight his rear off th disguise his false misleadings, now, to try to validate what he's done, regardless of whether he ever has our business or not.  that might have had great potential, but never again!  ***
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** *********

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2024

  I stand behind my initial response.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/22/2024

  I stood by my original filing, i believe Jan 13, still disputing Allstar reply, 180 degrees out from my complaint.  the party of my complaint has years of highly qualified experience, mechanically an ASE certified technician under franchise employment & independent owner/operator, LLC for the past 12yrs, most respectably to my understanding.  Yet, within the quality of the complaint response, while there is core truth in chronology work, parts, labor & creative invoicing, there is only a core of part of the truth being offered in support of that argumentative response, not the WHOLE truth, rather, using points to one's own argument benefit & leaving out the vast majority of issue points of coordination, potentially detrimental to the vendor's interests motives, be it control, ego, or financial power. nevertheless, i still stand by my original filing.  vendor aggressively provided a bbb reply & attempted to circumvent Court protocols after being formally served by attempts to contact financial institutions to release funding, commercially, knowing he had been formally served legally for the Court to hear for arbitration hearing/potential Court case assignment date if unsettled by parties under hearing.  Too, due to small claims fees/protocols, it's often intimidating to have a lawyer assigned to attempt to do what you could not do for yourself or settle with your client's attempt to amicable settle with you. the extreme disdain the vendor expressed for all authority, be it bbb, federal fca, Courts, Magistrates, makes me wonder why he immediately secured a 2yr graduate of law school to quash my dispute.  respectfully, if that is true, the representation is likely sharp with being so current with having been JD licensed more recently coupled with experiences the last couple of years.  however, if the attorney was only given the information which the vendor publicly released to the attorney prior to securing him & did not tell his attorney that which he completely failed to disclose, i have a big problem with that ethic, even if the attorney doesn't, though might like to know if there was more to the veracity of the claim dispute, beyond what his new client had disclosed or represented in writing, publicly prior to his being hired, i.e., have you told me everything--have you told the Whole Truth--is there anything you've said or done that you'd have to Perger yourself over, in order to justify you position?  Aren't prosecuting & defense attorneys both officers of the Court, though representing opposing argument/disagreements?  isn't that correct?   $$$$$?

  Perhaps, hypothetical argument here is no more than such speculation. However, i believe when the Whole Truth is revealed, that will be best for all involved--i'm committed to that.

  Following my formal filing, I was contacted by the Post & Courier to whom I told I had no comment that it was under legal adjudication. I have no idea of how they might have had interest other than the fact that it must be a public listing or if gleaned from the bbb complaint.  i became aware that local stations 2, 4, 5 & fox 24 has the same access.  while i do not relish such public recognition, whether before a judge, jury, media or general public, i'll stand by my complaint & evidence. per our conversation moments ago, if you need more in depth detail, don't hesitate to contact me, but i am unable to provide or comment on these matters beyond what i've herein stated--would be ill advised.  thank you.

  Within the best of my humble abilities, this is the most accurate & extensive update that i can provide to bbb or other interests dissemination, currently.