America Test Only & Regular Smog

To whom this may concern,
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This is [redacted], at America Test Only, regarding case number [redacted] - complaint about smog test performed on one [redacted] on October 2014, belonging to [redacted].At the time when the RV was brought into my shop, my assistant was the one to engage with the couple who had brought in the RV. My assistant is charged with helping me attend to the customers, writing up work orders, bringing vehicles into the test bay, and, should the need arise, help me remove engine covers off of larger vehicles (such as cargo vans and motorhomes). This is where there seems to be a discrepancy. The person whom she had been carrying a conversation with was my assistant, who does not have a license to perform smog tests, and therefore would not have his license with photograph on the wall; the license mounted on the wall belongs to me, and while I was present, the couple was actually engaged in conversation with my assistant. The purpose of my having an assistant is because he can better explain to people why their vehicle(s) would fail the smog inspection.Now, regarding the inspection of the Rockwood, this is what happened. When my assistant was writing up the work order, the gentleman who brought the RV down to the shop remarked that he did not believe that his vehicle would pass the smog inspection. He would go on to state that it was probably because his vehicle did not 'smell right'. My assistant told him we would take a look at it, and, since it was a large vehicle, would take about an hour to inspect, since part of the inspection requires we open up the engine cover inside the cabin. Normally, a smog technician would be able to open the hood of the vehicle to perform a visual inspection of the engine and emissions control system. However, as this is a recreational vehicle, the only way to properly do my job is to step inside the cabin and remove the engine cover. This is recommended and would be required as per the rules and regulations of the smog inspection code.Upon removal of the cover, it had been discovered that the hose that supplies the fuel to the engine was significantly damaged, and had obviously been allowing gasoline to spray onto the engine around the carburetor for a while. It was at this point that I had to put an end to the inspection as this presented a significant enough danger with regard to the unknown factor of whether or not the fuel that had been present would have caught on fire. At this point, the owner of the vehicle was called and notified to return to the shop to be shown the problem in person.The gas lines look like they old and original, and due to age and deterioration, looked like they were rotted and not in a condition to work the way they were originally intended to. The employees, who were working in the business next door, were only called over to inspect the fuel lines as well as to serve witness that there would have been no way to actually tamper with the lines given their condition. The overall design of the engine cover, as well as the placement of the fuel line, would have made damaging the fuel rather an impossible task when removing the engine cover when performing the visual portion of the smog inspection. At no point was the customer ever blamed for the damage to the gas lines on their own vehicle.It is unfortunate that the customer ended up taking this route. A simple repair like this could easily have taken no more than about five minutes, right outside in the parking lot where we are located. Which was what we were trying to recommend to the lady. Unfortunately, she had felt that the problem with her RV was entirely our fault. Any attempt to be reasonable with her and offering of advice on how to fix it quickly fell on deaf ears. And as for paying the cost of repairs to the RV, it should be noted on the receipt, which the customer was given an estimate copy of prior to the smog inspection, '6. In no even shall America Test Only & Regular Smog be liable for collateral, consequential, indirect or incidental damages arising out of or connected in any way with the services provided.'I hope this issue can be resolve without further incidence.Sincerely,
[redacted]

Review: Came in to get a smog done on my Rv. Everything was running great. They told me to leave the Rv here and it would be ready in a couple of hours. 10 minutes later I get a call and they tell me that I need to come down and look at the Rv. We come in and there is a broken gas line shooting gas everywhere. He tells me that I need to get it out of his shop and that the guy next door can fix it. At this point he had already told the guy next door. I feel like its highly suspicious that he opened up my motor to do a simple smog and that now suddenly it is leaking gas, and the repair guy next door knows just how to fix it. I ask him for his name and business number and he refuses to give it to me. I go inside the shop, they have one license with a picture, and the man in the picture isn't the smog tech I had left my Rv with. I point this out to him, and he refuses to cooperate. I had to call a tow truck to get my Rv out safely.Desired Settlement: I would like this business to pay for the repair of my Rv. Not only did they have someone working on it that does not have the legal license needed to be a smog tech, he clearly damaged my gas lines and tried to blame it on me. I drove it here with no problems. It's in his driveway turned on for a while with no problems. I believe he was negligent and broke the gas lines, he doesn't have a license so he does not know what he is doing.

Business

Response:

To whom this may concern,

This is [redacted], at America Test Only, regarding case number [redacted] - complaint about smog test performed on one [redacted] on 8 October 2014, belonging to [redacted].

At the time when the RV was brought into my shop, my assistant was the one to engage with the couple who had brought in the RV. My assistant is charged with helping me attend to the customers, writing up work orders, bringing vehicles into the test bay, and, should the need arise, help me remove engine covers off of larger vehicles (such as cargo vans and motorhomes). This is where there seems to be a discrepancy. The person whom she had been carrying a conversation with was my assistant, who does not have a license to perform smog tests, and therefore would not have his license with photograph on the wall; the license mounted on the wall belongs to me, and while I was present, the couple was actually engaged in conversation with my assistant. The purpose of my having an assistant is because he can better explain to people why their vehicle(s) would fail the smog inspection.

Now, regarding the inspection of the Rockwood, this is what happened. When my assistant was writing up the work order, the gentleman who brought the RV down to the shop remarked that he did not believe that his vehicle would pass the smog inspection. He would go on to state that it was probably because his vehicle did not 'smell right'. My assistant told him we would take a look at it, and, since it was a large vehicle, would take about an hour to inspect, since part of the inspection requires we open up the engine cover inside the cabin. Normally, a smog technician would be able to open the hood of the vehicle to perform a visual inspection of the engine and emissions control system. However, as this is a recreational vehicle, the only way to properly do my job is to step inside the cabin and remove the engine cover. This is recommended and would be required as per the rules and regulations of the smog inspection code.

Upon removal of the cover, it had been discovered that the hose that supplies the fuel to the engine was significantly damaged, and had obviously been allowing gasoline to spray onto the engine around the carburetor for a while. It was at this point that I had to put an end to the inspection as this presented a significant enough danger with regard to the unknown factor of whether or not the fuel that had been present would have caught on fire. At this point, the owner of the vehicle was called and notified to return to the shop to be shown the problem in person.

The gas lines look like they old and original, and due to age and deterioration, looked like they were rotted and not in a condition to work the way they were originally intended to. The employees, who were working in the business next door, were only called over to inspect the fuel lines as well as to serve witness that there would have been no way to actually tamper with the lines given their condition. The overall design of the engine cover, as well as the placement of the fuel line, would have made damaging the fuel rather an impossible task when removing the engine cover when performing the visual portion of the smog inspection. At no point was the customer ever blamed for the damage to the gas lines on their own vehicle.

It is unfortunate that the customer ended up taking this route. A simple repair like this could easily have taken no more than about five minutes, right outside in the parking lot where we are located. Which was what we were trying to recommend to the lady. Unfortunately, she had felt that the problem with her RV was entirely our fault. Any attempt to be reasonable with her and offering of advice on how to fix it quickly fell on deaf ears. And as for paying the cost of repairs to the RV, it should be noted on the receipt, which the customer was given an estimate copy of prior to the smog inspection, '6. In no even shall America Test Only & Regular Smog be liable for collateral, consequential, indirect or incidental damages arising out of or connected in any way with the services provided.'

I hope this issue can be resolve without further incidence.

Sincerely,