Arden Lake Technologies, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/03/10) */
Response attached as word document under additional items
March 10,
Revdex.com Service The Atlantic Provinces
Brunswick Street Suite
Halifax, NS B3J 3J
RE: Case # ***
Thank you for providing an
opportunity for us to respond to the above-noted case number*** has been in the collision service industry for over years and has built a great business based on his solid reputation of providing high quality automotive repair for over years*** Collision repairs almost vehicles per year and to our knowledge this is the first time a report has been filed with the Revdex.com serviceI will outline below the repair processes we follow, and that most every collision center follows, with respect to insurance repairs, and with reference to the case number in question
First, some insurance providers have direct repair facilitiesA direct repair facility would complete an estimate of damages and costs to repair those damages (including an assessment of the exact damages attributable to the incident for which there is a claim, the appropriate parts to use in the repair, estimated costs for parts and labour, etc.) and upload it to the insurance provider for their approval and authorization; once this approval and authorization is received, the repairs would begin*** (*** insurance provider) does not have any direct repair facilities in our area; however, their staff appraisers complete the estimate of damages and costsCollision centers like ours then take the estimates provided by these staff appraisers and, with the insurance provider's authorization, repair the vehicle based on the parts listed on their estimate
In most cases when a vehicle is more than years old, insurance providers require the collision center to use salvage or aftermarket parts; this is usually noted in the customer's insurance policyThese aftermarket parts do not always fit the same as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts and are sometimes a lesser qualityThe collision center cannot put parts on the vehicle that are not authorized by the insurance provider*** vehicle is a *** (with over 95,000km and aftermarket wheels)The estimate provided to us by ***'s staff appraiser indicated that the damaged parts were to be replaced with an aftermarket wheel, an aftermarket fender liner and an aftermarket fender along with some OEM parts that needed to be ordered directly from ***The only *** dealer in ***, so the those OEM parts needed to be ordered aswellIn most cases, the minimum time for delivery of *** parts is between and daysIn some cases, *** parts have to be shipped from Germany and could take over days to arriveThis is quite different from some other manufacturers (such as ***) whose parts are usually delivered in 1- days
Our records indicate that *** accident occurred June 10, 2016; the vehicle was first towed to our shop on June 14, We received the estimate from *** on June 15, and ordered the authorized parts that same dayWe received all these parts on July 7, and the work was completed on July 14thDuring the course of the repair, Mr*** called several times for status updates to which we responded either "waiting on parts" or "work in progress" or "we will call you when complete"; he also advised us that there was damage on the underside of his front bumperWe had *** insurance appraiser come by and take a look, and he determined that this damage was not accident-related and that it would not be covered by the insuranceAs a service to our customer, we chose to complete this additional repair at no extra charge (normally a $***-$*** repair)
On July 14, 2016, Mr*** arrived to pick up his vehicle, looked it over and happily drove offHe returned the following week indicating there were some issues with the work completedHe maintained that he had some clunking sounds in the front end, there was some orange peel texture of his paint, the headlights were not self-leveling and the fender brackets were bentIn light of his complaints, we agreed to compound the left side that was painted, adjust the bent brackets on the aftermarket fender, check on the clunking, and reset the leveling for the headlightsWe subsequently completed the compounding for orange peel, adjusted the fender brackets, and reset the self-leveling; we also had a mechanic from *** (our local import repair specialists) check the clunking soundWe were advised by the mechanic that there were some friction parts on the front end of the vehicle that were worn out and that this was a common problem with these vehiclesIt was his opinion that these parts were worn out, and the clunking sound was not accident relatedWe advised Mr*** and he left unhappy, speeding out of the parking lot
As noted above, we cannot replace parts on vehicles that are not authorized by the insurance company; we will not get paid for part or the labour to install themMr*** contacted his insurance appraiser to voice his displeasureWe set up a meeting at our shop to discuss the issues with Mr***, the insurance appraiser (***), *** (owner, *** Collision) and myselfWe met and discussed all of *** issues regarding the repairsThe insurance appraiser advised Mr*** that he would not pay for the suspension pieces that were clunking but that he would allow for a new OEM fender liner to be installed (rather than an aftermarket one as per the original estimate) to address *** concerns regarding to fitIn addition, *** would pay for the additional rental car charges while the repairs took placeMr*** continued to argue that the paint wasn't to his liking and that the brackets on the aftermarket fender were still bentHe also suggested there was a piece missing on the right side of the vehicle and accuse *** Collision of taking it off and using it on the left side when completing their repairs*** and I attempted to explain to him that this was not true, and in fact was not possible to do, but he continued to demand it be fixedTo try and appease him, we agreed to replace the piece on the right-side at our cost
Mr*** came to pick up his vehicle and maintained that there was still a small nick in the paint on the fender and that the brackets were still bentWe suggested he bring it back at his convenience and we would look at it againHe told us that he would be away for work and we agreed that he would contact us upon his return
Mr*** contacted us on Feb19th and said "This is *** *** again, I've been away with work and am now back homeMy car is still not fixed and it has been in multiple times for the same issues! The front fender still isn't on properly and there are chips in the paint from the accidentAll I am asking for is for my fender to be lined up properly, it would help if you guys fixed the brackets instead of covering them upAnd a proper fix of the chips and paint! If this does not get resolved I will be taking further measures by calling the insurance head officeAnd I will be posting a review and pics of the work online!"
We contacted Mr*** and set up an appointment for him to bring the vehicle back on Feb 23rdHe requested a rental vehicle while his vehicle was to be repairedMr*** called and rescheduled that appointment to Feb 24thWe met with Mr*** and his insurance appraiser at 8:15AM on Feb 24th and reviewed what he wanted to have doneAlthough we maintained that the job completed was of high quality, we agreed to repair the brackets, repaint and reinstall the moulding to try resolve what Mr*** deemed were still issuesWe also rented a vehicle for him for the day, at our expense, while we completed the work and assigned one of our senior technicians to the project, which included approximately hours of work including paint timeOnce the vehicle was complete, *** and I checked the vehicle over to ensure we were satisfied with the work completed before contacting Mr***
Mr*** arrived at our shop at approximately 4:PM on Feb 24th to pick up his vehicle and I met him to review the repairAs we walked up to the vehicle his demeanor changed from calm to irritated, and he started pointing to the vehicle saying we didn't do anythingI started to explain what was done and he cut me off, stating that this was a new car before the accidentI simply stated that he has a *** and that it wasn't newHis demeanor quickly changed from irritated to angry and he started pointing to his vehicle stating that we were "*** is and didn't know what we were doing" I responded calmly but in his terms with "you are the *** pickiest customer and obviously we will not be able to fix your vehicle the way you want" and walked immediately to the side entrance of our buildingI did not yell back at him as he says in his complaint, though I regret swearing when I dismissed his angry statementsMr*** lost it, becoming extremely angry and jumped into his vehicle spinning the tires and recklessly speeding out of our driveway, nearly hitting one of our employeesThe confrontation and conversation was witnessed by individuals, one being the employee that was almost hit and the other was our repair planner
During the course of review of this case, we have contacted other body shops and the Insurance providerIt is our understanding that Mr*** was turned away from other shops as they simply didn't want the work and didn't believe that could repair the vehicle to meet *** expectationsIt is also our understanding that the 3rd shop that Mr*** went to is only replacing the aftermarket fender with an OEM and painting the front drivers door
As you can see from the above, we went above and beyond for this customer, doing what we could within our means to ensure a satisfactory experience with our shopWe worked to open lines of communication between Mr***, his insurance provider and our shop, we re-did some of the work earlier completed to try and meet his standards, we called in an expert in import repair to further assess the vehicle, and we absorbed the costs not covered by his insurance provider on more than one occasionMr*** has exaggerated many aspects in his complaint including the time frame for the repairs and our interactions with him
Thank-you again for the opportunity to provide our side of the storyWe pride ourselves on our customer service and high quality workCombined, these have kept *** Collision Service a successful locally-owned business for over thirty years, with much of that success due to repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals
Should you wish to discuss the above, please feel free to contact me at your convience
Best Regards,
***
*** Collision Service
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2017/03/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I cannot open the link, says it was not decoded properly before attached to email!! can you guys please resend!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 17, 2017/03/26) */
***Document Attached***
Please see the attached estimate provided to us by *** insurance companyAs you can clearly see the fender and fender liner are aftermarket pieces( indicated by "***" part under the Part type/part number section of the estimate)If these parts were OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) then the actual part number would appearThis is just further information to support our original responseI may have made a typo in my original response regarding the model*** vehicle is an *** **Our parts suppliers are provided a copy of our estimate so that they can match up the parts, so the proper parts were ordered as per the insurance specificationsWe take *** accusations of fraud seriously and have all the documentation to back up our purchasesWe understand that Mr*** takes pride in his vehicle he worked to purchase, but we have done all we can for himWe are happy that the issues are being resolved at another shop for Mr***In the Collision industry, repairs don't always meet customers expectations at certain shopsIn fact we repaired vehicles in the last months that had repairs completed at other shops
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 19, 2017/03/28) */
That was a complete waste of time , they just keep pulling stuff out of their ***I am done with thisMy car is being fixed next week by a decent place Here's a few pictures of the "completed work" *** has done, I have a folder fullI don't care what *** says because I have proof and the pictures have been shared on Social media and to my co-workers on the base so the word is going aroundMultiple people have also approached me about their experience at *** and the cars coming back with extra damage and having to go back to different collision shopMost of the people were also military, glad we go risk our lives for their freedom and they can't even fix our cars properly These guys will get what they deserve eventually when enough people complain, or when they don't have any customers from the word going aroundHope they sleep well knowing about all the people they are screwing over