Around the Corner Auto

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2017/07/06) */
I am sorry for the negative experience you had at our shop. You never notified me that the wheel bearing was giving you trouble or I would have addressed it immediately. By my records the wheel bearing was replaced in March and you had...

returned many times to the shop to just stop in and these problems were never an issue. All warranty work must be done in-house, if you would like for me to replace the faulty wheel bearing, I would be more than happy to do so. As for the last visit, you came in with a complaint made by another shop that a caliper was locked up, thus a brake inspection was required. A brake inspection includes all wheels to be pulled, and the pads, rotors, and calipers physically inspected. There is no charge for a brake inspection when a brake repair is being made and you had already gave verbal over the telephone permission for work to be performed. I gave you a quote of about [redacted] That included brakes all the way around with new pads, rotors, and a brake flush. I stored your car for free for 2 weeks while you saved up the money to complete the job because the rear pads had dissolved due to age and no fault of the mechanic, and the vehicle was deemed unsafe to drive as there were no brakes. You then told me that you could not afford the work to be done because you had a personal issue arise. So I tried to accommodate you by removing the brake flush which was non-essential but recommended. Then you said you still could not afford it and that you would supply your own brake pads. I normally do not use customer parts, however, you were in need of a vehicle due to the personal issues. Once again you came to me stating you could not afford the work. I then took off the rotors off the bill which were not essential to make the vehicle safe to drive but are a highly recommended part of a brake repair to try and reduce the price low enough for you to afford the work performed. I got the bill down to [redacted] per axle. You insisted that I release the car as is however there was still money owed for the initial brake inspection. You decided that police needed to be called to force me into releasing an unsafe car upon which I had a lien. The officer agreed that the car was unsafe drive and a tow truck was suggested with payment of the brake inspection.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 15, 2017/07/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
To whom it may Concern;
When I returned to your shop after having work completed at Certified Transmission I was made aware that the road noise I had been hearing since I left your shop was indeed the front wheel bearing. I sent you a text message stating it was the caliper, however, on my paper work it read "Wheel Bearing Noise". I claim that I made a mistake, I did not know what a caliper or a wheel bearing was until I had to replace my brakes after my vehicle was towed from your shop. When I arrived to your shop after I picked my vehicle up from Certified Transmission and had the paper work in front of me, not hearing what they said via phone call, I informed you that it was indeed the Wheel Bearing. I have a text message stated that I informed you that it was what you fixed in March. Again, when I arrived at your shop to drop my vehicle off to have it looked at, I stated it was the wheel bearing that I authorized you to look at and that only.
As for the break inspection, once at your shop with my vehicle I informed you that it was a wheel bearing issue. If a brake inspection would have been needed for that, I should have been made aware up front. According to your website it states that you have "Free Inspections" which is extremely misleading considering I was charged for an inspection. When I was informed that the brake job would be running the high cost of [redacted] I told you I did not want the brake job completed. As for me bringing the parts to you, and you telling me it would still be costing over [redacted] I told you that I was not paying it and would be having the job completed elsewhere. At this time I called a mechanic down the road and they stated they would tow my vehicle to their shop. I informed you that I would be having a tow truck coming to pick up my vehicle and asked for my car to be outside. At this time I was at work and you called and left a voice message stating you would not be releasing my vehicle until I paid approximately [redacted] for the brake inspection, that online states is free, not stating only if your shop does the work.
The following day I returned to your shop to pick up my vehicle and discuss this issue with you and you refused to release my vehicle. I exited the office and went outside to my rides vehicle and while outside you shut the shop garage door for an unknown reason. I am not clear what the reasoning was behind it but it was suspicious. I contacted South Bend Police who showed up to stand-by. While the officer was there he informed me that he also would not pay [redacted] for a brake job and stated if anything pay the [redacted] and get my car back and later take this issue to court. While discussing this issue, the mechanic at the shop threw my brake parts at me, and later informed me that once a vehicle enters his shop the owner has authorized any work that may need done to the vehicle. I agreed to pay the [redacted] because I wanted my vehicle out of your shop. When I handed you my debit card to pay for the brake inspection you handed me the slip that read approximately [redacted] The numbers you were telling me, compared to the numbers given on the day the officer was there, were totally different.

Due to me working a full time job in [redacted] and living in [redacted] I needed the wheel bearing fixed as it would cause more damage to my vehicle. I had the wheel bearing fixed elsewhere and am now demanding a refund for the faulty work completed at your shop. I have had to borrow a vehicle from a family member to make it to work, I had to pay for a tow truck out of the facility for something I never authorized to be done. It was never that I could not afford the job to be completed; it was that it was an extremely high price that I would never pay. Once I got my vehicle the visor, driver side and passenger, as well as the interior roof, was black and filthy. I attempted to have your shop fix the faulty wheel bearing; however, you only mentioned other issues, the brakes, rotors and brake flush. However, the car was drivable and not squealing from the metal pieces that alert you the brakes are going out. When my vehicle left your shop it cost me money to have it towed back to my residence. My car was clearly unsafe to drive because there were no brakes on my vehicle.
While looking into filing a complaint with the Revdex.com I found that the rating was not accurate. Your website states that you have been given an, "A+" rating by the Revdex.com but according to their website you only have an "A". Your website brings several false advertising aspects and is truly misleading and illegal. I am again demanding a refund of some kind for the faulty wheel bearing, tow, brake inspection and brake parts that were never authorized to be touched. Just because a vehicle is in your shop does not authorize you to do any work needed and expect payment for unauthorized work. I am still requesting to be compensated to some extent for the faulty and unauthorized work that was completed in your shop.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 19, 2017/08/01) */
Once again I am sorry for the negative experience that you encountered at our garage. As it states in the paperwork for our 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty, all work must be performed at our facility to be honored. As for the brakes, the caliper and pads would have been removed regardless to examine a wheel bearing. The brake pads crumbled in the mechanic's hand to no fault of his own. I called and asked permission for this work to be done. I will refund the brake inspection charge and will be re-examining our policy on our definition of free inspections. As for the tow, it was your choice to remove the car from our facility and feel that it is not the company's responsibility to refund a choice that you made. As for the brake repair, the brakes were obviously in a state of much needed repair regardless of who did the work. And feel that also is not our company's responsibility. We take pride in our work and accept responsibility as deemed necessary.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 27, 2017/08/21) */
Hello,
I have yet to receive the payment from the business. Is there anyway the can be reopened?
Thank you,
[redacted]