Cliff's Auto Parts, Incorporated

March 7, 2014To whom it may concern:
This letter is in response to complaint ID [redacted] filed by [redacted]. I would like to respond to a few items the customer has claimed in this letter. First, I have never represented myself as an "Owner"...

of [redacted] as that would not be accurate. I am the General Manager and when **. [redacted]'s daughter, [redacted], called to talk to me I informed her of this many times. Second, **. [redacted] did not introduce herself as **. [redacted]'s daughter When I asked her who she was, she referred to herself as a "friend" that works for an attorney's office. Third, I never told **. [redacted] to "get an attorney", since I don't wish to start lawsuits with our customers.
As for the $200 non-refundable deposit, as has been stated to **. [redacted] through many emails and to his daughter **. [redacted] during the phone conversation, we are not refunding it as it is a non-refundable deposit. We state this to every customer before they give us a deposit. We are very clear; we do not want a customer to give us a deposit unless they are sure they are purchasing the vehicle because of it being non-refundable. For this reason I am sure [redacted], our salesman, informed **, [redacted] of the policy.
As for the conversation with **. [redacted] the reason for ending the phone call is because we were going around in circles, **. [redacted] was not willing to accept that we are not refunding the deposit and just kept talking over me and asking for our lawyer's contact information. Since we were not getting anywhere there was no point in continuing the phone conversation. Also, I did inform **. [redacted] that I was not willing to speak to a friend of **. [redacted]'s and that he would need to contact me directly for any further communication on the matter. **. [redacted] never mentioned **. [redacted] or to expect a phone call from her and we are not willing to discuss customer's private information with anyone but the actual customer.
In conclusion, we are not willing to refund the $200 non-refundable deposit. The vehicle sat on the showroom floor not ready for the road until **. [redacted] said he was purchasing the vehicle and gave the deposit. Our service technicians bill the sales department to complete this prep, which is why we collect a deposit before we get the vehicle road ready. The vehicle also sat on the floor for 12 days with a "sold" sign on it, causing us to miss opportunities to sell it to other customers. These are all costs we incur when a customer commits to purchasing a bike and then backs out. If **. [redacted] did not wish to purchase the vehicle he should have never given us the deposit.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,

Review: On January 18th, I made a deposit via telephone with my credit card in the amount of $200 to sales associate [redacted]. At this time, it was never made mention that any deposit is non-refundable nor were any contracts, for**, ect., ever signed. On January 30, 2014, I sent an e-mail to [redacted] stating I would no longer be purchasing the [redacted] and would like my $200 refunded to my account. **. [redacted] responded on January 30, 2014 through e-mail stating, for the first time, that my deposit was non-refundable and I would not be getting any of my money back. The following day, January 31, 2014, the e-mails were forwarded to [redacted] “[redacted]” Thais, who acknowledges herself as “General Manager/Owner” of [redacted], she proceeded to state that she knows that **. [redacted] “always” tells customers about the non-refundable deposit, even though no contract was signed, and that since the [redacted] was “prepped” they are keeping the money for their trouble. My response was the same day, January 31, reiterating that **. [redacted] had never made this apparent until I asked for the $200 to be refunded. On February 1, 2014, **. “[redacted]” Thais answered for the final time informing me that I could either purchase the bike, or lose $200. My daughter, [redacted] called on my behalf to **. “[redacted]” Thais on February 18, 2014 to see if she could speak with anyone in regards to my deposit. **. “[redacted]” Thais became agitated and rude during the brief conversation resulting in her disconnecting during the conversation. She did, however, acknowledge that no contract, paperwork, ect., were signed. This was the last of the communications between myself, [redacted], and the company, [redacted], with **. “[redacted]” Thais telling me to get an attorney, because she will not willingly refund my deposit.Desired Settlement: I wish to have my $200 deposit returned to me, as is fair in this business. I do, however, hope that this store is looked into for their business dealings and customer service. Prior to my deposit they were helpful and pleasant, but since I asked for my deposit, I have been treated worse than I have ever been by any business. If they do decide to move forward with a non-refundable deposit they should require something to be signed,so that all parties are clear on the ter** and conditions, and no transaction should be completed by telephone

Business

Response:

March 7, 2014

To whom it may concern:

This letter is in response to complaint ID [redacted] filed by [redacted]. I would like to respond to a few items the customer has claimed in this letter. First, I have never represented myself as an "Owner" of [redacted] as that would not be accurate. I am the General Manager and when **. [redacted]'s daughter, [redacted], called to talk to me I informed her of this many times. Second, **. [redacted] did not introduce herself as **. [redacted]'s daughter When I asked her who she was, she referred to herself as a "friend" that works for an attorney's office. Third, I never told **. [redacted] to "get an attorney", since I don't wish to start lawsuits with our customers.

As for the $200 non-refundable deposit, as has been stated to **. [redacted] through many emails and to his daughter **. [redacted] during the phone conversation, we are not refunding it as it is a non-refundable deposit. We state this to every customer before they give us a deposit. We are very clear; we do not want a customer to give us a deposit unless they are sure they are purchasing the vehicle because of it being non-refundable. For this reason I am sure [redacted], our salesman, informed **, [redacted] of the policy.

As for the conversation with **. [redacted] the reason for ending the phone call is because we were going around in circles, **. [redacted] was not willing to accept that we are not refunding the deposit and just kept talking over me and asking for our lawyer's contact information. Since we were not getting anywhere there was no point in continuing the phone conversation. Also, I did inform **. [redacted] that I was not willing to speak to a friend of **. [redacted]'s and that he would need to contact me directly for any further communication on the matter. **. [redacted] never mentioned **. [redacted] or to expect a phone call from her and we are not willing to discuss customer's private information with anyone but the actual customer.

In conclusion, we are not willing to refund the $200 non-refundable deposit. The vehicle sat on the showroom floor not ready for the road until **. [redacted] said he was purchasing the vehicle and gave the deposit. Our service technicians bill the sales department to complete this prep, which is why we collect a deposit before we get the vehicle road ready. The vehicle also sat on the floor for 12 days with a "sold" sign on it, causing us to miss opportunities to sell it to other customers. These are all costs we incur when a customer commits to purchasing a bike and then backs out. If **. [redacted] did not wish to purchase the vehicle he should have never given us the deposit.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Review: I purchased a 2011 Yamaha Grizzly 350 IRS in February 2012 from Cyclemax in [redacted], PA. I also purchased an extended warranty. I financed it through Yamaha credit for $137.42/month for 60 months. Two weeks ago while riding, my 4-wheeler broke down. I took it back to Cyclemax to find out why my lightly-used, hardly broken-in ATV wouldn't run when it only had 125 miles on it. After looking it over, [redacted] accused my boyfriend and I of tearing the ATV apart and ruining it, therefore the repair would not be covered under warranty. We were told the machine needs a new choke cable and also needs the carbeurator rebuilt (they quoted us $360). We paid $45 for the machine to be looked at and diagnosed. We picked the unit up and took it to a small repair shop who charged us $100 to get the unit running, NOT $360. The independent repair shop was hardly able to get the atv unassembled due to bolts being over-torqued and the machine being put back together sloppily. We sat there and watched as the mechanic struggled for some time to dissemble the unit, meanwhile we were being charged for his labor because cycle max obviously couldn't reassemble the quad correctly.Desired Settlement: Yamaha has agreed to cover the repair totally under warranty after a statement from another repair shop. The original $45 charge to diagnose the unit should have been covered as part of the warranty and was not because Cycle Max incorrectly told me my warranty would not cover the repairs needed. In addition, [redacted] said to [redacted] at Yamaha that we went "over his head" to resolve the issue and b/c of his animosity we have to use a different dealer much further away. I want my $45 refunded.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC and Eastern PA 1880 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1330

REC’D

2 8 2013

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Dear [redacted],

Regarding [redacted], ID [redacted], this was the first time that her vehicle was brought to our shop for any type of service work. When we received it the carburetor was disconnected from the engine, the choke cable had been torn from the carburetor, most likely from riding, and the vehicle was not running. In speaking with our service writer, [redacted], he is adamant that he did not accuse **. [redacted]'s boyfriend of ruining the vehicle. It was obvious that someone had been working on the vehicle and had assembled parts of the carburetor incorrectly. This is above and beyond the fact that the choke cable had been most likely snagged and torn from the carburetor. It appeared to us that someone had attempted to make a repair to the choke cable, but had difficulty doing so properly. We asked Yamaha if they would cover the cost of the repairs under warranty. After a discussion of all of the facts, Yamaha told us that they chose not to cover that repair. In the process of our estimation of the repairs needed we were able to get the vehicle running for the customer, although it needed the proper repair we recommended. This was strictly labor cost and, although parts were damaged and someone had assembled other portions of the carburetor incorrectly, we were able to get it running with just a half an hour of labor costs. For the most part we touched very few fasteners. The tightness of the fasteners was established by either Yamaha when they built the vehicle or whoever else might have been working on it since. Sloppiness found by the independent repair shop may be the incorrect assembly of the carburetor, most likely by owner's friend, which we were not authorized to repair.

To summarize, the initial damage was caused by an accident which is not uncommon when riding an off-road vehicle. We are certain that the owner or owner's of the vehicle attempted to make a repair and made significant mistakes. Yamaha was unwilling to pay for the owner's mistakes at the time it was in our shop. [redacted] chose to have us do less work than we recommended, for which we charged $45. We are not willing to refund **. [redacted] the $45 since she was charged for work we did. We stand by our assessment.

As sometimes happens, when the actual owner of the vehicle complains enough to the manufacturer they will pay for things even when the problem is not a warranty covered issue. Yamaha asked if we were willing to work on the vehicle after **. [redacted] had already taken the vehicle home and after they had called Yamaha directly. We informed Yamaha we would be happy to do that but heard nothing further on the matter until this Revdex.com complaint.

Please let me know if you have any further questions on the matter.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

In the letter from the shop in regards to this complaint, they state "the owner or owners attempted to make a repair and made significant mistakes." It is the same accusatory response that we got previously and this has resolved nothing. Also, the letter continues on stating that a manufacturer will cover repairs if a consumer complains enough, basically saying that I am overly complaining simply to not have to pay for anything. I assure no repair was attempted. An ATV with VERY light wear and only 125 miles on it should not even need a repair, so why would we have had to have someone attempt one. An ATV with 125 miles on it should not "break along the trail." The letter from the shop did not help the situation, and as a matter of fact, made matters worse because the entire letter was subtly derogatory and degrading, as most likely intended. In regards to slap-shod job putting the ATV back together, I'd like to know how they properly assessed my vehicle if they didn't take it apart. How can they necessitate a new carbeurator without inspecting the old one? And $360 for a new carbeurator is a ripoff according the dealer who is making the repair.

Regards,