Farm & Home Hardware Inc.

May 9, 2016 Dear Sirs, Thank you for your response about my complaint about Farm & Home 1-lardware in Wellington, Ohio. I am enclosing a copy of my receipt.   I still don't understand why I was charged so much, but I ended up paying $221.77 just so I could get my lawn mower. They took two pieces off the mower to make it that price down from $245 I was originally quoted. But I had to sign a paper that if either one of those two broke that they were not responsible. If I wasn't so strapped for money and they added extra pieces, I may not have gotten so upset. But when the ad stated $159.00 plus part; & lubricants, that is what I expected since that is what I told the lady on the phone that all 1 wanted was the $159.00 service. Nothing added. But it also stated Service Includes: then a list of everything I was expecting for the $159.00. Not what I ended up being charged. If the ad didn't say what was included, that would have been another story. I just feel it was false advertising. My complaint was assigned to ID [redacted]. Thank you again for your help. Sincerely,  [redacted]

Dear [redacted],
I am writing you in response to Complaint ID #[redacted] submitted by [redacted]. The service special we advertise clearly states that the service is $159 + parts and lubricants. The standard service includes the items [redacted] highlighted. Those items; such as the oil, oil filter,...

air filter & spark plugs make up the "+ parts and lubricants" portion of the advertisement. We can standardize the labor rates but we cannot pre-determine the specific parts, lubricants or quantities of each item required by a specific unit. We have offered this service in this same format for many years to a tremendous volume of customers and only very rarely does the advertised price come in to question.
[redacted] has taken part in our Seasonal Service program in prior years so she is aware of how the program works. I have attached a copy of her invoice from 2014. We did install a battery in her unit as she stated; however if you subtract the battery ($44.99) from her sub-total ($232.88) her total bill at that time would have come to $173.68 when the advertised special was $145.00 in 2014. When [redacted] called in to schedule the service currently in question she spoke with Jeanie Porter. Jeanie has worked in our service department for over 15 years and has managed this program for us since its inception. I am extremely confident the pricing and details of the program were explained to [redacted] at the time the service was scheduled.
The initial repair bill was for this year's service was approximately $243. While performing the service my mechanic did make the decision to replace a pulley and choke shaft on the mower to ensure the mower performs properly throughout the mowing season. Those two items were approximately $20 and could be considered "extra" in regards to the seasonal service. We did not charge [redacted] any additional labor for those repairs and we felt it was in the customer's best interest to have those repairs made. After my initial discussion with [redacted] regarding her invoice I agreed to credit those two parts as she did state "nothing extra" when she signed up for the service. That brought Joyce's final invoice to $221.76 which is the amount she has since agreed to pay. I feel the service we offer is a great value to our customer's considering everything the service includes combined with the fact that we do not charge pick-up or delivery. I do not feel that our advertisement is misleading in any way. Going forward I will continue to train my employees to take extra time to explain the program to our customers when they sign up for the program.
Regards,
Tom M[redacted]