Gauger & Son Salvage, Inc.

The buyer may not have a 1500, but that is certainly what he ordered. We have no knowledge of the vehicle the buyer drives other than what he provided our company with. The information the buyer gave us was repeated and he did not correct it.  The buyer was given the opportunity to inspect the part prior to signing the invoice agreeing to the purchase as well and didn't state there was any issue. The reason he stated he realized there was an issue versus the reason his mother told us are conflicting. Regardless, the buyer agreed to the terms of this sale and we have been generous already in not charging him initial or return freight as we should have. No additional refund will be given in accordance to the terms of the sale. I totally understand that mistakes happen and perhaps the buyer misspoke or didn't pay attention I truly have no reason for why he told us the incorrect model other than he did. The information he gave us was repeated and he didn't correct it, he also had the opportunity to inspect the item prior to purchase, he inspected it and then agreed to the purchase. I have provided the signed invoice, the back of the invoice and the credit card receipt a portion of the payment was made on for reference.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]I do not own a 1500 so why would I order it. They made the mistake not me. I would like my restocking fee back.
Regards,
[redacted]

I, [redacted], spoke with [redacted] on the phone beginning on 06/02/15. He was in search of a Transfer Case for a 20004 Silverado 1500 (Chevy Half Ton). He was asked the fitment questions then pertaining to a 1500/Half Ton. He was asked if he had an SS and he stated he did not. He was then asked if...

had a dash switch/electric shift of a floor shift. He stated he had a floor shift . I then asked if he had a manual or automatic and he responded that he had a manual. I read back the year/make/model & information that he gave me to verify it was correct and he stated it was. That gave me the part number 412-428. As you can see with the documentation attached if he had stated a 2500 the series of questions he would have been asked are different. The part was ordered and he came to pick the item up on 06/08/15. As we do with all customers we give them the opportunity to look at the part before they pay so if there are any issues we can take care of it right away. He went over to look at the transfer case and came back in to pay, sign the invoice and agree to the terms of the invoice. He then came back over a few minutes later to tell me it wasn't the correct one. He, the 2nd time after he paid for and accepted the terms of the purchase, decided to check the ID#'s and realized there was an issue. Upon further discussion he stated he had a 3/4 Ton/2500 which is a different part. We ordered the part based on the information he provided us with but that information was not correct.  We offered to get him the one he needed and he stated he could get it elsewhere faster. That's totally fine but in accordance to the terms of the purchase, the invoice he signed, we charged a re-stocking fee. Please note the back of our invoice states. "1. A 20% re-stocking fee will be applied to any part returned "not needed." and "2. Buyer will be responsible for freight on any "not needed" or incorrectly ordered part." The re-stocking fee is designed to help cover the cost of returning a part that a customer either decided they didn't want or ordered incorrectly or the cost of re-entering an item into our inventory.  This item was ordered and now would need to be returned. We are responsible for the initial and return freight of the this item, that [redacted] ordered incorrectly. That cost greatly exceeds the re-stocking fee he was charged.  The front of our invoice also states, "20% re-stocking fee" as well. We only charged [redacted] the 20% re-stocking fee, we did not charge him the cost of freight as we could have. We were sympathetic that he made a mistake and was trying to make the financial burden of that mistake minimal for him as we value his business and understand mistakes happen, we are all human. The following morning his mom called and asked to speak to the owner. The owner is my father who was not in the office at the time and would have had no knowledge of the transaction had he even been here. I was the salesperson and the Manager of Operations to I spoke with her. She very rudely demanded we give him a full refund, stated we purposely screwed her son over, we ordered the incorrect part and are blaming him and finally threatened to turn this over to the Revdex.com. I explained to her that I ordered the exact part off of the information her son provided because we do not know what kind of vehicle he drives and that he would have to provide me with information that I used, he agreed to the terms of the sale when he signed the invoice and paid for it. I did tell her that we could have also charged him the freight cost but decided to limit the cost of his mistake. She then told me he knew it was the wrong one because the invoice stated "exc. SS" I informed her that was not the same reason he indicated to us and that that "exc. SS" means Except or Excluding the SS model and that for this part that has no bearing whatsoever as he doesn't have an SS model so that information is correct. The only thing that proves is that he answered a 1500/Half Ton question when he had a 2500.  I certainly understand Vince's frustration but I ordered the part he requested, he doesn't have a 1500 he has a 2500. Since he incorrectly ordered the part he was responsible for paying a re-stocking fee. Thank you for your time.

Review: I had purchased a shortblock from Gauger Salvage to help rebuild my Westfalia '93 eurovan and agreed to pay for the item under the agreement that it could be returned and refunded if the item was deemed by a professional mechanic & a Revdex.com certified machine shop that that part was indeed in too bad of shape to utilize for rebuilding a engine for this year of Volkswagen. The seller reassured me over and over there was only "light rust" on the shortblock that could easily be removed however the rust on this part is so bad it would cost an estimated $1,900 to repair this shortblock before it could be utilized to rebuild this engine. I paid Gauger Salvage $560.00 for the original transaction that included $160.00 for shipping to my mechanic in Michigan. The mechanic had the shortblock inspected by a machine shop nearby to determine if we could possibly utilize this item . . . the inspection cost $200 and was determined to have to bad of a rust problem for it to be worth salvaging for a rebuild of this engine. I had a talk with Gauger Salvage who said they would issue a refund if the shortblock was returned. I spent an additional $175 to return this item which is now at Gauger Salvage and they are now saying the item has been destroyed. The claim that the shortblock is somehow destroyed is a fraudulent claim to avoid having to refund the item.Desired Settlement: The total cost of this purchase has totaled $935.00 of which they should refund at the very least the original amount of $560.00 . . . the contract says the item is in "Grade A" condition and is guaranteed to turn over . . . this item does not turn over and is not even in "Grade B" condition . . . it has been returned to Gauger Salvage upon their own request in one piece and they claim we somehow damaged this shortblock . . . that is also fraudulent business practice considering the inspecting was taken care of by a professional machine shop & Revdex.com approved repair facility (one of the best in the entire state of Michigan). I am in need of some assistance

Business

Response:

[redacted] purchased and paid for a Eurovan Block via eBay/PayPal on 06/12/13. The item was shipped to German Auto per the buyers request on 06/13/13. The terms of that listing are attached to this email for reference.

Prior to purchase the buyer stated, “need to make sure there is no rust in the cylinders so that we do not need to do honing/boring of the cylinder walls before installation.” The buyer clearly stated he did not want to have this item machined. However the listing states very clearly “(BLOCK ONLY) Our engine blocks are sold as rebuilders. They are only guaranteed to turn over, and not be cracked.” We told the buyer, “Hi, The heads were previously sold off the block so it has some very light surface rust on the cylinder walls. Thank You” Here the buyer is stating that he does not want to do any work to the block to get it ready for his vehicle however we soon learned that his mechanic stated that he did indeed need to have the block machined or he wouldn’t install it. To machine a used block is common practice. Some mechanics will install a block without doing it but some do not. In this case his mechanic was obviously not willing to do so. That cost is his cost of installation/labor a cost we do not cover. We sold the block as a rebuilder. We only guaranteed the item to turn over and not be cracked. Both of those specifications were met. Had the item been unbelievable rusty as he states the item would not have turned over. Likewise he requested no rust and we indicated there was light rust and he purchased the item anyway.

We dismantled the item verified that they item was not cracked did not have major rust and that it did indeed turn over. We took pictures of the part prior to shipment to verify there was no major rust and it was in one piece. The shop received the item and the buyer immediately opened a case stating “"there is a problem with permanent rust on the cylinder walls requiring additional service to remove before item can be salvaged or used as a legitimate replacement." I replied, “The buyer chose not to incur the cost of rebuilding the block that is his choice so he is certainly welcome to return the item. I agreed to give him a full refund if the item was returned and gave him the instructions to do so and I stated: "The buyer did not contact us about any issue prior to opening this case. This item was thoroughly inspected prior to shipping. Pictures were taken and a mechanic stated the item was a solid used part and that it most certainly could be used to rebuild an engine. The best alternative for this buyer is a new part with no rust. This item does not have any excessive rust other than being used. The item adheres to every aspect of the warranty posted on the listing. Please have your mechanic contact us at [redacted] or describe what procedures you/he believes needs to be done in order to get this item ready. From there we can see if the return options change but at this time you requested a refund. We are not willing to give you a free part and simply issue a refund. We will however, issue a refund if the item is returned to us."

His mechanic never contacted us about the condition of the item only to state it was being returned. The buyer then let the eBay expire as the item was not returned in the amount of time eBay allows. The item was returned on 08/02 just inside the 60 day return period. However, German Auto sent the item back illegally using our account to bill us for the return. R&L Carriers asked if we authorized them to do so and we stated no, so they adjusted the billing back to them. The terms of our listing very clearly state the buyer is responsible for return shipping. That does not mean the return is billed to us.

Once the item was received we were shocked. The item was received back in a lot of pieces and the heat tab was melted. In regards to the pieces the terms on our invoice state, “9. Parts must be returned in original condition, if the part has been dismantled, damaged or altered a refund or replacement MAY not be issued.” In this case the item was received in several pieces and to top it off it was destroyed. The heat tab was melted. A heat tab is attached to blocks to ensure proper installation techniques have been followed. A melted heat tab indicates the item was run at a temperature over 260 degrees Fahrenheit which will cause irreparable damage deeming the item defective or ruined. It weakens the actual structure of the item causing it to be useless and we are no longer to sell the item. So the buyer voided his right to a refund by returning an item in pieces and with a melted heat tab.

Through correspondence with the buyer we learned that he is in Oregon not in Michigan where the block was sent to. He had not seen the actual block ever. Likewise you can see that he stated “the mechanic has said the item is in one piece & all parts are with the shortblock” The item was not received in one piece. He also stated, “the shortblock is in a state of salvage . . . therefore a refund must be issued (however you would like to send it back to the machine shop in Jenison, Michigan they could of course reassemble the item & the next buyer would have to disassemble it for you so that the ruined item can be salvaged for rebuilding” The item was not returned in a state of salvage the item was returned in pieces and with a melted heat tab making it completely useless and ruined. He also stated the item was ruined in his response. He received an item in one piece with a heat tab intact. I am not going to pay to ship the item back to his shop for them to cobble it back together for an item that I cannot sell anyway because the heat tab was melted.

Likewise I emailed our eBay account manager on 08/12/13 asking how we should handle the situation after our inspection verified the item was ruined. He forwarded the email and picture evidence to merchant support team. I received the following message from ebay:

“Hello [redacted],

Thank you for contacting Merchant Support. I can see how this situation can be frustrating since you originally offered the buyer a full refund upon return of the item.

After reviewing your email and the Buyer Protection case opened by the member, you will not be required to refund the buyer. The original case was closed as it timed out, the buyer then tried to appeal the case on August 9th. Today Buyer Protection denied the claim appeal as we no longer offer appeals for cases that time out and you will not be required to refund the buyer. At this point you can decide what if anything you will do for the buyer. partial refund, ship item back to them, etc. it's your choice, you decide what is right.

If you have other questions, please let me know.

eBay Merchant Support”

The buyer attempted to escalate a case that he let expire on 08/09 and when that did not work and I told him I would not give a refund for an item that was returned in pieces with a melted heat tab he contacted the Revdex.com. He is doing whatever he can to get a refund. However, I cannot issue a refund for an item that was destroyed. His claim that by us stating the item was destroyed is “fraudulent” is nonsense. If you review his messages he had several excuses on why the item was torn to pieces and returned as such but never once addressed the melted heat tab. He has no explanation for that but that in addition to the several pieces we received it in voids his warranty. Had the item been returned in one piece and not ruined he would have received a refund. At this time he is not entitled to a refund and that decision is protected on our end by ebay, the terms on the listing and our invoice. Below I have copies of all the ebay correspondence, the email correspondence. I will attach a copy of our invoice and the before/after pictures of the block showing the pieces we received and the melted heat tab.

I want to thank the Revdex.com for contacting us and allowing us to state the facts and show the evidence in this matter. If you have any further questions feel free to call me at [redacted] or email me and I can discuss the issue with you further. I can forward all email correspondence if you’d like.

Thanks,

[redacted] & Son Salvage, Inc.

Review: I ordered a transfer case for my truck, that's a 2500HD 3/4 ton and when I went to pick it up it was for a 1500 1/2 ton . Was told I had to pay the restocking fee of $125.00 and was told I made the mistake and ordered the wrong one. Told them how is it my mistake when I don't even own a 1500 1/2 ton and would not of ordered anything for a 1500 1/2 ton truck. I wanted the restocking fee back and they refused. After being so frustrated with them I left. I had my Mother call them back the next day because I didn't have time to I was working. She asked to speak to the owner about this matter and the owners son got on the phone and said he was the one that dealt with [redacted] the night before and that he didn't make the mistake that [redacted] did, also said that [redacted] must not know what type of vehicle he drives because he said he knows that [redacted] ordered it for a 1500 1/2 ton. She was told I still had to pay the restocking fee and luck that I didn't get charged for shipping it back. She replied why would my son order a transfer case for a truck he doesn't have. His reply was oh so your his mommy, and your sons perfect and couldn't make a mistake and order the wrong transfer case. She told him that she was going to turn him into the Revdex.com and he said go right ahead your not getting the restocking fee back and have a nice day.Desired Settlement: I just want my $125.00 refunded.They can mail a check back to me at my home address of [redacted] because I'm not going back there it's three hours drive from my home.

Business

Response:

I, [redacted], spoke with [redacted] on the phone beginning on 06/02/15. He was in search of a Transfer Case for a 20004 Silverado 1500 (Chevy Half Ton). He was asked the fitment questions then pertaining to a 1500/Half Ton. He was asked if he had an SS and he stated he did not. He was then asked if had a dash switch/electric shift of a floor shift. He stated he had a floor shift . I then asked if he had a manual or automatic and he responded that he had a manual. I read back the year/make/model & information that he gave me to verify it was correct and he stated it was. That gave me the part number 412-428. As you can see with the documentation attached if he had stated a 2500 the series of questions he would have been asked are different. The part was ordered and he came to pick the item up on 06/08/15. As we do with all customers we give them the opportunity to look at the part before they pay so if there are any issues we can take care of it right away. He went over to look at the transfer case and came back in to pay, sign the invoice and agree to the terms of the invoice. He then came back over a few minutes later to tell me it wasn't the correct one. He, the 2nd time after he paid for and accepted the terms of the purchase, decided to check the ID#'s and realized there was an issue. Upon further discussion he stated he had a 3/4 Ton/2500 which is a different part. We ordered the part based on the information he provided us with but that information was not correct. We offered to get him the one he needed and he stated he could get it elsewhere faster. That's totally fine but in accordance to the terms of the purchase, the invoice he signed, we charged a re-stocking fee. Please note the back of our invoice states. "1. A 20% re-stocking fee will be applied to any part returned "not needed." and "2. Buyer will be responsible for freight on any "not needed" or incorrectly ordered part." The re-stocking fee is designed to help cover the cost of returning a part that a customer either decided they didn't want or ordered incorrectly or the cost of re-entering an item into our inventory. This item was ordered and now would need to be returned. We are responsible for the initial and return freight of the this item, that [redacted] ordered incorrectly. That cost greatly exceeds the re-stocking fee he was charged. The front of our invoice also states, "20% re-stocking fee" as well. We only charged [redacted] the 20% re-stocking fee, we did not charge him the cost of freight as we could have. We were sympathetic that he made a mistake and was trying to make the financial burden of that mistake minimal for him as we value his business and understand mistakes happen, we are all human. The following morning his mom called and asked to speak to the owner. The owner is my father who was not in the office at the time and would have had no knowledge of the transaction had he even been here. I was the salesperson and the Manager of Operations to I spoke with her. She very rudely demanded we give him a full refund, stated we purposely screwed her son over, we ordered the incorrect part and are blaming him and finally threatened to turn this over to the Revdex.com. I explained to her that I ordered the exact part off of the information her son provided because we do not know what kind of vehicle he drives and that he would have to provide me with information that I used, he agreed to the terms of the sale when he signed the invoice and paid for it. I did tell her that we could have also charged him the freight cost but decided to limit the cost of his mistake. She then told me he knew it was the wrong one because the invoice stated "exc. SS" I informed her that was not the same reason he indicated to us and that that "exc. SS" means Except or Excluding the SS model and that for this part that has no bearing whatsoever as he doesn't have an SS model so that information is correct. The only thing that proves is that he answered a 1500/Half Ton question when he had a 2500. I certainly understand Vince's frustration but I ordered the part he requested, he doesn't have a 1500 he has a 2500. Since he incorrectly ordered the part he was responsible for paying a re-stocking fee. Thank you for your time.

Consumer

Response: