Hartnell Auto Shop

On or around February 3, 2017, *** *** brought her Chevrolet Uplander to Hartnell Auto Shop complaining of "loose steering" and a noise in the front end. Upon inspection, *** had two problems the tech found, one being a very loose wheel bearing hub assembly and the other being a
loose mounting bold on the rack & pinion. The rack & pinion was not found to be leaking power steering fluid, loose, broken, or otherwise in need of repairs. As the invoice here attached will show, we repaired both of those issues at the time the customer brought the vehicle in. We do not do any repair on vehicles at Hartnell Auto Shop without first getting approval of said repair, after the customer has been verbally told the estimate of what the repair is. We did not change out the rack & pinion, nor was she informed of such as can be seen on the invoice. The amount of the invoice would have been significantly higher should we have replaced the rack & pinion, as the price of that repair is significantly higher in cost. The customer phoned us recently and I could not hear anyone on the phone when she called. Her name did not come across the caller ID and I do not remember the phone numbers of our customersAs soon as I heard silence on the other end and said hello several times with no response, I disconnected the call. The following day, *** came into the office and stated she had been hung up on. I explained to her that I would never hang up on a customer and that I had no reason to hang up on her. At this point, I had no idea she had problems with her vehicle. During that visit to the office, *** wanted a copy of the invoice "where the rack & pinion had been replaced." I brought up her previous invoices and informed her that we had no history where we had replaced a rack & pinion. I provided her with a copy of our invoice # *** to show that there was a bolt that had been tightened for $41.94. And that we had replaced a wheel bearing hub assembly. She stated that she had brought it in to get a rack & pinion put on, but I told her that the techs had inspected the rack & pinion and no such repair was needed. *** stated then that she wanted to speak with *** ***, the owner. When *** returned, she explained to him that she had a problem with the steering and said that the rack & pinion needed repaired and that she had told us that previously. *** asked her what symptoms she was having*** then told the customer that he would have to look at the car and asked if the keys were in it. *** then inspected and diagnosed the vehicle. Again, *** found there to be no problem with the rack & pinion. He explained to the customer that it is not the rack & pinion that is in need of repair, but that she now has a different repair needed on the vehicle. He informed her that she has a bad u-joint in the steering shaft coupler, and gave her an estimate for that repair. She told him that was the same problem as she had before. *** told her that a loose bolt in the steering is not the same as a bad u-joint in the steering shaft coupler and told her only $had been charged for the repair on steering previously. The remaining amount on the repair was for the wheel bearing hub assembly. The estimate for the current repair needed on the vehicle was verbally given to the customer. The customer then left the office. We will gladly refund the $to ***, in good will, as we are sorry a customer who has had several repairs done at our business is now upset about this issue. We do not think, however, that a full refund is warranted in this matter, as she had a bad wheel bearing hub assembly on the vehicle and that repair was done, accounting for the remaining amount of the $invoice. And again, *** has never gotten a rack & pinion replaced, the rack & pinion does not now appear to be in need of repair, nor was she ever charged for a replacement of a rack & pinion. *** has over years of experience in automotive repair and is well familiar with the symptoms of faulty rack & pinions and believes one is not presently needed on this vehicle. Should you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Thank you for your attention in this matter

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I took my car in to Hartnell auto shop I was charge for this matter now I was already told what I need on this car that y I took it there but now there saying all they did was repair boat & wiresso he did what he wanted to do with my car and now it's doing the same thing and charge me he need to pay me back all my money so it can be fix rightthe man who put my tries on told me I need to check a rack & pinion and he work at coffee auto shop that y I took it there to himI have one thing fix that dayand that was the cost and that what I give him to fix my carand if they what to give me back anything they need to pay me back all my money of the three hundred and fifty one dollars and someso I can get it done right
Sincerely,
*** ***