Miller's Gutter Service

This is in response to the letter we received from you regarding complaint ID #[redacted], which pertains to a customer who had previously dealt with us but whose car we hadn’t serviced for almost a year.  He recently contacted us stating he was told by another shop that his muffler was going...

bad.  We scheduled an appointment on 7/29/17 to check out the issue.  When our technician pulled the car into the building, both he and another technician working in the same area smelled gasoline.  Our technician put the car into the air to inspect the exhaust system.  The vehicle (a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am) was hoisted using a standard method of lifting the car by the body seams with an insulation material that is typically of a rubber or a hardened styrofoam material.  After the car was part way up in the air, we started the vehicle to check the condition of the exhaust system.  During the inspection, it was quickly noticed that gasoline was dripping from the left front area of the vehicle, just behind the left front wheel and next to the body seam where the car was hoisted.  We determined the muffler and the exhaust system were not leaking and not discharging carbon monoxide as the customer had incorrectly stated in his complaint.  We additionally noted that the car had recently been inspected and any kind of exhaust issue relative to leakage would not have passed.  We discussed our findings with the customer, particularly the very dangerous fuel leak, but he was not interested in pursuing that repair, and he drove off with his car in that condition.  The customer phoned the store shortly after leaving and stated that we had intentionally cut his fuel line.  I had not personally been dealing with this customer that morning, but when the customer called, I assured him we would never intentionally damage a customer’s car.  I would like to state that we have been in business for 28 years and a check of your history pertaining to our organization would establish that we have had few complaints and a good reputation as a car repair facility.  However, I would also state that this customer’s particular vehicle is very rusty, including the body seams, and the fuel leak we smelled prior to hoisting the car could have worsened, not due to our negligence, but the poor condition and heavy under rust of this vehicle.  A few days later, the customer wanted us to schedule to have his muffler replaced, and he phoned me and told me his wife was afraid to bring it in.  I told him at that time we were not going to work on his car anymore and the muffler is not eligible for warranty replacement.  I would additionally like to say that over the years that this customer did deal with us, I have more than bent over backwards to help him, including allowing him to make payments on car repairs with us that eventually led to us writing off a bad debt with him that, in my recollection, was for more than $200, because he said he couldn’t pay since he fell on hard times.  So, we are obviously very frustrated by him accusing us of sabotaging his car. Sincerely, Robert *. R[redacted]Richey, Inc. ###-###-####