Newport Italian Inc

***,
I received a copy of a complaint from you in regards to customer *** ***The details in the complaint are mostly inaccurate and it appears that this complaint was filed well before Mr*** came in to pick up his scooter as we made a complete repair of the customer's scooter
The customer
brought in his scooter for a cold start problem in which the scooter was not running smoothly in the coldOur technician spent in excess of hours of diagnosis to find the cause of the customer's cold start issuesWe even worked hand in hand with Piaggio's Technical Center of North America on the issue, with no simple resolveAt the end of the hours of diagnosis, our dealership in unison with Piaggio's technical center concluded that the said Vespa required a new ECU unitThe customer's Vespa was no longer under warranty at the time of service yet our dealership had not charged the customer for any of our timeUpon concluding the ECU unit to be at fault, we simply requested a $payment to move forward with testing a new ECU provided by Piaggio to test the theoretical repairThe customer demanded that we guarantee that the ECU would fix the problem, which we could not doSo the customer refused to pay the $and came to pick up the Vespa
The customer picked up his Vespa from us at no charge and rode it homeWhen the customer got home he called in and said that the Vespa was not running well, worse than when he brought it inWe told him to bring it back in and we would find out what was going onUpon further inspection we found that coincidentally the auto choke on the Vespa failed and required replacementThe customer fought us on paying us for our work and expected our dealership to provide parts and service at our expenseWe replaced the auto choke and replaced the ECU on the customer's Vespa which resulted in the Vespa running perfectlyThe customer was notified the bike was fixed and he could come pay his billThe customer came, paid his bill, and took his bike, only to go home CANCEL the credit card payment and send us a postal money order for $LESS than his billWe have not deposited the postal money order as we do not accept nor condone this customer's deceitful and dishonest actions
The customer's desired settlement was honored promptly although this was never requested directly by the customer in a fair and honest mannerThe defamatory and manipulative practices put into action by this customer through his interaction with our business and the Revdex.com are not legitimate and should be disregarded

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Subject: Revdex.com complaint #[redacted]
 To continue my complaint; please note My 2009 "S" Vespa scooter only
 had a STARTING problem when very cold.  It has already been stated it ran fine since purchased, and I usually kept it inside to avoid problems.  I thought it should be remedied  in case I moved , so since I needed a "cold spell" in the weather to demonstrate , I told the service person I dealt at this business in December 2013-  I'd bring it in when it was convenient & forecast cold.  I took the bike up in January & told them to leave it outside in a shady spot & try to duplicate symptom Early A.M Otherwise , the bike would act fine.  At that time , I purchased a $250 + tax helmet  and left the scooter with my regular service person.  ........The ensuing aggravation has been documented in my "immediate" complaint. When I returned to the business on 1/14/2014 to ride home on my bike,  I had informed them I did not want to commit to a $90/hr diagnosis as offered with no guarantee.  I did however, tell  the sales rep that I would purchase a new 2014 "S"  and sell my older "S" if he would arrange to exchange a few accessories from the old to the new bike. * I put down a $500 deposit and ordered the new bike.  Little did I know I was about to ride home on a  NOW seriously bad running bike.    *NOW -- to dispel "hearsay ' disputes...I have not dealt with the "Owner" face to face on my service to this bike ..only his employees.  ( I learned  from the [redacted] "factory REP" that my bike was RUNNING badly the first time he was called to see it -.AND he had given them a new ECU for my bike after he diagnosed the problem-  * I have known him for 20 years and this was through a personal phone call)    This Dealership obviously knew they were giving me back a disabled bike !      ..Unfortunately,,  because I had to return with my bike In the back of my bus on Jan.15th,  I was so upset I cancelled the new scooter order.   I requested that the service Mgr. proceed with the "recommended" installation of  the ECU from the REP., only to be told that that ECU was now the "SHOP ECU" and they would have to order one for my bike.  They said I would have to pay up front for the ECU..   I asked them to write up an an invoice instead and I would AUTHORIZE it..Invoice # [redacted]   - ECU + .5 hrs labor -approx. 275.00  *  I then requested the service Mgr to SIGN the invoice...  which he did- I have the original.    I then had to go to work (2nd shift) 
That evening I checked my messages at home since I don't have a cell phone. The Owner had left (2) messages to call. * When I called he was not agreeable,  * - no baloney.   --The next morning I opened an email from him regarding how disagreeable I have been .  * This e-mail is dated Jan.15th 11:57 P.M. > (But his "WE" statements are predominantly second hand .)  -He also stated that he worked on my Vespa GT-60 for free...My invoice from that service shows a zero total written in BUT I have the $90 charge receipt that I Paid. I also had the same problem recurring within 100 miles/ and at the same time discovered the transmission oil level was practically zero. * Regardless; his final Quote to me was:   " So , please come pick up your bike that does not run correctly we will not be touching or doing any more work on your bike or bikes in the future, you are not welcome in our store and we will refuse service to you".    Since I immediately set to work on my complaint;  I was lost until a Friend/ Laguna homeowner who was interested in the bike agreed to see if he could put invoice #[redacted] in his name by paying "up front" and he headed up to the business Friday 1/17 while I was at work..   He was astounded that the scooter now had a bill of $564.12 and he was told the scooter was fixed.  * Neither of us had a clue that they had produced a NEW INVOICE # [redacted] for $564.12 and DATED 1/15/2014 ! - Including an ECU (that had to be ordered) !   -He quickly changed his mind and told me the news that evening .           When I called on Saturday I was told I had to pay The full bill B-4 I would even be able to see it run. Otherwise, I had to deal directly with the owner to get my scooter and I would have to wait until Tuesday 1/21..  when I went in Tuesday the owner was not present,  however the service mgr released my bike .   - -  Due to the QUESTIONABLE methods in the practices I encountered, and the owner's  written use of The word LIEN-even on inv.#[redacted]  //  I took my refuge from them by sending them a replacement payment / USPS check for $300.00 certified mail immediately to more than cover AUTHORIZED invoice # [redacted].      >>* According to California Business Code -Section 9884.9..( sent as supplemental info)  ..& SERVICE TECH AND LAGUNA FRIEND NAMES AND DIRECT PHONES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST)    * This complaint is being prepared to be forwarded to the  California Bureau of Auto Repair *
SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTATION FOR  ID#[redacted] - NOTE TIME  SENT - USOLICITED *NEW INVOICE # [redacted] @$ 564.12 created/dated 1/15/2014- I was not notified until I attempted to P.U. bike four days later  *   subject: S 150 repair
From: [redacted] <[redacted]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 20:57:28 -0800
To: "[redacted]" <[redacted]>
Mr [redacted],
This e mail is to let you know that we have the right to refuse service to you for the following reasons. Your refusal to pay for diagnosis of your complaint with your vehicle vin # [redacted] On 1/04/14 you brought in vehicle for running rough and having problems idling during the morning or when weather was cold. We advised you at this time that it would be 1 hour of labor @ $90 per hour the posted shop rate to check & diagnose issue in which you signed as your vehicle was not under factory warranty any longer. We tried to locate & isolate  the problem you described for 5.5 hours in which you where not charged as a kind gesture to you as a customer, I then called you and advised you that we could not find the source of the problem after doing over 7 tests as described in repair order. I then advised you if you wanted us to continue to find the source of the problem you would have to commit & approve to a further 2 hours of shop time @ $90.00 per hour, and that I would have the head tech from the factory come over to see if he could help find the source of the problem, You told me "no that's not my problem you should work on the bike with no charge because you thought it was some sort of factory defect & other people online said the factory should fix it" then you demanded the factory Tech to call you & said "I'm not paying anything until he calls me and I speak with him personally" I said to you " Unfortunately your bike is no longer under the factory warranty & if it where there maybe something they could look at but I will go ahead and ask him look at your vehicle for you as a kind gesture and see if we can find the source of the problem for you but it would be fair if you at least paid for one hour additional as we had already spent 4.5 shop hours trying to find source for you as a courtesy. At this point you hung up the phone on me. Then you called me back 30 min later  and said sorry your right could you please have the factory tech look at the bike I said well we really really care about you and your bike and can understand some of your frustration but its not our fault your having intermittent mechanical issues they are machines and they brake down sometimes. I then said to you going even further beyond call of duty I said I will have the factory tech come over & see what he finds. I had the head tech of [redacted] USA come by and take a look and he went over 5 or 6 tests "see repair order" to see what the problem could be & spend 2 hours Fri night working then come back Sat morning to see if he could help discover the source of the problem. After discussing the possibilities with the Head tech from [redacted] and running other tests the highest possible answer was the vehicle had  a bad or faulting ECU. We then called you & told You your vehicle needed a new ECU you then came into the store on Tues January 14th and picked up the vehicle without paying for the 1 hour of labor as originally agreed that you signed and also refused to pay for the ECU & recommended installation and left on your vehicle. You then called the store and said my bike is running worse than it was when you dropped it off we said yes it has a bad ECU and it needs to be replaced but we can not work for free or give you free parts and you have a balance due of $90.00 for one hour diagnosis. You then brought the bike back into the store Weds talked down to the employees that where trying to help you and demanded that we repair the bike and suggested that we install a new ECU for free. At this point after giving and giving to you and you not appreciating any of the kind things we have done for you for free Hector the service writer said No you must pay for the Job if you want us to work on your vehicle and you must sign & authorize the work on the repair order this point you demanded to pay cost of the part and will only pay for .5 hours for the install, When I came into the store today to review the employees activities I was told what had occurred and after hearing how you talked to the employees and tried blaming us for doing nothing but try to help you with your s 150 & then reviewing & thinking about all the other things we have done  for free for you on your Gtv that nobody else was able to fix for you but us, and the hours and efforts by my staff to be so kind to you I said to myself WHY ? This customer treats my employees like they are stupid, he wants us to pay for his work, he calls constantly for updates & wants us to drop everything for him, threatens to claim a Lemmon law on a bike or on all his bikes we did not even sell him, he thinks he is more important than everyone else.
So I decided - WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE & WE JUST DON'T NEED CUSTOMERS  LIKE THIS I then called you 2 times today 1/15 & left 2 messages, you then called me at 7:20 I answered the phone and told you that we are no longer going or need to do business with you and to come pick up your bike and pay your bill of $90.00 You then threatened to sue me and said your the customer and your always right - then hung up.
So Mr [redacted], please come pick up your bike that does not run correctly we will not be touching or doing any more work on your bike or bikes in the future, you are not welcome in our store and we will refuse service to you. Please pay your bill of $90.00 for 1 hour diagnosis if you do not pay the bill I will put a lien on it for amount due. It is very unfortunate that it had to come to this as we truly care about every single customers best interests our # 1 priority is our customers and always will be it is unfortunate that you do not realize or appreciate this fact.
[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: Inept service issues. I notified this Dealer a month before taking my 2009 Vespa to them regarding "Cold starting problems"They agreed on the problem -Otherwise it ran fine. They first notified me the scooter had substandard cylinder compression for a low mileage scooter (after 2- tests) ...Days later they admitted they had performed the test wrong, compression was OK- But- they had spent (7)hours and couldn't find the cold start problem. The Owner told me I would have to pay $90 dollars/hour to proceed with NO GUARANTEE. I put a hold on service & went 3 days later to P.U. *The scooter that has run perfectly for 5 years now ran terribly (WARM hard start / backfiring/ cut-off at every stop) *They said on the phone it must be a new problem; stated it ran fine the other day. -I returned the scooter /signed a new work order-to include an order of a "suggested part" to repair, but they called back later that day and said they didn't like my attitude, didn't want my business &"come & P.U the scooter "AS_IS" * They are the Only AUTHORIZED Vespa dealer for 75+ miles! *They are refusing any reparation !

Product_Or_Service: 2009 VESPA

Account_Number: *FROM CLOSED DEALERDesired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

I would like this VESPA AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER to restore my (original $5000.00)scooter to the running state that they received it. They obviously know they ruined it/ and just want to get rid of their involvement!

Business

Response:

[redacted],

I received a copy of a complaint from you in regards to customer [redacted]. The details in the complaint are mostly inaccurate and it appears that this complaint was filed well before Mr. [redacted] came in to pick up his scooter as we made a complete repair of the customer's scooter.

The customer brought in his scooter for a cold start problem in which the scooter was not running smoothly in the cold. Our technician spent in excess of 7 hours of diagnosis to find the cause of the customer's cold start issues. We even worked hand in hand with Piaggio's Technical Center of North America on the issue, with no simple resolve. At the end of the 7 hours of diagnosis, our dealership in unison with Piaggio's technical center concluded that the said Vespa required a new ECU unit. The customer's Vespa was no longer under warranty at the time of service yet our dealership had not charged the customer for any of our time. Upon concluding the ECU unit to be at fault, we simply requested a $90 payment to move forward with testing a new ECU provided by Piaggio to test the theoretical repair. The customer demanded that we guarantee that the ECU would fix the problem, which we could not do. So the customer refused to pay the $90 and came to pick up the Vespa.

The customer picked up his Vespa from us at no charge and rode it home. When the customer got home he called in and said that the Vespa was not running well, worse than when he brought it in. We told him to bring it back in and we would find out what was going on. Upon further inspection we found that coincidentally the auto choke on the Vespa failed and required replacement. The customer fought us on paying us for our work and expected our dealership to provide parts and service at our expense. We replaced the auto choke and replaced the ECU on the customer's Vespa which resulted in the Vespa running perfectly. The customer was notified the bike was fixed and he could come pay his bill. The customer came, paid his bill, and took his bike, only to go home CANCEL the credit card payment and send us a postal money order for $264.12 LESS than his bill. We have not deposited the postal money order as we do not accept nor condone this customer's deceitful and dishonest actions.

The customer's desired settlement was honored promptly although this was never requested directly by the customer in a fair and honest manner. The defamatory and manipulative practices put into action by this customer through his interaction with our business and the Revdex.com are not legitimate and should be disregarded.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Subject: Revdex.com complaint #[redacted]

To continue my complaint; please note My 2009 "S" Vespa scooter only

had a STARTING problem when very cold. It has already been stated it ran fine since purchased, and I usually kept it inside to avoid problems. I thought it should be remedied in case I moved , so since I needed a "cold spell" in the weather to demonstrate , I told the service person I dealt at this business in December 2013- I'd bring it in when it was convenient & forecast cold. I took the bike up in January & told them to leave it outside in a shady spot & try to duplicate symptom Early A.M Otherwise , the bike would act fine. At that time , I purchased a $250 + tax helmet and left the scooter with my regular service person. ........The ensuing aggravation has been documented in my "immediate" complaint. When I returned to the business on 1/14/2014 to ride home on my bike, I had informed them I did not want to commit to a $90/hr diagnosis as offered with no guarantee. I did however, tell the sales rep that I would purchase a new 2014 "S" and sell my older "S" if he would arrange to exchange a few accessories from the old to the new bike. * I put down a $500 deposit and ordered the new bike. Little did I know I was about to ride home on a NOW seriously bad running bike. *NOW -- to dispel "hearsay ' disputes...I have not dealt with the "Owner" face to face on my service to this bike ..only his employees. ( I learned from the [redacted] "factory REP" that my bike was RUNNING badly the first time he was called to see it -.AND he had given them a new ECU for my bike after he diagnosed the problem- * I have known him for 20 years and this was through a personal phone call) This Dealership obviously knew they were giving me back a disabled bike ! ..Unfortunately,, because I had to return with my bike In the back of my bus on Jan.15th, I was so upset I cancelled the new scooter order. I requested that the service Mgr. proceed with the "recommended" installation of the ECU from the REP., only to be told that that ECU was now the "SHOP ECU" and they would have to order one for my bike. They said I would have to pay up front for the ECU.. I asked them to write up an an invoice instead and I would AUTHORIZE it..Invoice # [redacted] - ECU + .5 hrs labor -approx. 275.00 * I then requested the service Mgr to SIGN the invoice... which he did- I have the original. I then had to go to work (2nd shift)

That evening I checked my messages at home since I don't have a cell phone. The Owner had left (2) messages to call. * When I called he was not agreeable, * - no baloney. --The next morning I opened an email from him regarding how disagreeable I have been . * This e-mail is dated Jan.15th 11:57 P.M. > (But his "WE" statements are predominantly second hand .) -He also stated that he worked on my Vespa GT-60 for free...My invoice from that service shows a zero total written in BUT I have the $90 charge receipt that I Paid. I also had the same problem recurring within 100 miles/ and at the same time discovered the transmission oil level was practically zero. * Regardless; his final Quote to me was: " So , please come pick up your bike that does not run correctly we will not be touching or doing any more work on your bike or bikes in the future, you are not welcome in our store and we will refuse service to you". Since I immediately set to work on my complaint; I was lost until a Friend/ Laguna homeowner who was interested in the bike agreed to see if he could put invoice #[redacted] in his name by paying "up front" and he headed up to the business Friday 1/17 while I was at work.. He was astounded that the scooter now had a bill of $564.12 and he was told the scooter was fixed. * Neither of us had a clue that they had produced a NEW INVOICE # [redacted] for $564.12 and DATED 1/15/2014 ! - Including an ECU (that had to be ordered) ! -He quickly changed his mind and told me the news that evening . When I called on Saturday I was told I had to pay The full bill B-4 I would even be able to see it run. Otherwise, I had to deal directly with the owner to get my scooter and I would have to wait until Tuesday 1/21.. when I went in Tuesday the owner was not present, however the service mgr released my bike . - - Due to the QUESTIONABLE methods in the practices I encountered, and the owner's written use of The word LIEN-even on inv.#[redacted] // I took my refuge from them by sending them a replacement payment / USPS check for $300.00 certified mail immediately to more than cover AUTHORIZED invoice # [redacted]. >>* According to California Business Code -Section 9884.9..( sent as supplemental info) ..& SERVICE TECH AND LAGUNA FRIEND NAMES AND DIRECT PHONES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST) * This complaint is being prepared to be forwarded to the California Bureau of Auto Repair *

SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTATION FOR ID#[redacted] - NOTE TIME SENT - USOLICITED *NEW INVOICE # [redacted] @$ 564.12 created/dated 1/15/2014- I was not notified until I attempted to P.U. bike four days later * subject: S 150 repair

From: [redacted] <[redacted]>

Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 20:57:28 -0800

To: "[redacted]" <[redacted]>

Mr [redacted],

This e mail is to let you know that we have the right to refuse service to you for the following reasons. Your refusal to pay for diagnosis of your complaint with your vehicle vin # [redacted] On 1/04/14 you brought in vehicle for running rough and having problems idling during the morning or when weather was cold. We advised you at this time that it would be 1 hour of labor @ $90 per hour the posted shop rate to check & diagnose issue in which you signed as your vehicle was not under factory warranty any longer. We tried to locate & isolate the problem you described for 5.5 hours in which you where not charged as a kind gesture to you as a customer, I then called you and advised you that we could not find the source of the problem after doing over 7 tests as described in repair order. I then advised you if you wanted us to continue to find the source of the problem you would have to commit & approve to a further 2 hours of shop time @ $90.00 per hour, and that I would have the head tech from the factory come over to see if he could help find the source of the problem, You told me "no that's not my problem you should work on the bike with no charge because you thought it was some sort of factory defect & other people online said the factory should fix it" then you demanded the factory Tech to call you & said "I'm not paying anything until he calls me and I speak with him personally" I said to you " Unfortunately your bike is no longer under the factory warranty & if it where there maybe something they could look at but I will go ahead and ask him look at your vehicle for you as a kind gesture and see if we can find the source of the problem for you but it would be fair if you at least paid for one hour additional as we had already spent 4.5 shop hours trying to find source for you as a courtesy. At this point you hung up the phone on me. Then you called me back 30 min later and said sorry your right could you please have the factory tech look at the bike I said well we really really care about you and your bike and can understand some of your frustration but its not our fault your having intermittent mechanical issues they are machines and they brake down sometimes. I then said to you going even further beyond call of duty I said I will have the factory tech come over & see what he finds. I had the head tech of [redacted] USA come by and take a look and he went over 5 or 6 tests "see repair order" to see what the problem could be & spend 2 hours Fri night working then come back Sat morning to see if he could help discover the source of the problem. After discussing the possibilities with the Head tech from [redacted] and running other tests the highest possible answer was the vehicle had a bad or faulting ECU. We then called you & told You your vehicle needed a new ECU you then came into the store on Tues January 14th and picked up the vehicle without paying for the 1 hour of labor as originally agreed that you signed and also refused to pay for the ECU & recommended installation and left on your vehicle. You then called the store and said my bike is running worse than it was when you dropped it off we said yes it has a bad ECU and it needs to be replaced but we can not work for free or give you free parts and you have a balance due of $90.00 for one hour diagnosis. You then brought the bike back into the store Weds talked down to the employees that where trying to help you and demanded that we repair the bike and suggested that we install a new ECU for free. At this point after giving and giving to you and you not appreciating any of the kind things we have done for you for free Hector the service writer said No you must pay for the Job if you want us to work on your vehicle and you must sign & authorize the work on the repair order this point you demanded to pay cost of the part and will only pay for .5 hours for the install, When I came into the store today to review the employees activities I was told what had occurred and after hearing how you talked to the employees and tried blaming us for doing nothing but try to help you with your s 150 & then reviewing & thinking about all the other things we have done for free for you on your Gtv that nobody else was able to fix for you but us, and the hours and efforts by my staff to be so kind to you I said to myself WHY ? This customer treats my employees like they are stupid, he wants us to pay for his work, he calls constantly for updates & wants us to drop everything for him, threatens to claim a Lemmon law on a bike or on all his bikes we did not even sell him, he thinks he is more important than everyone else.

So I decided - WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE & WE JUST DON'T NEED CUSTOMERS LIKE THIS I then called you 2 times today 1/15 & left 2 messages, you then called me at 7:20 I answered the phone and told you that we are no longer going or need to do business with you and to come pick up your bike and pay your bill of $90.00 You then threatened to sue me and said your the customer and your always right - then hung up.

So Mr [redacted], please come pick up your bike that does not run correctly we will not be touching or doing any more work on your bike or bikes in the future, you are not welcome in our store and we will refuse service to you. Please pay your bill of $90.00 for 1 hour diagnosis if you do not pay the bill I will put a lien on it for amount due. It is very unfortunate that it had to come to this as we truly care about every single customers best interests our # 1 priority is our customers and always will be it is unfortunate that you do not realize or appreciate this fact.

Regards,