Ray's Service Center

Review: I took my car in on 10-01-13 to have a diagnostic test done, at which time I was informed that it was free of charge. On 10-2-13 I got in contact with Ray's Auto Shop to see if the test was done yet and they said they found out what was wrong with it. They then took it upon themselves to fix it without calling me first to obtain my permission to perform any service. I was told over the phone that I was being charged $90.00 for a piece that needed fixed that I did not authorize. I just wanted them to do the free diagnostic test so that I knew exactly what was wrong with my car. I was then told over the phone that I needed to come into the shop and talk to someone face to face. When I arrived at the shop I talked to [redacted], he informed me that I either had to pay the $90.00 for the piece or they would put my old piece back on. I told them that I didn't want them to fix it in the first place I only wanted the diagnostic test done. [redacted] asked Ray where the old piece was so it could be put back on my car and Ray told [redacted] that when he took the piece off my car that he had thrown it in the trash due to the fact that it had broken as a result of being thrown on the ground. I was told that I had to wait at least an hour until they put the old piece back on, in all reality it took them about 5 minutes. I was told by another gentleman that works at the shop that the reason they didn't call me before they did the work was because they said "I would have told them no anyway" so they fixed my car without consulting me first. I felt I was not being treated with respect, a friend of mine walked to the shop with me and during conversation Ray had a screwdriver in his hand and was waiving it really close to my friends face. By this time I was upset and in tears because of the way we were being treated. The police were called by the shop because they felt the need to. When the police arrived we were told we had to leave the premises and that I was not to bring my car on their property ever again. I feel cheated!Desired Settlement: Due to the fact that they placed a broken piece in my vehicle that they are responsible for breaking I would like it replaced at no charge to me seeing as they had no right to remove it in the first place.

Business

Response:

October 8. 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

On October 2, 2013 the [redacted] brought her car into Ray’s Service Center for an overheated problem. I began working on her car on October 3rd; the customer wanted me to do a free diagnostic test. It is not possible to do a computer diagnostic test with an overheated problem. So I checked the car and spent one hour determining the cause for the car overheating. Once I determined the problem I began fixing the car and putting a new part on her car. The part for the automobile cost $74 dollars, and I charged her $54 dollars and 1/2 hour labor even though I spent 1 hour working on her car, bringing the total of the bill to $90 dollars. When the customer came to pick up the car she screamed at me saying she did not authorize me to fix her car . She simply only wanted a free diagnostic test. I told her that if she did not want a charge, I would put the old part back on her car and she could then leave my business. Once I put the old part back on her car I went to get tools to work on another car outside. The customer would not leave my shop at this time and would was still complaining about the work I did on her car. The customer and her friend would not move away from my door to allow me to get out. I did have tools in my hand to fix another car, but was not waving them at the customer’s, just simply was trying to get out the door. So I then called the police, since the customer would not leave my premises. The police spoke with them and told them to take the car and not return back to the business. I have been in business for 52 years and have never had any other problems with customers at my business.

Sincerely,