R.J.T. Motorist Services Inc.

RJT Motorist Services was used because they do AAA car towing. When Calling AAA in the Westchester, NY area. My Car overheated on Rt. 684 and was towed to "RJT". I was told by "RJT" that I would have to Pay $55 dollars for car Checkout or Pay for overnight storage of $195. The short of it...... AAA said there would be no fees. This is a rip off from "RJT".

Review: I had bought my vehicle to the shop to have it checked for a problem where my RPM needle was not in synch with acceleration. I met [redacted] who told me that I will have one of our guys ([redacted] I think) take it for a spin and call you with the problem and steps that we might have to take. [redacted] (not exactly sure about the name) later in half hour and says that the car has been checked and there is a clutch problem for which 7 hours of time is needed and would cost around $700 for it. I replied back saying I just finished with my MBA and its a high cost which I will have to defer it for some other time. She kept the phone and then later in some time another call comes from [redacted] repeating the same thing and saying that you have a bill waiting for you. When going to the shop they were charging me half hour work time which was clearly not mentioned to me. I would have expected a phone call saying that we have to take your car up and it would be a charge of some amount. All I was told was the guy would take the car for a spin and take back. [redacted] the girl working was rude to me and went to an extent where she said are you taking pictures of my when I was using my phone for calls. Later when I asked for the bill they were rude by giving me just a sheet of paper with bill amount and no details. Later after an argument and mentioning to them that I need it for a reference for future they gave me in the last minute with just a small description about replacement and when asked for ask writing down details and estimate of labor charges they were again rude by saying that we dont have time to do all this. I am so disappointed and cheated and came back after paying the amount. When I looked on[redacted] for reviews for this shop I see many people cheated. I request you to kindly look into this issue. The half hour mentioned on the bill is not even the half hour spent as I have time in on the bill and the call I received less than half hour which makes me further feel cheated Regards, [redacted]Desired Settlement: Be polite to customers. Provide clarity about your charges Apologize and refund

Business

Response:

I am responding to a complaint under [redacted] I have reviewed [redacted] complaint and would like to apologize for the way he felt he was treated during his visit to our repair shop. When [redacted] arrived he had explained to [redacted] his complaints and had asked that we check his vehicle over so he could get an idea of what was wrong with his car. Our shop [redacted] took his vehicle for a test drive and checked it over internally and externally and after doing so he found the problem within [redacted] clutch. Almost an hour after he dropped the vehicle off at our location I, [redacted] Manager gave [redacted] a call and told him the diagnostics of his vehicle. I explained that the job would be about 7.1 hours in labor charges which is approximately $700, plus whatever the additional parts would cost. After explaining this to the customer, he did not want to repair the vehicle, as he explained he didn’t hav e the funds to do so. He had asked if he could come and pick up the car, I explained to him that, that wouldn’t be a problem but I needed to put a bill together and would give him a call back with the charges. Not even 10 minutes later [redacted] arrived at [redacted] to pick his vehicle up. I did not have a chance to give him a call back as I told him I would because he showed up within those 10 minutes of hanging up the phone.

He was given his invoice for the minimum shop charge of $48 plus tax. It should be noted that these charges are posted in our office on the wall in clear sight of patrons. [redacted]. After being given the bill the customer inappropriately yelled at the office staff about how he is a graduate student and doesn’t have the money to pay this, how could a company charge him for not repairing his vehicle, and why wasn’t he informed of the charges prior to him leaving his vehicle with us. I tried to explain to him that a minimum shop charge is customary and that we spent time looking into his clutch assembly, setting the car up on the lift, checking the linkage, and the clutch pedal assembly but [redacted] couldn’t or wouldn't grasp the concept.

At that point [redacted] got involved by trying to explain it a little better, but [redacted] wasn’t receptive to either one of us. We even pointed out to [redacted] that our shop charges are posted on our wall in plain view for all to see an read. We did our best to explain everything to him as clearly as possible.

After going back and forth with the customer over the minimum shop charge for taking the time to check into his vehicle, he demanded that we give him a written estimate on the repairs. Being that he didn’t want to go further I explained to him that pricing out his parts would take a bit of time and I would not have an answer for him right away. The best I could do to show the repair on his invoice was to ‘decline’ the services for the repair of his clutch. We explained that a written estimate as he was demanding would cost money as stated in our office policy as well.

As to express where the customer states where I was rude once again but this time about the picturing taking. The customer in fact picked up his phone and started taking pictures of me. I very nicely stated to him that it was inappropriate to take my picture and I would appreciate if he wanted a picture of me to ask first. He then was messing around with his phone for 3 minutes (deleting my picture) and then threw his phone at me saying he did not take a photo.

Unfortunately, when someone is in distress they see things under a different light. As it was posted on our wall when [redacted] drove his vehicle to our repair shop, and as explained that we would give him a call with the charges, [redacted] was in fact warned there would be a small fee for us to take our time in diagnosing his vehicle's problem. $48.00 is a reasonable and customary charge. At this point we are not going to reimburse [redacted] for the minimum shop charge. However as a good will [redacted]) did offer [redacted] a full credit to be used for future repairs but he unfortunately declined.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted],

We are sorry you feel the way you do about your experience at R.J.T. To bring your vehicle into a repair facility, expect the mechanic

to road test, check, and diagnose a vehicle free of charge is unrealistic unless it can be done within a few minutes.

You stated that we have unreasonable charges and that we are unclear of our fees. However our labor rates and our minimum

shop charges are posted on our wall, and pointed out to you when you were in our office. You were only charged the minimum shop

charge of $48 {only a half hour) when we spent over an hour checking, testing, diagnosing, and road testing

your vehicle to determine that it was in fact a clutch problem, as opposed to a hydraulic problem which can easily be misinterpreted

if diagnosed incorrectly. You were also advised that we would apply the $48 diagnostic fee {minimum shop charge) towards your repair,

if you decided to have us fix your vehicle. When we phoned you to advise you that the labor alone would be approximately 7 hours,

{$672.00), plus the parts you objected and complained about the cost.

As explained to you, written estimates take time and cost money and I would have been happy

to do so, and explained to you that I would, but that there was an additional fee for that, (also posted

and pointed out 10 you on the wall.) I did my best to help you save money for an estimate

by putting a declined service on your bill stating the service your vehicle needed with the labor time!

After reading your other review posted to another company, it seems that you will only be happy when given

services free on change.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by R.J.T. Motorist Services Inc. regarding complaint[redacted]

Sincerely,