Sampson's Automotive, LLC

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] Please add your rejection comments below Mr [redacted] response is a total fabricationIt is clear that this is a deliberate attempt to defraud meWhat is my next step in this process? Regards, [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***Please add your rejection comments below.
This matter has moved into the Courts
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***Please add your rejection comments below.
I am rejecting the business's response to my complaint dated 7/11/15.I contacted this business on Wednesday, 7/8/by filling out an on line contact sheet, not on Monday, 7/6/15, as *** *** states. His father responded to my inquiry and asked me what I needed done to my car. I explained (to his father) that I was hearing a strange noise in the front of my car. *** *** made an appointment for me to bring my car in for a diagnosis on Friday, 7/10/15. Later in the evening of 7/8/15, *** *** called me back and asked me the same questions that his father did. I did not tell *** *** that my brakes were grinding and needed attention. I merely repeated what I told his father earlier that day. I did not tell *** *** that I had previous poor experiences with other mechanicsDuring our conversation, he mentioned that he could look at the car on Thursday, 7/9/instead of Friday, 7/10/15. He said he had plenty of time to diagnose the problem on Thursday. He did not indicate that he would need to move around the schedule for Thursday. I did not contact them on 7/6/15, as he has stated. The first time I spoke with him and his father was 7/8/15, not 7/6/as he states.I never called him back and said that the brakes were getting worseWe spoke only on Wednesday, 7/8/when he called me and asked if I would like to bring my car in on Thursday. While speaking to *** on 7/8/15, I asked him on the phone whether he would be able to drive me home when I dropped off the car the next day. He said that he does that for many of his customers and instructed me to meet him at his shop at a.m. on 7/9/I arrived at his shop at a.m., as he instructed me to do. *** arrived at 8:a.m. and apologized for being late.On our way back to my home *** drove my car and said he thought my car may need an alignment and the problem could be rotational. We chatted a bit, and I commented that I have been to a Honda dealership in the past and I feel that ANY dealership over charges for service and he agreed with me.An hour later, he called me and proceeded to tell me all the courtesy inspections that he performed on my car and that he does this for all his customers.He proceeded to tell me that my car was in great shape, and if I maintained the car (oil changes, etc.) that my car would last for another 200,miles. Then he told me that the brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced, that they were down to the wear indicators and I shouldn't let it go any further. Then he told me that the job would cost me $+ tax to repair my car. I told him I thought the price was high, but agreed to do what he suggested, putting my trust in him.After hanging up and agreeing to his price, my husband told me his price was way out of line for brake pads and rotors. I called *** back within 5-minutes of authorizing the work, and told him to please cancel the job, that I could not afford $and felt the price was too high. He began to tell me that he could lower the price to $and not do everything that he had suggested to me. I told him that I did not want to go through with the work at all.That is when he told me that I would be charged for an hour of labor ($85) and $for shop fees if I did not want the work done. I asked him why and his response was that he had spent an hour diagnosing the car and doing his "courtesy inspections." He said the technician had already started the job. But how could he have started the job, taken the tires off, and start dis-assembling the brakes all within 5-minutes after I agreed to have the work done? I told him that I felt that was unfair and excessive, and asked him to please come and pick me up so that I can retrieve my car.I did not hound him or call him back several times as he says. *** said he would be by with my car within minutes. My tone did not change as he states and we hung up. I waited over an hour for him to bring me my car. I did not call him back at all and yell at him. I merely waited over an hour and received a call from him telling me he was coming now to pick me up.He picked my husband and me up and he drove my car back to his shop, parked my car, and removed the car key from the ignition and walked inside his office area with my car key. I followed him in, and proceed to write him a check. I certainly complained that this charge was ridiculously high and I would not be coming back to his businessHe shrugged his shoulders and began laughing at me, which enraged me.His father, *** *** came out from the inner office, I introduced myself to him and he said he knew who I was. At that point *** told his father "that he was handling this and to go back inside." His father remained there and *** told him again, very sternly, that "he was handling it.GO INSIDE." I spoke up and said that I wanted his father to be there and to know what he was charging me for a diagnosis and "courtesy inspections." I wrote the check out for $and kept complaining about how he was handling this.I went to leave, and he said I needed to sign his invoice. I asked him why, since no work was done to my car and I refused to sign his invoice. At that point he dangled my car key in front of me and said, "if you don't sign my invoice, I will not give you your key back and I will keep your car." I told him that was illegal and he laughed some more. I signed his invoice, under duress, and walked outI NEVER called him a "sg" as he says I did. I did not speak to another one of his customers and say this place is a rip off.I did, however, pass a comment to his workers, that I thought their boss did not follow good business practices and that he ripped me offThey replied with, "have a nice day."I did not tell his father that his son ran a "piss poor business." I did tell him how upset I was with the way this incident was being handled.I did not tell *** *** that since my husband is disabled with Multiple Sclerosis, that he should not charge me at all. I was willing to compromise with him but he had demanded that I pay him $93.50If my complaint is so off base, and *** *** is such an honest, caring, and has an extremely deep rooted passion for his business then why am I finding people on line that have lodged complaints about his business? I found several derogatory comments from other customers that were far from happy with his service. For instance, here is what I found on yelp.com: "They make sure every job turns into a big jobDon't expect to get your car back in less than a week or for less than a grand, even if there was nothing wrong with it."On ***'s *** page.I found the following:from *** ***: "The more I look into this place the less I like itI should have had it towed someplace I would have been better off."Also this one, on ***: "His spark plug wires SHORT, complains to me of work to make them fitOr having to do timingRelying on relatives friends to keep reviews good."And I had found several other bad reviews on Sampson's Automotive *** page prior to me filing a complaint with Revdex.com, but they 'mysteriously" are gone nowIt makes me wonder if he is trying to clean up any comments he doesn't like.Therefore, my side of this truly sad incident, is not at all a fabrication, as *** would lead you to believe.The day after this incident, I brought my car to Post Road Automotive Center. The owner's name is Anthony. Anthony looked at my brakes and told me they were not near the wear indicators and did not feel that either the brake pads or rotors needed replacement at this time. His telephone number is: ###-###-####. He did not charge me ANYTHING for diagnosing my car.With all this being said, I truly believe that *** *** is responsible to reimburse me for his trumped up charges
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***Please add your rejection comments below.
Mr*** response is a total fabricationIt is clear that this is a deliberate attempt to defraud meWhat is my next step in this process?
Regards,
*** ***

On 01-19-15, Mr*** *** dropped off his vehicle for repairsUpon dropping off the vehicle (*** *** *** ***, right hand drive, imported from England), Mr *** supplied me with a timing belt kit, I do not typically install customer supplied parts on vehicles however, made the
exception for Mr ***He also made mention to me at that time that he wanted to have the shock absorbers and steering damper replacedFurther, Mr *** made mention that he wanted to have ALL of the radiator hoses replacedI told him that the hoses looked OK to me, he insisted that I replace themOn top of this, he instructed me to perform a full tune up on the vehicle; replace engine oil and filter, fuel filter, fluid changes, etcHe told me very explicitly that he intended to keep the vehicle forever and wanted me to make all necessary repairs to get it up to speedHe has been an existing customer of mine and he told me point blank, that he does NOT need a written estimateOver the next weeks, we spoke each day to discuss the scope of work, progress, etc.I made it very clear to Mr*** that this particular vehicle is not one that I am familiar withAt our shop, we service all major makes and models however, we specialize in ***He replied saying that he is aware and has already had two other repair garages decline working on this truckI told him that I would be interested in working on the truck for him, however, for a new customer/stranger I would likely turn down the jobFurther, I made it clear that it may take some timeAs it turned out, the parts were difficult to locate and sourceI was unable to get the parts from ANY of my main suppliersWith this being said, I had to pull some strings and outside vendors to locate the parts for himAs I learned all of this, I spoke with Mr*** several times along the wayI recommended replacing the water pump in conjunction with the timing beltI also made mention that the water pump itself costs $and we could just re use the old oneOnce again, he said well I am never going to get rid of the truck, so just replace itFurther, we discussed replacing the fan drive belt, thermostat, etc.Each day, Mr*** and I were in constant contact with one anotherI contacted another garage that Specializes in *** *** products, gaining the needed information that I needed to complete this project properlyI made sure to use the correct fluids, parts, etcIt came to light that I needed to remove the front shock absorbers to get the part numbers and measurements, prior to ordering the new onesOnce again, I was told to go forthAt this point, I called him and gave him all the parts prices (roughly $1,in parts for the whole job)He said great, how long will the parts take to come in? My response was hopefully this week, as I cannot get the truck off of my lift at this time as it is partially dis assembledI did not ask Mr*** for a deposit and all of our communication was verbal via phone callThis is how we have always very successfully communicated in the past and there has never been an issue between us.All of a sudden, when I was just one day and roughly hours of work away from finishing the vehicle, Mr *** turned sourHe called me on Friday January 30th at roughly pm and demanded that I have the truck ready by 6:pmWhen I told him that it would not be ready for pickup until Monday, he hung up on meWhen I called him back, he did not answerOn Saturday January 31, he made several harassing phone calls to us, demanding that we release his vehicle in the condition it was in currently, incomplete, not runnings/ drivableI was out of town helping a friend move into an apartment and told Mr *** that we would have to proceed on MondayOn Monday morning February 2, we were faced with snow and did not open the shop at timeMy father however, did come here at 7:am to put cars inside and check messagesAt 7:am, Mr *** showed up and walked into my garageHe walked straight through the waiting room, past the “employees only" sign, and straight into the shopOn top of this, he physically pushed my father (*** ***) out of his wayMy father immediately called me, I asked him to call the PoliceMr *** however, was already doing so himselfI immediately came to the shop to deal with this issueUpon my arrival, Mr *** greeted me with a surprisingly happy look on his faceI told him that if he wished to take the truck out of my shop as is, then that would be OKI also told him that I needed only hours of work to complete the project and I offered at that time to continue to work with himHe said to call him when he could come with a tow truckAt this time the police officer that had responded left after he said this was a civil matter and he did not need to be involvedI then told him he could come back in hours and I would have the truck ready to goI also promised him ALL of his old parts backI told him the amount owed was in the neighborhood of 4,000.00, and if he wished to take the truck that same day, he would have to pay cashWe have spoken just time since then, when Mr *** gave me the insulting offer of 1,to settle thisWhen I declined, he then hung up and that was our last conversationI have since called, left messages, and emailed Mr ***, with no response.Mr ***s claim that I told him he must pay cash, no less than 4,is falseMr *** has still not even seen the invoice and will not return my callsThe total amount of the invoice is $3,On top of this, I am charging him per day as of 02-02-until the truck is picked upI run a busy shop and just need it goneOn the morning of Monday 02-02-15, Mr *** looked at me with a sly grin and said Good luck, I am a retired Police officer and it is going to come down to your word verses mineMr *** has decided that he does not wish to pay his bill and that is simply the only issue here.Of my near years in business and thousands of repair orders, this is just the second time something like this has happenedMr *** is not the victim in this, and I have every intention to collect the moneys owed to ***s AutomotiveI will however, consider forgiving the storage fees if this is resolved and paid for in a reasonable amount of timeIf it is not, I will have to bring it to my attorney and proceed accordingly.Respectfully,*** ***, Owner###-###-####

We are in possession of a voice mail from Mr*** dated 1/28/that clearly and unequivocally reflects, in his own words the scope of the work on his vehicle to be as described in our initial response to the Revdex.comThis voice mail has been transcribed and the transcript is set forth below.Quote“Hey ***! This is AAHM *** calling to see how things are going AAHM, I did get a hold of my guy in England AH apparently the suspension in that vehicle was modified by the military in so it is not the civilian suspension so if the shocks you’ve got work AAHM thats fine but AAHM if they don't fit AAHM or if you are not sure they are going to fit AH leave the suspension as is and I will have him get AH me military shocksObviously that will take a while to do AAHM the engine and all should be AAHM standard *** *** so hopefully you’ve got the water pump and hoses AH and stuff by nowLet me knowHoping to get it back well AAHM OK*** Bye”End quoteWe invite Mr*** to come to our shop and listen to this voice mail to confirm it’s accuracy and authenticity.*** *** Owner, ***s Automotive, LLC