Sky Stores of Moriches

Review: My name is [redacted] and I am submitting this claim on behalf of my mother [redacted]. [redacted] is [redacted] year old single woman who lives alone and has suffered from MS for over 25 years. Her condition has left her unable to walk and she uses an electronic wheelchair to ambulate. For this reason, she drives a 2006 Dodge Caravan which has been converted so that she can bring her wheelchair with her wherever she goes. Although she is unable to drive any longer, several people including her family, friends, and home health aid drive her vehicle so that she can attend religious services and doctor’s appointments. She is on a fixed income.

A friend recommended that my mom get an estimate for a rack and pinion for her van, since he felt this repair may be necessary. Having been a customer of Sky Stores for almost thirty years, my mom felt she could trust Sky Stores and went there for an estimate on July **, 2015. She felt they knew her and her situation well and would deal with her fairly. At the time of the estimate, she was told that she needed new front brakes. She authorized the store verbally to do the brakes. This repair cost $220.49 inclusive of tax. Since the shop knew that my mom was on a fixed income, they agreed not to charge her tax on the job, making the total of the repair now $202.97.

After picking up the car on July **, 2015, her home health aide [redacted] was driving the car back to her and she described driving the car as “driving with the brakes on.” On August *, 2015, the car was returned to the shop and advised of the issue. My mom was then told that she needed, in addition to the brakes and rotors that were just replaced, new calipers. Nick advised her that although he was aware that she needed the calipers when he worked on the car last, he decided not to tell her because he knew that she couldn’t afford the repair. Needing the car to be driveable, my mom authorized the shop to do the calipers and the car was picked up again on August *, 2015. To make up for his poor judgment, Nick offered to only charge her for the parts and not the labor. The total cost of this repair was $265.32.

After picking up the car the second time, several people who drove the van noticed that the car did not stop when the driver hits the brakes. In fact, the driver has to slam down on the brakes with an enormous amount of force for the car to stop. It was dangerous to drive.

The car was again returned to the shop on August **, 2015 by [redacted] accompanied by her friend Mary [redacted]. Although the receipt from the August [redacted] repair states that the brakes were bled, Nick agreed to bleed them again. After waiting for about fifteen minutes at the shop, Nick gave the car back and said that the car was fine.

Still, the brakes were not responsive and driving continued to be dangerous. The car was then returned to the shop by [redacted]’s son [redacted] on September **, 2015. Nick agreed to test drive the car with [redacted] and he told [redacted] that the car was fine. Nick also told [redacted] that he [redacted].“ He was not interested in helping my mom any further.

On September **, 2015, I personally took the car to [redacted] located at [redacted]. I advised [redacted] of the situation with Sky Stores and the non-responsiveness of the brakes. After evaluating the car and the breaks, [redacted] told me that the brakes had either not been bled, or had not been bled properly after the calipers were replaced. Nick of Sky Stores had allegedly bled the system twice, the first time being documented on the receipt along with the caliper replacements. [redacted] bled the system and replaced the brake fluid, totaling $90 for the bleed and $9.50 for additional brake fluid. This totaled $99.50 plus tax ($108.08.)

On September **, 2015, I personally went to speak with Nick at Sky Stores one last time to try to informally resolve this issue. I explained that I had to take the car to have the system bled again in order for the car to stop, which it does now. I told him that I wanted to be reimbursed for the additional work I had to pay for. He asked to see the receipt from [redacted] which I showed him. Without more than a glance, he barked that he would NOT reimburse me $171 and that was ridiculous. I explained that if he had read the paper, he would see that I merely wanted $108.08 to cover the system bleed. Nick rolled his eyes, again told me that this was done twice, that nothing was wrong with the car, and that he was NOT going to reimburse me. I told him to have a nice day.

We realize that it is not possible to penalize Sky Stores for disregarding the safety of their customers by holding back information about the the vehicles he is repairing, but it is possible and reasonable to expect that after spending $265.32 on a repair that an essential part of that repair would be done and would be done properly. There is no reason after spending a total of $468.29 on front brakes, rotors, calipers etc. that we should need to spend additional money to make the car stop.

We are requesting reimbursement for the system bleed performed at [redacted] since Sky Stores refused to acknowledge or fix any problems associated with the brakes. The total we are requesting is $108.08. We are also requesting an apology from Nick. Thank you in advance for your consideration.Desired Settlement: reimbursement for money paid to fix what should have been done (see details above) total is $108.08. we also want an apology.

Business

Response:

October **, 2015To Whom it may concern:The incident that occurred on August *, 2015 with [redacted] was an extreme unfortunate issue. We have been servicing [redacted] vehicle for approximately 15 years. We take pride in the service that we provide to our customers and safety is our #1 goal. So because our track record for servicing our community is so good we have decided to refund [redacted] $108.08 in which she had spent at another repair shop for an issue which should have been corrected by us the first time.We greatly apologize for any inconvenience that this caused and I am hoping that we will regain her trust again. I am requesting that upon refunding [redacted] we ask that no other claims and or internet reviews be made about this incident. Thank you,Nicholas P[redacted]Sky Stores Firestone

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,