The Chop Shop

Complaint:
I am rejecting this response because:
Obviously this guy is well versed in ripping people off because he gave a well written excuse of why he believes his services were justifiedUnfortunately he's also a good liarHe stated it was a lack of funds issue as to why I didn't do more work on my vehicleThis is absolutely falseThe deal from the beginning was if he did a good job he would be offered to do more work on my vehicleHe unfortunately did a horrible job so no further work was offeredHe also states that he has no employees and contracts people outThis is also a lie he personally called me and told me a client had canceled and he had no work for his mechanic and had an opening that is why I was in their in the first place and I still stick to my theory that I just paid his mechanic for the week with no work done to my vehicleHe also states that he attempted to call me with no responseI received a voicemail and when I returned the call I was met with no answer or return callI'm assuming he called and left a message so he could say he made an attemptThe bottom line is this guy is a crook and I just don't want to see someone like this ripping off the community I live inUnfortunately too many people watch hot rod shows on tv and think they can start their own shop and it's the consumer who pays the priceI paid the $to get my truck back not because I was in anyway satisfied with what this guy thinks was quality work.
Regards,
J*** ***

First and foremost we would like to acknowledge our customer's complaint and apologize for any misunderstanding. Being that this is the first time we have been notified about the customer being unhappy with his repairs, we would have appreciated the...

opportunity to remedy the situation prior to involving outside sources. We pride ourselves in reliable and quality work and value each one of our customers.  The Chop Shop performed all services noted in the estimate signed by the customer including getting the truck running, installing the new hood and installing the door hinges with 20 hours of labor. These can be found listed and easily viewable on the copy of the estimate we provided which is signed by the customer. Due to the truck not being in the condition the owner originally described, additional labor hours were necessary and met as NO charge to the customer. The customer has complaints that electrical work was not performed, which unfortunately was not included in the estimate as the aforementioned repairs The Chop Shop and the customer agreed to. We would like to point out the vehicle in question was transported via our trailer to the shop at NO charge to the customer as it was not running despite the customer's statement in which he says he brought it to the shop. In addition, the customer made claims that he was "he was used to pay our mechanic for the week." We do not have any employees or hourly "mechanics" and as a result we do not have weekly mandates for payment to anyone. We work with several independent contractors who are paid per job according to individual agreements. We also have records showing there were multiple vehicles in the shop during the same time period as the customer's which negates the idea that the shop "had no work" according to the customer. As we will describe below, the customer was informed of the condition his vehicle was in throughout the repair process particularly due to the fact that it contradicted the previous work repairs and overall condition the customer originally stated. When the repairs noted on the estimate were completed, the client paid his remaining bill in full and asked if additional work including electrical work could be performed on his vehicle. He declined any work moving forward due to lack of financial funding and stated that he was satisfied with the work performed. The customer made no additional attempt at contacting The Chop Shop. We received this complaint from the Revdex.com on December 7,20!5 and attempted in good faith to call the customer. Our office manager left a voicemail and the call was not returned.  Below is our owner, Brandon Maclsaac's timeline and detailed interactions with the customer and the work performed on his vehicle:  Early November, I received a call from the customer inquiring about work to be done on his 1954 Chevrolet truck. I drove to his home and performed a necessary "walk through" as a preliminary to creating an estimate. The young man explained to me that he needed help after the truck was "messed up" due to a botched paint and body job in Grover Beach. At this time the truck had no door handles, needed new hinges, the doors would not close and I eventually needed ratchet straps when we did transport the vehicle to my shop. There were paint chips over the majority of the body where the alignment had obviously been poorly attempted. The customer asked for a quote to get the doors to close, put the hood back on and get the truck running again. I asked the customer several times if the hood was previously aligned and/or if the previous painter had done any bodywork to it. The customer replied that the hood used to fit but no bodywork had been performed on it.  I went over all the fitment issues and chips in the paint to which the customer replied that he would just be happy to get the truck running again and acknowledged that the aesthetics were not in good condition. After the detailed discussion of his main issues he asked for another quote to completely finish the work needed on the truck including interior, electrical, bed assembly, lighting etc. He stated he would need time to think about it. I called the customer approximately one week after my bids and he stated he simply could not afford to complete the entire project but wanted to address the main issues he originally went over. I came to pick up the truck with our trailer as it was not running and the customer gave me a box that he stated had the door hinges, handles and hood hinges. I received the vehicle on November 19 2015 at which point the customer signed the estimate as well as our repair contract.  Once the truck was in the shop's possession, I began to sort through the contents of the box. I noticed there was no cylinder lock in one of the door locks, the doors themselves were bent, and the hood had been cut in multiple places including in half and then poorly spot welded back together despite the customer's original claim that NO body work had been done to the hood. In addition there were gaps in the underside of the hood so that daylight showed through and the hood latch spring was broken.  I immediately contacted the customer to explain my findings. He acknowledged he knew the previous bodywork was bad but that he wanted to continue with the repairs we agreed on.  Knowing that the customer was low on funds, I continued with the repairs despite there being additional labor hours due to the condition of the vehicle and the provided parts at NO charge to the customer. Upon completion, the doors were able to close properly and actuate without hitting the body anymore. However, the driver lock could not latch properly due to their being no lock cylinder in the provided latch as mentioned above. The hood was fitted as best as possible due to the bodywork that was improperly performed prior to our receiving the vehicle and was able to be latched without the properly functioning latch as mentioned above. In addition to getting the truck running, we bled the brakes at NO charge to the customer AND we installed a new light switch included in the box provided by the customer at NO charge. When I mentioned this to him he said he thought that was included in the estimate and I informed him that no electrical work was mentioned in the estimate. Furthermore, I pointed out to the customer that he was misinformed that someone gave him a "complete professionally made wiring harness" which I noticed while under the dash. It was apparent that the harness had been cut and spliced in dozens of locations. I offered the client additional work to fix this for him but he declined due to financial funding and insisted that this was a new piece contrary to the physical evidence. At no time was there a signed estimate or contract in regards to any electrical work.  On November 25, 2015, I returned the truck to the customer's home via driving it on its own power. We discussed the hood latch and the broken part he provided me with and as well as the door latch. I showed him the evidence of botched bodywork on the hood. He stated he understood that the prior work was done incorrectly, stated that he had no issues with work performed by The Chop Shop, and paid his remaining balance which did NOT exceed his estimate. The Chop Shop did not receive any communication that the customer was dissatisfied with the work and this is our first complaint.  We are sorry that the customer feels he was given a "litany of excuses" when we were attempting to communicate about the current condition of his vehicle being vastly different from what was originally stated by the customer. Prior work and repairs especially when done incorrectly have a huge impact on current repairs especially if the customer agrees to continue "as is" in addition to providing parts that do not function properly.  The Chop Shop made every effort to ensure customer satisfaction performed repairs on the estimate to the best capability given the parts that were provided and the customer's financial constraints. We no charged transport additional labor, and performed services as a courtesy including the brakes and light switch. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a refund due to the services agreed upon being performed and the labor hours required exceeded the original estimate and were already no charge to the customer.  We truly appreciate your time and consideration in this matter.  The Chop Shop