Transfix Inc

Review: This letter is intended to address ineffective service by AAMCO that led to failure of a transmission in my vehicle. As you see by the attached letter, I voiced concern about this last year and all AAMCO suggested was to take it back to the dealer that performed the ineffective service. I requested the right to take the vehicle to another AAMCO center, but your response was to take it to the center that I already had doubts about. Let me set the scenario again.

• With initial grinding sounds and lack of reverse, I took to [redacted] in 2011 and they informed me the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was parked until 2012.

• In 2012, I called the [redacted] AAMCO center and they informed me it may not be the transmission and to let them look at it. It was towed in and I was informed that the transmission was fine but the transfer case was bad.

• All totaled, I paid $1534.76 for transfer case, $430.03 for parts, and $600 for labor. This does not include the other services that the center said I needed.

• The vehicle was taken back twice for an OD light that came on as soon as I left the center. They seemed unable to diagnose the problem.

• I felt concern for the period I was driving and wrote corporate to request assistance.

• Earlier this year while driving to South Carolina, the grinding sound started again and reverse went out. I notified Corporate and the [redacted] center and was told to go to the nearest AAMCO.

• I went to the [redacted], South Carolina AAMCO and after diagnostic, told me the same thing that the [redacted] Transmission told me in 2011. The transmission had internal damage and needed to be rebuilt.

• I left the vehicle in [redacted] and had to purchase a new vehicle.

With these facts in mind, AAMCO can surely see where ineffective service was provided. I am not concerned with which entity reimburses me, but I believe someone owes me a refund for the ineffective service that led to the current failure.

I contacted Ford Motor Company and they confirmed that in a 4 Wheel Drive the transfer case will not stop the vehicle from moving forward or in reverse when it is two wheel mode. Therefore, the service center was not accurate and the transmission problem persisted and should have been rebuilt instead of the transfer case.Desired Settlement: I am demanding a refund of the payments made to the [redacted] center for transmission related services. The total is $2564.79 of the combined bill of $3596.94. I expect this refund to be sent to my home address in a prompt manner.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because I was told the transmission was good and that the transfer case was the problem. I did not understand this and the establishment was notified immediately about the OD light. The business and AAMCO Corporate were notified multiple times about the OD light that was not on when I brought the vehicle in. I have attached a response from the Ford Motor Company that the transfer case will not prevent a 4 X 4 from moving forward. The same sounds and lack of reverse is clear evidence that whatever this business supposedly fixed did not address the real issue. I cannot even verify a new transfer case was installed. I am awaiting a receipt from the current owner of the transmission and transfer case repairs.

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: In the beginning of this year, 2013, my husband sought to have our 2000 Jeep Cherokee repaired at the Aamco Shop located in [redacted] MD. The engine light was on so we took advantage of the "If your engine light is on bring it in and we'll take a look at it for free." Our plan was to get an estimate to find out what we were dealing with. We had the truck towed to the shop and around March of 2013 I was called by "[redacted]" and he informed me that the estimated cost of the repair would be approximately $3000. This would be the cost of repairing the transmission and the power steering. I explained to him that we would not be able to afford that amount and that we would have the truck towed back to our home until we could afford the cost of the repairs. [redacted] then went on to explain to me that he was sincerely willing to work with us to get the bill paid. I informed him again that I would not be able to pay the way that they would expect but he assured me again on more than one occassion in the conversation that they were sincere about working with us and that all I needed to do was to give him the last 4 digits of my social security number. I thought that his willingness to work with us in paying for the repairs was certainly a blessing for me to have our vehicle repaied.

In April of 2013 we made a payment of $200. "[redacted] informed me that the truck had been totally repaired. I became anxious to pay for the truck. The next payment that we made was in June of 2013 for $300. It was certainly my intentions to pay between $200 and $300 as often as I had the money to do so. In August of 2013, I was hit with an unexpected garnishment for every paycheck from the govenment for $293.25. There went my payments for my truck. When I spoke with [redacted] I informed him of the situation and informed him that I was currently seeking to either change jobs or add another job to my schedule in order to continue to make the payments. This would be difficulet with one vehicle but I was certainly doing my best. The following week we recieved in the mail a threatening letter from the shop. The letter stated that it appears that we had ABANDONED our vehicle and that were being WARNED that WE MAY LOSE OUR CAR. This came as a total surprise as we had not signed any type of agreement stating how long we had to pay for the repairs or even how often we were to make payments for the repairs. The letter instructed us to contact [redacted] if we wanted this process that we had not agreed to to stop. I contacted [redacted] and at first he seemed reasonable because he started the conversation by saying to me that he was not trying to steal my car. However, by the time we had reached the end he was threatening to process a mechanic's lien by October 31, 2013. The letter is dated October 10, 2013. I asked **. [redacted] to provide to me with whether the parts used in the repair of the truck were New or Used and how many labor hours and how much did the labor cost. His disposition took a turn when I asked for this information because he then later informed me in an email that I had until the end of the year to pay the now $2000 because in his review of the bill he found that I was being charged for the power steering even though the work had not been done, eventhough [redacted] had informed me in April that all of the work had been completed and that we should start with making payments. I informed **. [redacted] that there was no way that I would be able to afford $667 for the next 3 months (including October) so I would need to seek help because at this point I am being threatened to make payments in a way that was not originally agreed upon and being told that I am going to lose my vehicle. A vehicle that I am still making monthly insurance payments on, and we have paid for renewal tags in August of 2013. I have expressed over and over again to both [redacted] and **. [redacted] that we have no intetnions of abandoning or giving up our vehicle. I stated from the very beginning that I would not be able to make payments as expected but that I would do my very best. I would have had my truck towed back to my home had I known that the shop was not sincere in honoring the repair agreement that was made.Desired Settlement: At the onset of the verbal agreement made by [redacted] and myself, he assured me that the repairs would be made and that I would be allowed to make payments. He did not specify how much or how often. He informed me that I would not be charged for storage as this additional cost was one of my concerns. I had a plan to make the payments of $200-$300 per month and I got hit with a garnishment. This was unexpected and it makes it even harder for me to make payments on the truck than I had originally anticipated. [redacted] agreed that I could make payments and that is what I was expecting. I also want to be sure that I am not being overcharged for the services or parts being rendered. Repair of the transmission and power steering for a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. This was my husbands concern.

Business

Response:

10/31/13

4/2/13 ; 2000 Jeep Brought to AAMCO for free external diagnostic,

4/2/13 : [redacted] spoke to [redacted] and explained the vehicle has an internal transmission problem and needs to be removed to be further diagnosed for a fee of $600 , [redacted] told us to hold

4/3/13 : [redacted] spoke to [redacted] and she gave authorization to remove the transmission, since it was telephone authorization she provided the month and day of her birthday as authorization ( [redacted] )

4/11/13 : [redacted] spoke to [redacted] and she authorized the transmission repair as well as power steering repairs for the total amount of $303 L47 , since it was over the telephone , this time she provided the last 4 digits of her SSN as over the phone authorization ([redacted])

4/22/13 : A payment of $200 was made

6/3/13 : we completed the transmission portion of the repair

6/22/13: a payment of $300 was made.

Early October I sent a letter stating that we would have start charging storage and begin the Mechanics lien process on 10/31 /13. (over 4 months after transmission repair was complete and we received any payment)

10/16/13: [redacted] and I did have a phone conversation, which I told her to send me an email providing what payment arrangements she could afford, and it was not my desire to move forward with the lien process, but I can not store a car forever, I have faxed the emails

Her outstanding transmission bill (power steering was not performed) is $2584.48 less the $500 she paid = 2084.48.

Her 10/21 email stated that she could afford between $25-$50 per MONTH. My reply email stated that payment arrangement was unacceptable due to the feet that it would take between 4*8 YEARS to get the car. But instead of the 10/31/13 deadline I would extend that to 12/31/13 and still not charge her for the extra 2 months of storage, keeping in mind at that point in time I will have been in possession of her car 7 months.

In closing. I know these have been trying economic times for everyone, and we try to work with people the best we can, which is why we did not do the extra power steering repair , we did not charge for any storage and we extended the deadline. However it is unreasonable to think that we can store a car for 4-8 YEARS

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Please see attached response.

11/4/2013

**. [redacted], thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. It is extremely important that the reason that I placed the complaint in the first place is not lost. There is no question that I agreed to pay for the services rendered. However, when [redacted] made the decision as a representative of Transfix Inc. to agree to allow me to make payments to the shop without a time frame and without a time limit along with not charge for storage this was the foundation of the agreement. Had there been a certain payment amount agreed upon and decided dates established, I would not have a complaint because we would have not left our vehicle.

My complaint stems from the shops failure to keep their verbal agreement of "working with us to make the payments on the repair of our truck." At the onset of that agreement with [redacted] in April, there were no payment arrangements or timetables set. As a result, it was something with which we could work and consequently was the only reason that we opted to not have our truck towed back to our home but instead have the shop do the work.

When **. [redacted] asked me for an amount that we knew that we could pay monthly, I honestly did not have any idea. As I have expressed so fervently to both him and [redacted] before, since August my paycheck has been garnished by the government for approximately $300 per paycheck and has thus tired up the disposable income that was available for monthly payments of our vehicle. Since then, both I and my husband have been looking diligently for additional employment that works with one vehicle and a family of four's schedule. To date we have not been successful.

It was never our intention to not pay for our vehicle. We are in a lot of trouble at this time. With only one vehicle my husband's job is in jeopardy we are at the mercy of **. [redacted] with his threat of stealing our truck.

Regards,

Business

Response:

11/7/13

For the record, I AM NOT STEALING YOUR TRUCK, And I do not appreciate being accused of a crime. You authorized the repair

It is not reasonable to expect any repair facility to store a vehicle at no charge for 8 months or 8 years based on your proposed offer of $25/month

For the record, your vehicle has been re-located to the AAMCO [redacted] Md [redacted].

I spend most of my time at the location now and would appreciate all future correspondence to go to that address. I am sorry that you and your family is going thru a hard times it has been a trying time for everyone.

In order for me to hold of the Mechanics lien process on 12/31/13, I need you to provide a reasonable payment schedule and a minimum of $300 payment by 12/31/13

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: Please see attachment.

Regards,

11/15/2013

**. [redacted], allow me to redirect once again. In April, **. [redacted]'s shop agreed to "work with us in making the payments to repair our truck." This current dispute is proof that the shop misled us. Not then nor in any follow-up conversation did [redacted] or any representative from the shop inform me or my husband that if we had issues making payments that our vehicle would be subject to a lien process.

Now that we are struggling, **. [redacted] is threatening to take our vehicle without our consent (stealing) and he has changed the original verbal agreement. Under Maryland Law Statute Text; Article-Commercial Law 13-301 Unfair and deceptive trade practices include: (1) False, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral or written statement, visual description, or other representation of any kind which has the capacity, tendency, or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers.

What further confirms my suspension that **. [redacted] has intentions of taking our vehicle is the act of moving the vehicle without our consent. **. [redacted] has not requested of us that our vehicle be moved to a location other than the one at which we left it for repair for any reason. This different location is not one which we are aware of nor did we approve of it.

Let me restate **. [redacted]; if I had known from the beginning that the shop was not sincere in its agreement to "work with us in making payments to repair our truck" but would indeed precipitate taking our vehicle, I would have had my vehicle towed back to my home. The only reason that I agreed to have it repaired at **. [redacted]'s shop was because [redacted] assured me on several occasions that the shop would work with us with no mention of the Mechanic Lien Process. I do understand that according to **. [redacted] partial service has been performed on my vehicle and it must be paid for and I have all intentions of doing so. I will not, however agree to make payments under the threat.

I will agree to make payments ranging from $100-$200 per month for the current repair of our vehicle only if **. [redacted] responds to remove the threat of taking our family vehicle by way of Mechanic Lien.

Respectfully