Dear Revdex.com:Customer came in with the upper intake & radiator hose exploded, severally overheated / steaming hot, with T Stat stuck, and orange stop leak, rusty coolant everywhereWe took the wife out there into the bay and showed her the engine compartment explaining the issue .She acknowledged
all, and authorized original quoteShe asked if we could get all repairs done before her husband got released from the hospitalWe advised we would do our best, but there was a lot of work to be performedAdvised this may be the starting point to fix the immediate issues over coolant leaking, and replacing of hoses, t-stat, etc… Advised we would need to assess her engine after the initial repairs were performed. Without any coolant at all, we had to fix the hoses to get her vehicle it operating and running to an operating temperature to determine if she had damaged her engine by driving it extremely hot and to see if all the leaks were fixed.We fixed the initial issue, but advised due to the extreme overheat, she had internal issues with the engineMost likely blown head gasket, and/or crack(ed) cylindar heads(Performed Block test, and immediately came back with exhaust fumes in coolantOriginally could not Block test, or Run Compression test based on with so many issues and leaks, and severe condition of coolant.---appears someone installed stop leak to attempt to stop leak??) We suggested she have the car towed home as on the test drive it ran rough. She asked if she could drive it home and we told her she might make it or it might break down in miles. She chose to drive it home telling us that they were going to take it to a dealership to trade it in and opted to forgo any other repairs. After getting it home, she called us complaining her car almost didn't make it home. We again explained the issues to her and advised that we would be willing to look at it again. That we could give her an estimate for the engine repair.Customer had towed back in the following day. Our garage manager sat down and explained it to the husband and wife once againHusband stated he was on medicine, and fresh out of the hospital, so he was having issues with his memoryI explained everything to them again, went out showed them at the vehicle there was no longer any leaks whatsoever, but explained it would overheat if they continued to drive itHusband acknowledged, hopped in vehicle and drove home again.This has all been documented and signed off on by the customer every step of the way. I have attached the initial preview of the vehicle and the invoices to this email for your review.We strive to make our customers happy. It's unfortunate that the vehicle was driven while extremely hot, bursting all the hoses and draining all the coolant from it before it reached our facility. We only did the authorized work after the repair and pricing was agreed to by our customer
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I made it clear in my previous response that I have given Bob Sumerel three chances to repair the car and there will not be a fourthAt this point I believe it is in everyone's best interest if we terminate our business relationshipI have been waiting for this issue to be resolved so I can take the car to the dealer where I should have gone in the first placeWhile I appreciate the offer of a rental car and the assistance of their master mechanic, I do not see that working outIf they do not find the problem then Bob Sumerel is out the cost of the rental car and the laborI am going back to the dealer for several reasonsFirst, Bob Sumerel had to consult the dealer TSB, so if they had to consult the dealer then so should ISecond, the car has a powertrain warranty and if the problem is found there then it is Chevrolets responsibility, also if it is a frame issue then that is Chevrolets responsibility as wellSince Bob Sumerel has offered to provide a rental car and another mechanic I think a compromise is in orderIt will cost me approximately $for Chevrolet to diagnose the car, in addition I will need to rent a car while the diagnostic is completed and pay for any additional expensesI am willing to resolve this issue if Bob Sumerel will refund the labor cost of $and I will absorb the expense of the parts that were put on the car that did not resolve the problemI feel this will save Bob Sumerel the cost of renting me a car and the additional labor expenseConsidering I have asked for a refund of $I feel that my request for a refund of the labor is fair and equivalent to the expense Bob Sumerel would incur in rental car fees and labor expenseThank you, *** ***
Thank you for forwarding this to my attention. Unfortunately, our store manager, whom the customer was dealing with, was off for several day due to an unexpected death in his immediate family. He was not avoiding the customer. We have reached out to the customer by phone today,
leaving messages for her at both the telephone numbers we have on file. Our store manager, who has returned will take care of this issue with our customer upon her return of the calls.We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused her. It is always our intent to make sure our customers are happy and taken care of properly.Sincerely,*** ***Corporate Risk ManagerBob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
Dear Revdex.com:
We have received the complaint filed by *** of Aurora, Inregarding a Mitsubishi Eclipse. We don’t have any service records for a *** but believe we have dealt with him regarding a Mitsubishi Eclipse belonging to a *** (different last
name). We did a timing belt kit on this Eclipse in July 2015. This car was towed back to our Aurora location on 10/26/
The car was very hard to turn over. It had to have a charger on full boost to get it to turn over. The customer’s step-father, *** was who we initially were dealing with at this stage. The very first thing we did when we received the car was to check to be sure all the valve train components were moving. They were. *** asked us what we “thought” could be the problem. We told him the car acted as though it had been hot. He said he had no idea but to give him the worst case scenario
We pulled the top of the timing cover off to make sure the belt we installed in July was still tight. It was. A slack belt would indicate an issue with the work we performed in July If the timing had teeth off on one camshaft after we did the repair, the car would not have been running when it was picked upIt was and ran until it towed into us in late OctoberTo go further with the diagnostic procedure would have required significant tear down/diagnostic labor that the customer (***) declined
We advised *** for his worst case scenario, that the car may need an engine. He asked us for pricing. Around this time, *** advised us he was no longer with *** mother and wasn’t going to be further involved. The car sat on our lot for a week or so when a new young man called, ***. We do not know his relationship to the owner
We are not sure where he claims he is getting all his information During his initial contact with us regarding the car, he insisted that we told him the car had to have a new motor. That was not the case. We provided a worse-case scenario to *** as was requested. *** refused to believe that is what we providedAs far as the “1.9” markup…not sure where *** came up with this numberAn expensive part, like an engine, would not be marked up at a rateWe do not disclose our proprietary information to our customers. *** identified himself as a previous mechanic during our conversation so our best guess is that is his shop’s pricing
We are happy that our customer has found the issue with the Eclipse and it does not in fact need a new engine. Please let me know if you need any additional information. I have a copy of the invoice for our July work, which I would be happy to send to you
Sincerely,
*** ***
Corporate Risk Manager
AAA Allied Group, Inc
Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
***
Customer brought her Pontiac Sunfire in on 3/2/to have her air conditioner checked. She stated that her a/c had not worked in quite some time. We explained it was bad for a/c systems to sit dormant with Freon (r123a refrigerant) and oil, as they keep the rubber seals soft and the
metal in the system from corroding. That it may take multiple visits to have it working properly depending on what we foundWe brought the Sunfire into our shop and verified that it had zero or Freon in they system. We our A.C machine to properly create and held a vacuum and then charged the system with refrigerant and installed oil per specification. The A.C machine prevents you from adding Freon to a system that will not held a specific amount of vacuum, as it will check for massive leaks. It held we added the oil and Freon with UV dye. We explained to the customer the process in detail and advised her that it was working properly at the moment and that more than likely, despite passing all the preliminary test, the a/c would work maybe a week or less based on there being zero oil and zero Freon in the system at the beginning of the a/c service. We explained that we added UV dye to the system to aid us in finding leaks and to return to the shop in in week or sooner if the a/c stopped working. We reminded her that it may take the system working properly for a few weeks dot be 100% sure there is not multiple components that would fail due to the time the system spent empty and the age of the vehicle. At this time, we explained to her that there is no warranty on the service when parts fail allowing the Freon to leak out, but we would warranty the labor from the a/c service itself for one year. She understood.The next day she called and her a/c was no longer working. This came as no service to either of us and she returned to have us check where the Freon had leaked from. We found a pressure line in the system covered with the UV dye. We gave her the repair estimate to which she agreed and we ordered the part. We explained that we were able to use the UV dye light to inspect every component in the system with the exception of the components in the dash as these parts are not accessible. We let her know that with low temperatures and humidity, it is very hard to check the component called the Evaportor core in the dash. The only way to determine if there is a problem with this part is for the Freon sniffer to detect Freon down in the dash vents or for enough condensation to build up on the core to drip inside the dash and have enough liquid come out of the moisture overflow underneath the car. At this time the detector did not show any leaks from inside the dash and we did not see any moisture coming from the overflow. Again, she understood and agreed that we should make the repairs and put more dye in the system. The parts were ordered, came in days and she returned weeks after then to have the pressure line installed. We made the repair and another a/c service was preformed. We then reiterated to her our concerns about the evaporator core. We did not charge her for the Freon or labor on the a/c service, despite that being part of the cost agreed too before we started the work. We advised her once again that it was working now but as we haven't been able to find out if the evaporate was leaking or not and that components that were not leaking prior to having the system properly sealed could potentially start to show a problem after the system was used with correct pressures. Plug one hole and another may form, due to the length of time the a/c was without oil or Freon and age of her vehicle.. We were very clear this may not be her last visit for this issue.We gave her a rough estimate of $for what it might cost to have her evaporator core replaced and she was not happy. We explained we had advised her of the possibilities every step of the process. She explained she had some health issues and that they caused her to miss a lot of work. It would take her some time to afford further repairs if they became necessary. She understood and seemed more upset with her car than with us.A couple of days later, the customer called and accused us of taking her money and not fixing her car. We went through every detail once again and she agreed to bring her car back. On this visit we finally found dye coming from the moisture drain under the car thus verifying that 100% the evaporator core was leaking. She told us that despite us telling her everything up front, I would be fixing her car for free, that we should have known from the beginning that it was her evaporator core. We offered to split every dollar she had spent up to that point and put it towards her evaporator core as a gesture of good will and for customer satisfaction, we had done everything honestly and with integrity. She was receptive to this up to the point that we had to cause the a/c to stop working and that there would be no warranty, no refunds or credits applied to any future problems with the a/c system. She said we would warranty her whole a/c system for a year and any type of problem that may occur. We politely told her that was unreasonable and her response was she didn't care, she would take us to court. When she picked up her car, we discussed the split and options once again, leading to us be on the receiving end of some choice words, refusing a refund and insisting that only a fixed a/c with warranties would be satisfactory. That she was going to call the Revdex.com and refute her credit card charges and a lawyer.It is truly frustrating to have done everything properly and still be in this position with our customer. We will refund her money as a gesture of good will and like we tried to do on her last visit with us, which she refused. Anna FCorporate Risk Manager, Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] I will never use them again and advise all I know beware of these crooks!
The customer had a drop off appointment at 7:30 am for an oil change and brakes on their 2013 Mazda. Our store manager got stuck in traffic and arrived slightly after 7:30. He apologized for his tardiness to the customer, check them in for service and asked them about the issues with...
their brakes. The customers stated that their brakes were squealing when braking. He asked them if they were AAA members and discovered they an AAA Plus membership, which entitled them to a discount. He told them they would get $12. off their oil change for AAA and he would call them regarding the brakes once we had looked them over. The Mazda requires synthetic oil, which is more costly than regular oil. After inspecting the car, it was determined that the brake pads were low and needed to be replaced. It was also explained that the squealing noise was coming from the brake rotors. Our store manager called the husband and discussed the inspection findings, the repairs and the cost. He also explained that they would receive a $17.00 discount on the brake work because of their AAA Plus membership. The husband approved the repairs as quoted. At no time during this conversation did the husband ask us to save the replaced parts for them.The customers came into pick up their car and were being assisted by the store's assistant. The wife was explaining to our assistant that she had never paid more than $19.99 for an oil change. She also wanted the old brake pads and rotors. Our manager overheard this conversation and joined in, explaining to the customer that her car required synthetic oil, it's in the owner's manual and is imprinted upon the oil cap itself. She was insistent that we were charging her too much and that it should not cost her more than $19.99. As a gesture of good will and to make our customer happy, our manager gave her a $50 total discount on the oil change bringing the cost down from the $69.99 cost to $19.99. We gave her the old rotors that we had replaced as they are not disposed of via normal trash or our dumpster. Her brake pads had already been tossed in the industrial dumpster and we didn't have them to return to her.In an effort to resolve her complaint, we called both Kerry Mazda and Jeff Wyler Mazda to confirm their Mazda did require synthetic oil as shown on both the oil cap and the owner's manual. Both confirmed. We asked them their pricing and Wyler told us the regular price for their oil changes are $49.95 but they were currently running a special of $39.95. Kerry stated their price was $55 and if they were running a special it would be $45.00. We spoke to both service departments regarding the brakes. We asked them if they would inspect the customer's old parts to see if they needed to have the rotors replaced. They told us what we already knew, that there is no way you could physically look at a brake rotor and tell if it needed to be replaced without performing some measurements on it and having it on the vehicle to see if the squeal continued. Both dealers declined to get involved and inspect the customers rotors for us as they didn't want to get in the middle of this situation.We are sorry they are unhappy with their service. The customers came to us for an oil change and to fix the squeal in their brakes. They received both. If they had asked us to retain the replaced parts for them before hand, we would not have disposed of the pads in the dumpster. We gave them the AAA Plus discounts they were entitled to under their membership. We matched what the wife said was the most she ever paid for an oil change. We verified with two local Mazda dealers that our oil change price was more in line to what they charged than $19.99. The brake repair was discussed with and approved by the husband before we started any work on them.Please let us know if you have any further questions.[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] which comes across very rude. Based on my documentation as you can see, the INCORRECT spark plugs were put in my car. No other documentation was shown to prove otherwise. EVER. Everyone I have addressed about this can see and agrees with me. Thus, the filing of this complaint. I hope this check includes the FULL amount of $160.00 owed to me for parts and labor as an incorrect service was performed on my car with incorrect parts. This has been an absolute nightmare, and I will let it be known how business is conducted here if not fully refunded.
Regards,
[redacted]
I have not been in yet today, because I work normal M-F hours. I will be in this evening around 5:30pm. I have already paid for the new spark plugs at KIA, which cost me MORE THAN the ones purchased from Bob Sumerel. I expect a full refund for the spark plug service I received in June 2016, which was approx. $160.00. I will bring in invoices from both services. Thank you.
RE: Alleged damage Newport Sumerel Dear [redacted]: We have again reviewed the picture you sent us that shows a dent on your vehicle with red paint transfer. While it is apparent something hit your door, it was not done by any employee of Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC. Our Newport store manager...
took you to our garage and showed you the car rack or lift that was used to service your vehicle. In fact, you saw all our lifts. He showed you how it was impossible for your truck to be damaged by the lift in the area of your dent. At that time, you acknowledged that you understood the ding could not have happened via the lift. When we spoke, you told me that you understood that lift was not the cause of the damage but what about other items in our garage, specifically the floor jacks. We have two floor jacks at our Newport location. One is green and silver with the other one being white and black. Neither one of our floor jacks were the cause of the ding with red paint transfer to your vehicle. We have nothing else in our facility that is mobile and red in nature. It appears to us that the ding to your truck is something that is commonly called a door ding. This is what happens when another vehicle opens a door too close to your vehicle and striking it. When and where this happened to your truck, we do not know. Who opened their door into your truck, we also don't know. We respectfully deny liability for the door ding to your truck for the reasons stated above. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call. Sincerely, [redacted] Corporate Risk ManagerRevdex.com[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] ** [redacted] Dear [redacted] :Thank you for using your Revdex.com as a resource to resolving your complaint ID [redacted] submitted on 9/10/2015 12:00:00 AM against Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC. Since you have accepted Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC’s response, ("... emailed [redacted] and let him know we would do the 66% of his estimate. Today, I am emailing him a full and final release and ordering the check from our accounting department. I asked him to verify his mailing address and he did so by email late last night.") we are closing this complaint. If you and Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust they will follow through. If this does not happen, contact us and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.Your complaint is now part of the Revdex.com Business Review and details will be posted on Revdex.com.org, if it meets our online standards. We encourage you to stay in touch with Revdex.com for great tips and information with our consumer e-newsletter or find a business you can trust with our Request A Quote service. Regards,[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
We don't believe any further response will resolve this issue. BSTS was open and above board with this customer as we are with all our customers. We wish her well in the future.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
In deference to AAA's last response I again would ask, if the vehicle was low on coolant as they claim then why did they not mention that there could be additional problems if moving forward as Ben wants to rely on? Again the vehicle has been properly maintained at professional shops. I personally checked and verified that the coolant in the radiator and over-flow bottle were at the right levels. And one more time, the hoses were in good shape as attested to by [redacted] and [redacted]. So I once again question AAA as to why they want to point out that the hoses were original. They have never addressed what Ben told me that fateful day I called to asked when the van would be ready. He said to me (paraphrased but accurate) "We put the part on and turned on the van. We kept putting in coolant thinking there was an air pocket in the system until we knew the head was blown".And again I offer my phone records to Revdex.com to verify that no call, voicemail or text ever came to me from Ben or AAA. I distinctly remember going over my cell phone number with Ben when I dropped the van off to make sure he had it and it was correct. He did. At this point I have had the van towed home. I hope to make this complaint available to other consumers that are thinking of taking their vehicle to Bob Sumerel Tires owned by AAA. They are unresponsive. Unprofessional and completely indifferent to their company failures. Their actions or better said, inaction are indicative of a company not wanting to face up to their mistakes. I will be happy to address this in small claims court.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] Dear Revdex.com,
The response from BST is still not acceptable. They are not addressing the issue at hand, that they did not contact me for approval of services. They are simply ignoring the fact that they made a mistake and won't act in an honorable and professional manner to rectify this. What should we do now? Should I contact my Credit Card company and place this in a FRAUD status? Please let me know what the next step is.Thank you,[redacted]
We are sorry our customer has continuing issues with his vehicle. His vehicle is several years old and his hoses etc. are still the original equipment. Over the years, these items need to be checked, repaired and or/replaced. We don't know and won't try to guess how he maintained his vehicle. What we can attest too is the severe lack of coolant in his vehicle when he brought it to our shop for repairs. That is not something we caused to happen and can't be held responsible for any damage that lack of coolant caused him. In order to properly determine what the ultimate issue was with his or any other similar vehicle, we had to first fix what visually we saw to be a problem. We did so and have offered, both to the customer and in our earlier response to his complaint, not to charge him what it cost us for those services.The customer did file a complaint with our member relations and also left a message for me. Our recorded call records show that we returned his calls on July 25th. Both went to voice messages. I answered the original Revdex.com complaint on July 26th at 11:09 am. To date, the customer has not returned the call from the 25th.Ben did not cause the damage to the customer's vehicle. It is a result of the extremely low to no coolant that was in his vehicle upon arrival to our shop. There was no way for us to tell he had an internal engine failure until his cooling system could hold coolant. Again, we will honor our offer to waive the cost for us to repair the hose, but will not accept responsibility for the damage to the engine.Anna F[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it. If you and the business have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust the business will comply. Please contact us after that time if the matter is not resolved as agreed and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted]Here is the pictures of the spark plugs that our Newport manager took when the customer brought them back to us. The dealer invoice stated that the vehicle requires denso iridium plugs , the plugs that we installed were ngk iridium plugs which are actually an upgrade from the factory plugs. IRIDIUM is clearly marked on the plugs that we installed and she returned to us. The plugs are correct, they are a different brand name, but they are the correct type of plug for her vehicle. Our manager was trying to tell her that you can see on the electrode of the plug they have a distinct white line which is the timing mark which is created from the motor and a direct reflection of how the engine is running. Also by the white of the plugs tells him that those 2 specific cylinder were running lean and that the vehicle is not getting enough fuel. The specific engine that this vehicle has in it has a direct injection system that is known for having excessive carbon build up issues and causing lean conditions , he was worried that the dealer putting plug in the car is just a band-aid for a bigger problem.I am sorry our customer is upset. However, we didn't do anything incorrectly with her service.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for forwarding this incident to our attention. The customer has also been in touch with our member relations department. This vehicle has not been maintained, still has O.E. hoses and belts, vehicle is 12 years old and 166,941 miles on it. Should have been changed at least once if...
not twice. The van has four warning lights on (ABS, Air Bag, Low Oil and Traction control ). The Work Order we have the says the customer "Sees and smells coolant, temp gauge went up to ¾ on the way here, was higher at stops and went down when driving." Ben is the store manager and advises this sequence of events: Customer called and said his vehicle was overheating and he would like to bring it in to have us look at it. He also said that if it was anything major, to take it out back and shoot it. He drove the vehicle in and said that at every stop light, the temp gauge would rise, until he got going again, and then it would drop back down. Upon initial inspection the tech noted the vehicle had no coolant in it due to a hole in a coolant bypass hose. We replaced the hose and added 4 gallons of coolant, which immediately turned into a mud color, a sign of past coolant system neglect. Unfortunately the coolant continued to boil out of the radiator, telling us the engine had an internal issue such as a bad head gasket. I called the customer to inform him of this and left him a message to call me back, because he did not answer. When he called back, I gave him the news, and he said something to the effect of “if one more bad thing happens to me, I’m going to lose it.” I was put off by this comment and didn’t have a response to it. He then told me that it wasn’t doing “that” before he brought it here and asked if it was something we did. I explained that when working with a cooling system with a leak, that the first step is to fix the leak, and then recheck the system, because we have no way of knowing if there is any other damage to the engine until the cooling system is sealed up. He said he had to think about what he was going to do, and got off the phone. A couple of days later he called in the morning and told him he had contacted AAA customer relations but wanted to clarify what happened. At that point he told me that the car had never overheated and that it was completely fine before he brought it here, and now I am telling him that it needs and engine. I replied with a “yes” He asked what I was going to do about that, and I said unfortunately there is nothing I can do, and that this is sometimes the nature of the beast. He then told me that our corporate office was calling him back, and that he had to go. This was the last I heard from him. The customer has paid us nothing at this point, and I had planned on not charging him for the hose repair, and letting him have the van back at no charge. Ben referred this issue to his regional manager after the customer said he had to go. He and the manager decided to give it back to the customer at NO CHARGE but he never called back We would be glad to help him with this unfortunate problem. There was no way for us to tell this had an internal engine failure until the cooling system could hold coolant. It had no coolant when it came into our shop. This is a vehicle that we needed to repair the obvious leak first and then recheck for other problems. More than likely the internal engine issue is what blew the bypass hose, but with hoses that are 12 years old and 166k miles on then they could have failed due to lack of maintenance. We did not cause his vehicle to come into our shop with no coolant. We did not cause the issues with his engine, that was caused by lack of coolant. We are happy to help him by not charging him for the the expense we have occurred. The engine problem is his responsibility to repair. Anna F[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
April 4, 2016
Mr. [redacted]
Marketplace Resource Consultant
Revdex.com
[redacted]
Re: [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
We are in receipt of the above reference complaint regarding [redacted] and his 2002 [redacted].
We have a...
significantly different version of the facts surrounding the service we provided to Mr. [redacted] on Monday, March 28, 2016.
Mr. [redacted] brought his car into our Florence facility about 3:35 pm on Saturday, March 26th for repair to two flat tires. Our store manager at that time verified with Mr. [redacted] that the customer we already had in our management system was [redacted] including the address and phone number. Mr. [redacted] agreed that the information we had was correct.
On Monday, we provided our free service of inspecting our customer’s vehicle to make sure there were no other issues that needed to be addressed in addition to repairing his flat tires. Upon inspection, we found that the valve cover gasket was leaking and the outer passenger side tire rod end had play that needed to be repaired. Along with these repairs and alignment should be done.
Our mechanic called the phone number on the invoice that was verified by Mr. [redacted] as the correct number for contact. He discussed the issues with Mr. [redacted] and offered an estimate for the repairs. He was given verbal permission for the repairs to be completed on the [redacted].
The outer tie rod end was frozen to the inner tie rod and would not separate. We called again and explained the issue receiving a go ahead to make the additional repair. Total repairs on the car came to $899.18.
At approximately 5:35 p.m. [redacted] came to retrieve the vehicle and engaged with our Jr. Regional Manager at the desk. Mr. [redacted] said he would not be paying for any repairs to the vehicle because he didn’t approve them. We explained that the repairs were approved by Mr. [redacted] at the verified phone number he gave us on Saturday. He again insisted he would not pay for the repairs with rather colorful language. His demeanor and language caught the attention of all workers and customers in the facility. Our manager at that time informed him that we didn’t allow “language” of that type in our facility around ladies and other customers that were present. He again said he wasn’t paying and would be leaving. Our manager advised him to return the keys if he wasn’t going to pay for the approved repairs. Again some language was leveled at us. Our manager informed him that leaving the premises and not paying for any repairs, which had been approved, was “theft by deception.” He went on to explain that at no point in time will BSTS ever facilitate repairs on any vehicle, no matter the cost, without our prior approval. We received prior approval for the made repairs. Mr. [redacted] paid for the repairs, colorful language the entire transaction, threatening us with the Revdex.com and to sue us. We explained that we did exactly what we are supposed to do, we inspected the vehicle, repaired the tires, called the verified phone number with our concerns, gave the estimate to have the concerns repaired and gained approval to make the repairs.
We respectfully decline to refund Mr. [redacted] for the approved repairs made to his [redacted].
Sincerely,
Anna F[redacted]
Corporate Risk Manger
Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC.
Cc: Troy C**, Jr. Regional Manger
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
Dear Revdex.com:Customer came in with the upper intake & radiator hose exploded, severally overheated / steaming hot, with T Stat stuck, and orange stop leak, rusty coolant everywhereWe took the wife out there into the bay and showed her the engine compartment explaining the issue .She acknowledged
all, and authorized original quoteShe asked if we could get all repairs done before her husband got released from the hospitalWe advised we would do our best, but there was a lot of work to be performedAdvised this may be the starting point to fix the immediate issues over coolant leaking, and replacing of hoses, t-stat, etc… Advised we would need to assess her engine after the initial repairs were performed. Without any coolant at all, we had to fix the hoses to get her vehicle it operating and running to an operating temperature to determine if she had damaged her engine by driving it extremely hot and to see if all the leaks were fixed.We fixed the initial issue, but advised due to the extreme overheat, she had internal issues with the engineMost likely blown head gasket, and/or crack(ed) cylindar heads(Performed Block test, and immediately came back with exhaust fumes in coolantOriginally could not Block test, or Run Compression test based on with so many issues and leaks, and severe condition of coolant.---appears someone installed stop leak to attempt to stop leak??) We suggested she have the car towed home as on the test drive it ran rough. She asked if she could drive it home and we told her she might make it or it might break down in miles. She chose to drive it home telling us that they were going to take it to a dealership to trade it in and opted to forgo any other repairs. After getting it home, she called us complaining her car almost didn't make it home. We again explained the issues to her and advised that we would be willing to look at it again. That we could give her an estimate for the engine repair.Customer had towed back in the following day. Our garage manager sat down and explained it to the husband and wife once againHusband stated he was on medicine, and fresh out of the hospital, so he was having issues with his memoryI explained everything to them again, went out showed them at the vehicle there was no longer any leaks whatsoever, but explained it would overheat if they continued to drive itHusband acknowledged, hopped in vehicle and drove home again.This has all been documented and signed off on by the customer every step of the way. I have attached the initial preview of the vehicle and the invoices to this email for your review.We strive to make our customers happy. It's unfortunate that the vehicle was driven while extremely hot, bursting all the hoses and draining all the coolant from it before it reached our facility. We only did the authorized work after the repair and pricing was agreed to by our customer
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I made it clear in my previous response that I have given Bob Sumerel three chances to repair the car and there will not be a fourthAt this point I believe it is in everyone's best interest if we terminate our business relationshipI have been waiting for this issue to be resolved so I can take the car to the dealer where I should have gone in the first placeWhile I appreciate the offer of a rental car and the assistance of their master mechanic, I do not see that working outIf they do not find the problem then Bob Sumerel is out the cost of the rental car and the laborI am going back to the dealer for several reasonsFirst, Bob Sumerel had to consult the dealer TSB, so if they had to consult the dealer then so should ISecond, the car has a powertrain warranty and if the problem is found there then it is Chevrolets responsibility, also if it is a frame issue then that is Chevrolets responsibility as wellSince Bob Sumerel has offered to provide a rental car and another mechanic I think a compromise is in orderIt will cost me approximately $for Chevrolet to diagnose the car, in addition I will need to rent a car while the diagnostic is completed and pay for any additional expensesI am willing to resolve this issue if Bob Sumerel will refund the labor cost of $and I will absorb the expense of the parts that were put on the car that did not resolve the problemI feel this will save Bob Sumerel the cost of renting me a car and the additional labor expenseConsidering I have asked for a refund of $I feel that my request for a refund of the labor is fair and equivalent to the expense Bob Sumerel would incur in rental car fees and labor expenseThank you, *** ***
Thank you for forwarding this to my attention. Unfortunately, our store manager, whom the customer was dealing with, was off for several day due to an unexpected death in his immediate family. He was not avoiding the customer. We have reached out to the customer by phone today,
leaving messages for her at both the telephone numbers we have on file. Our store manager, who has returned will take care of this issue with our customer upon her return of the calls.We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused her. It is always our intent to make sure our customers are happy and taken care of properly.Sincerely,*** ***Corporate Risk ManagerBob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
Dear Revdex.com:
We have received the complaint filed by *** of Aurora, Inregarding a Mitsubishi Eclipse. We don’t have any service records for a *** but believe we have dealt with him regarding a Mitsubishi Eclipse belonging to a *** (different last
name). We did a timing belt kit on this Eclipse in July 2015. This car was towed back to our Aurora location on 10/26/
The car was very hard to turn over. It had to have a charger on full boost to get it to turn over. The customer’s step-father, *** was who we initially were dealing with at this stage. The very first thing we did when we received the car was to check to be sure all the valve train components were moving. They were. *** asked us what we “thought” could be the problem. We told him the car acted as though it had been hot. He said he had no idea but to give him the worst case scenario
We pulled the top of the timing cover off to make sure the belt we installed in July was still tight. It was. A slack belt would indicate an issue with the work we performed in July If the timing had teeth off on one camshaft after we did the repair, the car would not have been running when it was picked upIt was and ran until it towed into us in late OctoberTo go further with the diagnostic procedure would have required significant tear down/diagnostic labor that the customer (***) declined
We advised *** for his worst case scenario, that the car may need an engine. He asked us for pricing. Around this time, *** advised us he was no longer with *** mother and wasn’t going to be further involved. The car sat on our lot for a week or so when a new young man called, ***. We do not know his relationship to the owner
We are not sure where he claims he is getting all his information During his initial contact with us regarding the car, he insisted that we told him the car had to have a new motor. That was not the case. We provided a worse-case scenario to *** as was requested. *** refused to believe that is what we providedAs far as the “1.9” markup…not sure where *** came up with this numberAn expensive part, like an engine, would not be marked up at a rateWe do not disclose our proprietary information to our customers. *** identified himself as a previous mechanic during our conversation so our best guess is that is his shop’s pricing
We are happy that our customer has found the issue with the Eclipse and it does not in fact need a new engine. Please let me know if you need any additional information. I have a copy of the invoice for our July work, which I would be happy to send to you
Sincerely,
*** ***
Corporate Risk Manager
AAA Allied Group, Inc
Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
***
Customer brought her Pontiac Sunfire in on 3/2/to have her air conditioner checked. She stated that her a/c had not worked in quite some time. We explained it was bad for a/c systems to sit dormant with Freon (r123a refrigerant) and oil, as they keep the rubber seals soft and the
Corporate Risk Manager, Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC
metal in the system from corroding. That it may take multiple visits to have it working properly depending on what we foundWe brought the Sunfire into our shop and verified that it had zero or Freon in they system. We our A.C machine to properly create and held a vacuum and then charged the system with refrigerant and installed oil per specification. The A.C machine prevents you from adding Freon to a system that will not held a specific amount of vacuum, as it will check for massive leaks. It held we added the oil and Freon with UV dye. We explained to the customer the process in detail and advised her that it was working properly at the moment and that more than likely, despite passing all the preliminary test, the a/c would work maybe a week or less based on there being zero oil and zero Freon in the system at the beginning of the a/c service. We explained that we added UV dye to the system to aid us in finding leaks and to return to the shop in in week or sooner if the a/c stopped working. We reminded her that it may take the system working properly for a few weeks dot be 100% sure there is not multiple components that would fail due to the time the system spent empty and the age of the vehicle. At this time, we explained to her that there is no warranty on the service when parts fail allowing the Freon to leak out, but we would warranty the labor from the a/c service itself for one year. She understood.The next day she called and her a/c was no longer working. This came as no service to either of us and she returned to have us check where the Freon had leaked from. We found a pressure line in the system covered with the UV dye. We gave her the repair estimate to which she agreed and we ordered the part. We explained that we were able to use the UV dye light to inspect every component in the system with the exception of the components in the dash as these parts are not accessible. We let her know that with low temperatures and humidity, it is very hard to check the component called the Evaportor core in the dash. The only way to determine if there is a problem with this part is for the Freon sniffer to detect Freon down in the dash vents or for enough condensation to build up on the core to drip inside the dash and have enough liquid come out of the moisture overflow underneath the car. At this time the detector did not show any leaks from inside the dash and we did not see any moisture coming from the overflow. Again, she understood and agreed that we should make the repairs and put more dye in the system. The parts were ordered, came in days and she returned weeks after then to have the pressure line installed. We made the repair and another a/c service was preformed. We then reiterated to her our concerns about the evaporator core. We did not charge her for the Freon or labor on the a/c service, despite that being part of the cost agreed too before we started the work. We advised her once again that it was working now but as we haven't been able to find out if the evaporate was leaking or not and that components that were not leaking prior to having the system properly sealed could potentially start to show a problem after the system was used with correct pressures. Plug one hole and another may form, due to the length of time the a/c was without oil or Freon and age of her vehicle.. We were very clear this may not be her last visit for this issue.We gave her a rough estimate of $for what it might cost to have her evaporator core replaced and she was not happy. We explained we had advised her of the possibilities every step of the process. She explained she had some health issues and that they caused her to miss a lot of work. It would take her some time to afford further repairs if they became necessary. She understood and seemed more upset with her car than with us.A couple of days later, the customer called and accused us of taking her money and not fixing her car. We went through every detail once again and she agreed to bring her car back. On this visit we finally found dye coming from the moisture drain under the car thus verifying that 100% the evaporator core was leaking. She told us that despite us telling her everything up front, I would be fixing her car for free, that we should have known from the beginning that it was her evaporator core. We offered to split every dollar she had spent up to that point and put it towards her evaporator core as a gesture of good will and for customer satisfaction, we had done everything honestly and with integrity. She was receptive to this up to the point that we had to cause the a/c to stop working and that there would be no warranty, no refunds or credits applied to any future problems with the a/c system. She said we would warranty her whole a/c system for a year and any type of problem that may occur. We politely told her that was unreasonable and her response was she didn't care, she would take us to court. When she picked up her car, we discussed the split and options once again, leading to us be on the receiving end of some choice words, refusing a refund and insisting that only a fixed a/c with warranties would be satisfactory. That she was going to call the Revdex.com and refute her credit card charges and a lawyer.It is truly frustrating to have done everything properly and still be in this position with our customer. We will refund her money as a gesture of good will and like we tried to do on her last visit with us, which she refused. Anna F
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] I will never use them again and advise all I know beware of these crooks!
The customer had a drop off appointment at 7:30 am for an oil change and brakes on their 2013 Mazda. Our store manager got stuck in traffic and arrived slightly after 7:30. He apologized for his tardiness to the customer, check them in for service and asked them about the issues with...
their brakes. The customers stated that their brakes were squealing when braking. He asked them if they were AAA members and discovered they an AAA Plus membership, which entitled them to a discount. He told them they would get $12. off their oil change for AAA and he would call them regarding the brakes once we had looked them over. The Mazda requires synthetic oil, which is more costly than regular oil. After inspecting the car, it was determined that the brake pads were low and needed to be replaced. It was also explained that the squealing noise was coming from the brake rotors. Our store manager called the husband and discussed the inspection findings, the repairs and the cost. He also explained that they would receive a $17.00 discount on the brake work because of their AAA Plus membership. The husband approved the repairs as quoted. At no time during this conversation did the husband ask us to save the replaced parts for them.The customers came into pick up their car and were being assisted by the store's assistant. The wife was explaining to our assistant that she had never paid more than $19.99 for an oil change. She also wanted the old brake pads and rotors. Our manager overheard this conversation and joined in, explaining to the customer that her car required synthetic oil, it's in the owner's manual and is imprinted upon the oil cap itself. She was insistent that we were charging her too much and that it should not cost her more than $19.99. As a gesture of good will and to make our customer happy, our manager gave her a $50 total discount on the oil change bringing the cost down from the $69.99 cost to $19.99. We gave her the old rotors that we had replaced as they are not disposed of via normal trash or our dumpster. Her brake pads had already been tossed in the industrial dumpster and we didn't have them to return to her.In an effort to resolve her complaint, we called both Kerry Mazda and Jeff Wyler Mazda to confirm their Mazda did require synthetic oil as shown on both the oil cap and the owner's manual. Both confirmed. We asked them their pricing and Wyler told us the regular price for their oil changes are $49.95 but they were currently running a special of $39.95. Kerry stated their price was $55 and if they were running a special it would be $45.00. We spoke to both service departments regarding the brakes. We asked them if they would inspect the customer's old parts to see if they needed to have the rotors replaced. They told us what we already knew, that there is no way you could physically look at a brake rotor and tell if it needed to be replaced without performing some measurements on it and having it on the vehicle to see if the squeal continued. Both dealers declined to get involved and inspect the customers rotors for us as they didn't want to get in the middle of this situation.We are sorry they are unhappy with their service. The customers came to us for an oil change and to fix the squeal in their brakes. They received both. If they had asked us to retain the replaced parts for them before hand, we would not have disposed of the pads in the dumpster. We gave them the AAA Plus discounts they were entitled to under their membership. We matched what the wife said was the most she ever paid for an oil change. We verified with two local Mazda dealers that our oil change price was more in line to what they charged than $19.99. The brake repair was discussed with and approved by the husband before we started any work on them.Please let us know if you have any further questions.[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] which comes across very rude. Based on my documentation as you can see, the INCORRECT spark plugs were put in my car. No other documentation was shown to prove otherwise. EVER. Everyone I have addressed about this can see and agrees with me. Thus, the filing of this complaint. I hope this check includes the FULL amount of $160.00 owed to me for parts and labor as an incorrect service was performed on my car with incorrect parts. This has been an absolute nightmare, and I will let it be known how business is conducted here if not fully refunded.
Regards,
[redacted]
I have not been in yet today, because I work normal M-F hours. I will be in this evening around 5:30pm. I have already paid for the new spark plugs at KIA, which cost me MORE THAN the ones purchased from Bob Sumerel. I expect a full refund for the spark plug service I received in June 2016, which was approx. $160.00. I will bring in invoices from both services. Thank you.
RE: Alleged damage Newport Sumerel Dear [redacted]: We have again reviewed the picture you sent us that shows a dent on your vehicle with red paint transfer. While it is apparent something hit your door, it was not done by any employee of Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC. Our Newport store manager...
took you to our garage and showed you the car rack or lift that was used to service your vehicle. In fact, you saw all our lifts. He showed you how it was impossible for your truck to be damaged by the lift in the area of your dent. At that time, you acknowledged that you understood the ding could not have happened via the lift. When we spoke, you told me that you understood that lift was not the cause of the damage but what about other items in our garage, specifically the floor jacks. We have two floor jacks at our Newport location. One is green and silver with the other one being white and black. Neither one of our floor jacks were the cause of the ding with red paint transfer to your vehicle. We have nothing else in our facility that is mobile and red in nature. It appears to us that the ding to your truck is something that is commonly called a door ding. This is what happens when another vehicle opens a door too close to your vehicle and striking it. When and where this happened to your truck, we do not know. Who opened their door into your truck, we also don't know. We respectfully deny liability for the door ding to your truck for the reasons stated above. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call. Sincerely, [redacted] Corporate Risk ManagerRevdex.com[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] ** [redacted] Dear [redacted] :Thank you for using your Revdex.com as a resource to resolving your complaint ID [redacted] submitted on 9/10/2015 12:00:00 AM against Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC. Since you have accepted Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC’s response, ("... emailed [redacted] and let him know we would do the 66% of his estimate. Today, I am emailing him a full and final release and ordering the check from our accounting department. I asked him to verify his mailing address and he did so by email late last night.") we are closing this complaint. If you and Bob Sumerel Tire & Service Co LLC have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust they will follow through. If this does not happen, contact us and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.Your complaint is now part of the Revdex.com Business Review and details will be posted on Revdex.com.org, if it meets our online standards. We encourage you to stay in touch with Revdex.com for great tips and information with our consumer e-newsletter or find a business you can trust with our Request A Quote service. Regards,[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
We don't believe any further response will resolve this issue. BSTS was open and above board with this customer as we are with all our customers. We wish her well in the future.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
In deference to AAA's last response I again would ask, if the vehicle was low on coolant as they claim then why did they not mention that there could be additional problems if moving forward as Ben wants to rely on? Again the vehicle has been properly maintained at professional shops. I personally checked and verified that the coolant in the radiator and over-flow bottle were at the right levels. And one more time, the hoses were in good shape as attested to by [redacted] and [redacted]. So I once again question AAA as to why they want to point out that the hoses were original. They have never addressed what Ben told me that fateful day I called to asked when the van would be ready. He said to me (paraphrased but accurate) "We put the part on and turned on the van. We kept putting in coolant thinking there was an air pocket in the system until we knew the head was blown".And again I offer my phone records to Revdex.com to verify that no call, voicemail or text ever came to me from Ben or AAA. I distinctly remember going over my cell phone number with Ben when I dropped the van off to make sure he had it and it was correct. He did. At this point I have had the van towed home. I hope to make this complaint available to other consumers that are thinking of taking their vehicle to Bob Sumerel Tires owned by AAA. They are unresponsive. Unprofessional and completely indifferent to their company failures. Their actions or better said, inaction are indicative of a company not wanting to face up to their mistakes. I will be happy to address this in small claims court.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] Dear Revdex.com,
The response from BST is still not acceptable. They are not addressing the issue at hand, that they did not contact me for approval of services. They are simply ignoring the fact that they made a mistake and won't act in an honorable and professional manner to rectify this. What should we do now? Should I contact my Credit Card company and place this in a FRAUD status? Please let me know what the next step is.Thank you,[redacted]
We are sorry our customer has continuing issues with his vehicle. His vehicle is several years old and his hoses etc. are still the original equipment. Over the years, these items need to be checked, repaired and or/replaced. We don't know and won't try to guess how he maintained his vehicle. What we can attest too is the severe lack of coolant in his vehicle when he brought it to our shop for repairs. That is not something we caused to happen and can't be held responsible for any damage that lack of coolant caused him. In order to properly determine what the ultimate issue was with his or any other similar vehicle, we had to first fix what visually we saw to be a problem. We did so and have offered, both to the customer and in our earlier response to his complaint, not to charge him what it cost us for those services.The customer did file a complaint with our member relations and also left a message for me. Our recorded call records show that we returned his calls on July 25th. Both went to voice messages. I answered the original Revdex.com complaint on July 26th at 11:09 am. To date, the customer has not returned the call from the 25th.Ben did not cause the damage to the customer's vehicle. It is a result of the extremely low to no coolant that was in his vehicle upon arrival to our shop. There was no way for us to tell he had an internal engine failure until his cooling system could hold coolant. Again, we will honor our offer to waive the cost for us to repair the hose, but will not accept responsibility for the damage to the engine.Anna F[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it. If you and the business have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust the business will comply. Please contact us after that time if the matter is not resolved as agreed and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted]Here is the pictures of the spark plugs that our Newport manager took when the customer brought them back to us. The dealer invoice stated that the vehicle requires denso iridium plugs , the plugs that we installed were ngk iridium plugs which are actually an upgrade from the factory plugs. IRIDIUM is clearly marked on the plugs that we installed and she returned to us. The plugs are correct, they are a different brand name, but they are the correct type of plug for her vehicle. Our manager was trying to tell her that you can see on the electrode of the plug they have a distinct white line which is the timing mark which is created from the motor and a direct reflection of how the engine is running. Also by the white of the plugs tells him that those 2 specific cylinder were running lean and that the vehicle is not getting enough fuel. The specific engine that this vehicle has in it has a direct injection system that is known for having excessive carbon build up issues and causing lean conditions , he was worried that the dealer putting plug in the car is just a band-aid for a bigger problem.I am sorry our customer is upset. However, we didn't do anything incorrectly with her service.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for forwarding this incident to our attention. The customer has also been in touch with our member relations department. This vehicle has not been maintained, still has O.E. hoses and belts, vehicle is 12 years old and 166,941 miles on it. Should have been changed at least once if...
not twice. The van has four warning lights on (ABS, Air Bag, Low Oil and Traction control ). The Work Order we have the says the customer "Sees and smells coolant, temp gauge went up to ¾ on the way here, was higher at stops and went down when driving." Ben is the store manager and advises this sequence of events: Customer called and said his vehicle was overheating and he would like to bring it in to have us look at it. He also said that if it was anything major, to take it out back and shoot it. He drove the vehicle in and said that at every stop light, the temp gauge would rise, until he got going again, and then it would drop back down. Upon initial inspection the tech noted the vehicle had no coolant in it due to a hole in a coolant bypass hose. We replaced the hose and added 4 gallons of coolant, which immediately turned into a mud color, a sign of past coolant system neglect. Unfortunately the coolant continued to boil out of the radiator, telling us the engine had an internal issue such as a bad head gasket. I called the customer to inform him of this and left him a message to call me back, because he did not answer. When he called back, I gave him the news, and he said something to the effect of “if one more bad thing happens to me, I’m going to lose it.” I was put off by this comment and didn’t have a response to it. He then told me that it wasn’t doing “that” before he brought it here and asked if it was something we did. I explained that when working with a cooling system with a leak, that the first step is to fix the leak, and then recheck the system, because we have no way of knowing if there is any other damage to the engine until the cooling system is sealed up. He said he had to think about what he was going to do, and got off the phone. A couple of days later he called in the morning and told him he had contacted AAA customer relations but wanted to clarify what happened. At that point he told me that the car had never overheated and that it was completely fine before he brought it here, and now I am telling him that it needs and engine. I replied with a “yes” He asked what I was going to do about that, and I said unfortunately there is nothing I can do, and that this is sometimes the nature of the beast. He then told me that our corporate office was calling him back, and that he had to go. This was the last I heard from him. The customer has paid us nothing at this point, and I had planned on not charging him for the hose repair, and letting him have the van back at no charge. Ben referred this issue to his regional manager after the customer said he had to go. He and the manager decided to give it back to the customer at NO CHARGE but he never called back We would be glad to help him with this unfortunate problem. There was no way for us to tell this had an internal engine failure until the cooling system could hold coolant. It had no coolant when it came into our shop. This is a vehicle that we needed to repair the obvious leak first and then recheck for other problems. More than likely the internal engine issue is what blew the bypass hose, but with hoses that are 12 years old and 166k miles on then they could have failed due to lack of maintenance. We did not cause his vehicle to come into our shop with no coolant. We did not cause the issues with his engine, that was caused by lack of coolant. We are happy to help him by not charging him for the the expense we have occurred. The engine problem is his responsibility to repair. Anna F[redacted]Corporate Risk Manager
April 4, 2016
Mr. [redacted]
Marketplace Resource Consultant
Revdex.com
[redacted]
Re: [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
We are in receipt of the above reference complaint regarding [redacted] and his 2002 [redacted].
We have a...
significantly different version of the facts surrounding the service we provided to Mr. [redacted] on Monday, March 28, 2016.
Mr. [redacted] brought his car into our Florence facility about 3:35 pm on Saturday, March 26th for repair to two flat tires. Our store manager at that time verified with Mr. [redacted] that the customer we already had in our management system was [redacted] including the address and phone number. Mr. [redacted] agreed that the information we had was correct.
On Monday, we provided our free service of inspecting our customer’s vehicle to make sure there were no other issues that needed to be addressed in addition to repairing his flat tires. Upon inspection, we found that the valve cover gasket was leaking and the outer passenger side tire rod end had play that needed to be repaired. Along with these repairs and alignment should be done.
Our mechanic called the phone number on the invoice that was verified by Mr. [redacted] as the correct number for contact. He discussed the issues with Mr. [redacted] and offered an estimate for the repairs. He was given verbal permission for the repairs to be completed on the [redacted].
The outer tie rod end was frozen to the inner tie rod and would not separate. We called again and explained the issue receiving a go ahead to make the additional repair. Total repairs on the car came to $899.18.
At approximately 5:35 p.m. [redacted] came to retrieve the vehicle and engaged with our Jr. Regional Manager at the desk. Mr. [redacted] said he would not be paying for any repairs to the vehicle because he didn’t approve them. We explained that the repairs were approved by Mr. [redacted] at the verified phone number he gave us on Saturday. He again insisted he would not pay for the repairs with rather colorful language. His demeanor and language caught the attention of all workers and customers in the facility. Our manager at that time informed him that we didn’t allow “language” of that type in our facility around ladies and other customers that were present. He again said he wasn’t paying and would be leaving. Our manager advised him to return the keys if he wasn’t going to pay for the approved repairs. Again some language was leveled at us. Our manager informed him that leaving the premises and not paying for any repairs, which had been approved, was “theft by deception.” He went on to explain that at no point in time will BSTS ever facilitate repairs on any vehicle, no matter the cost, without our prior approval. We received prior approval for the made repairs. Mr. [redacted] paid for the repairs, colorful language the entire transaction, threatening us with the Revdex.com and to sue us. We explained that we did exactly what we are supposed to do, we inspected the vehicle, repaired the tires, called the verified phone number with our concerns, gave the estimate to have the concerns repaired and gained approval to make the repairs.
We respectfully decline to refund Mr. [redacted] for the approved repairs made to his [redacted].
Sincerely,
Anna F[redacted]
Corporate Risk Manger
Bob Sumerel Tire & Service, LLC.
Cc: Troy C**, Jr. Regional Manger
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]