Meineke stole our money!

[Edensmum]

DH went in for an oil change and to have brake pads changed. They decided it needed the whole exhaust system replaced and all the shocks and struts, besides front brakes.
DH agreed to the oil changed and front brake work. He had to go to work and they didn't have the parts to do the rest. They said they would likely be able to get them the next day and he said anything done would have to be done early as he was headed out of town, but to just take care of what was doable that day. He had to take the car out of town and he was really worried about breaking down and they were laying on the scare tactics telling him he would die if he didn't replaced this or that ETC.
When he returned to pick up the car he was still undecided about the additional work, thinking he would check with BIL, who had cared for the car for years after he got off work.
They asked if he would like to pay for the total estimate for all work they wanted to do. He said "No, just the work that has been done already."
They seemed to be having computer issues and could only print out an invoice for all work they wanted to do but asked him to pay less than half the total so he thought he was doing the right thing.
The next morning after talking with BIL and me he called as a courtesy to say he didn't need any additional work. He was informed that they had charged him for more than they had done and that he should come in for a refund.
A few minutes later the owner called and said that the money they charged was a non refundable deposit on parts and that they wouldn't be refunding.
We never agreed to the additional charges, we never agreed to the deposit. We were never sure on the additional work, so we certainly wouldn't have agreed top pay it ahead of time. The only invoice they could give us was for tons of items not specifying what was done.
When we asked for a detailed invoice the things they had done more than double in price and the non-refundable deposit appeared. This included a $100 oil change.
Just and FYI this place is CROOKED!
Yes we agreed to some work, and we agreed to pay for what they did, but we did not agree to pay for a muffler and struts that were never to be put on our car.



Eden 9/04

[SnuggleBuggles]

:( Grrr...how maddening!!!

I follow the advice of the NPR "Car Talk" guys and never go to places like Meineke or Jiffy Lube- your story is not uncommon. :(

I hope things get worked out! Did you use a credit card? Maybe you could dispute the charges through them?

Beth

[Edensmum]

I did use a cc but disbuting with them is really not doing much. They basically just tell the merchant our issues ans it's up to them whether or not to give the refund.
It is illegal to try to do work on a car it doesn't need so we have recourse there too.
Thanks for reading this and it's a really complicated situation. How annoying!

Eden 9/04

[tarabenet]

Write up a formal writen complaint -- start with what you wrote above, and fill in dates, approximate times, copies of any and every scrap of paper they gave you, and *name names*. Go to Meineke with a copy and tell them you have done this. They can issue you a refund *immediately, while you wait* or you will file your complaint with all of the following: Better Business Bureau, your state's Office of consumer Protection, your state's Attorney General if Consumer Protection is not a division of AG. If they give you *any* trouble, don't get mad. Simply turn around, walk away, and go straight to the post office. One copy goes to each, including one to the local Meineke and one to the national office, both clearly marked with all the agencies you CC'd. Keep a copy for yourself. While you are at it, send one to your credit card company too, including your account info and your *extreme dissatisfaction* with the way they ducked handling the issue. (Oh, wait: better yet, just leave that Meineke a copy -- one that is clearly a copy, while you are right there. If they aren't sure that you are serious, they will be when they start looking through that.)

These are your very legitimate ways to address the fact that they stole from you. Use the system. Use it. Don't just let them walk. Good luck to you!

[tarabenet]

I've been angry on your behalf, just thinking about all this. Just wondered: have they made any moves toward doing the right thing?

[Edensmum]

It's still pending. It takes weeks to hear back from the state. They would not issue a refund, but we did file with the cc just to see.

[tarabenet]

Oh yeah, the official stuff will take weeks. I was just hoping that the threat of all those letters would get them to ive up and give you a refund. What jerks.

Hang in there!