The Consumer Complaints Blog

I want to share an example of effective complaining which brought impressive results. First of all, I am an industrial designer and have a range of knowledge when it comes to manufactured products we buy, use and tdiscard. Industrial designers are product designers (like James Dyson who invented the Dyson vacuums) who work with engineers, marketing and sales folks to develop products. We have a good comprehension of manufacturing, hopefully economics, materials, trends, styling, etc. We are involved in creating and achieving levels of product quality while meeting “corporate objectives” which usually translates into generating a profit for all our efforts and salaries.

Unfortunately, not all products these days are designed to last 20 years or longer anymore. It’s called planned obsolesce, we can determine and control exactly how long produced goods will last, how it will wear, break etc. Fair enough I think, our planet revolves on consumerism and we all take part in the various products and services which give us an occupation and allow us to keep feeding this system. I will talk more about his another time and share a really neat presentation about “stuff”.

My story is this. Upon graduating from industrial design studies and landing my first job as a designer within a toy company I experienced a little problem with my 6 year old 1992 Acura Integra LE. A fine little car it was. Purchased it used, drove it hard and cared for it the best I could. One day the driver’s seatbelt failed to work, it wouldn’t recoil back into the housing?! Sure enough, I took it apart to discover the steel coil inside broke and wasn’t providing the tension needed for the normal strap operation. I called up the Honda dealership to order a new part. Of course, the part is not available as a separate part. I could purchase the “assembly” and simply replace it. The cost for this was ~ $380. (part only) L…yaa, not the answer I was looking for. I gave it some thought and realized the above “planned obsolescence” The car had about 180 000kms, still looked great and everything else was fine. I thought…damn designers/engineers and “people” who decided on the specific coil quality, material design, etc for this!! I decided to call up Honda Canada and talk to customer service relations. I was polite, calm and simply voiced my situation along with 2 golden questions. I explained this as my first car purchased and happy with it thus far. I then explained that of all the parts, assemblies and systems on this car, the driver’s seat belt should be the LAST thing to fail ——-this was the small component which could essentially save my life (assuming the seat could still be bolted to the car’s frame)! This is where I asked: “ what does this tell me about the rest of the car?” The second question was, “ how will this help me to buy another Honda in the future?” I was heard and was told to expect a call in the coming days. Sure enough they called to report that I should take my vehicle to a certain dealership to have the assembly replaced free of charge and they thanked me for my consumer input———–J

Now that folks, is justice, good business and a company (or employee) that stands behind its product. I have purchased 2 other Hondas since then I will continue to do so.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

In November my husband and I decided to lease to own a 98 Ford F-150 priced at 94,000.00 not including the 29 percent interest, not just did they lie to us and tell us that this truck had been well maintained but it didn’t come with a jack let alone a tire iron which a vehicle is suppose to have to certify it and didn’t receive a car fax or a used vehicle package.. The truck ran great for two weeks then our problems started happening we had to replace the transmission line’s, hood latch, battery, manifold, power steering box, four wheel drive on the passenger side, rotors and breaks in the front and back (after finding out that the back one’s were ceased), u-joints and the latest the ball joints on both side’s cause the whole truck collapsed.

Needless to say we had to borrow the money from AJM leasing to fix this truck that use to be a lemon and that was a cost of 1400.00 not to mention recently when they ball joints went out in our truck we talked to the financing company who instead of offering us another loan to repair that said don’t worry about making this months payment so we went and put a stop payment on both ends from their end and at my bank after taking what would have been my truck payment out of the bank which was in full 550.00 we left 289.00 in our account which would have covered our insurance had they not have proceeded to take out a additional 50.00 on top of the 550.00…Which needless to say caused our insurance to lapse and because this is not the first time they have caused this our insurance told us because it’s a cancellation they want 1500.00 for 6 months of insurance and at the end of the 6 months would require another 1500.00 to cover us right through.

Because of this we cannot even get insurance on another vehicle if we found one without paying a yearly amount and there is no way with a business, rent and kids we can afford this.. I need help!!

In turn my regular payment would be coming out of my account for the truck payment on the 20th of this month how ever with them recently screwing my insurance up I asked AJM Leasing to help me out seeing how they caused this. and their solution was to come take my truck! In my eye’s with the work and money I have put into this truck it’s almost brand new condition the truck is MINE…but yet they proceeded to repo my truck which in turn make’s my business go belly up as I am a window cleaner and I do own my own business and now I have no vehicle and even if I did cannot get insurance now unless I am willing to pay for a full year which in this day and age is very expensive.

And this is not the first complaint I have had with this company in the beginning when we first got the truck (which we love this truck) the guy they had working with them that sold me the truck did nothing but flirt with my wife and ask my wife to pick him up a girlfriend for him…nice business! I would not recommend AJM leasing to anyone today.. unless they are willing to give my truck back and help me out with the insurance issue they caused!

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Last October I answered an online ad from them to have my outboard motor fixed at Stevensville Auto Truck Marine. They gave many promises. After a few weeks of them not returning any calls they finally called and admitted they couldn’t fix it. They then went on to sell me a motor that was less power than mine, but apparently was in great working condition.

The first issue was they placed it on my boat, without properly sealing the bolts on the transon so that the first time I took it out the amount of water pouring in was incredible, not to mention dangerous! After advising them they said they would fixthe problems, they didn’t. It still leaked like a sieve. The reason was my transom was apparently rotted and the wood wouldn’t catch the bolts properly. So knowing this, they still let me take it out the first time ! When I returned it to them they convinced me they would do a complete restoration of my boat. I gave them a deposit to start the work over the winter.

In March 2009 they called me saying they needed more money to buy supplies, so I gave them another $500. By the time April rolled around I kept calling emailing to see the progress, but again no return calls or emails. In May they finally reached me with nothing but a ton of excuses why they hadn’t touched it all winter! They then proceeded to tell me its so late in the season, that they had a comparable boat to sell us. When my wife and I went to see this boat, it was 5 feet smaller than mine, and this boat that was apparently good to go had the motor in several parts and him working on it! I said it was unacceptable. He invited us to wander around the property and see if there was anything else we liked. My wife and I found a hull, that he guaranteed was sound. After quite some discussions we decided to buy it because he was going to paint it for us, move my lights, bilge pump, downriggers, and a few other things from my old boat to this new one. That was June 10 2009. He promised us it would be ready on June 20. I called several times before the date to see what was happening, but again no answers. They finally called me back on the evening of Thursday June23, asking what time I wanted to pick it up as it was ready. I made arrangements to drive out the next day at 9 am. I called them at 830 am as she asked me to, but again no answer. My wife and I arrived there at 11 am, and found the boat completely UNTOUCHED! The paint they had put on it, which is all they did and switch the motor over, was the wrong colour we ordered. Without even a word of apology, he promised my wife and I they would take it into the shop that evening and work on through the night and not to worry as it would be ready the next day at noon.

Again we drove out. The boat was sitting exactly where we had left it the previous day. Again, without a word of apology, I was yelled at because ‘other customers are losing time and money from here vacations’! I advised him that since last October when I purchased the other motor, I too was wasting time and money. Again he yelled at me as to how busy he is. My friend who accompanied me asked him then to give us the seats we ordered and we would install it. That was when he started yelling to not touch anything, he would bring it in as soon as he finished the seadoo he was working on and that it would be ready that afternoon by 4. I went home rather upset and waited for the call. It never came.

I finally reached him Monday evening and the excuse was he had to go on an emergency call up north! After making tons of promises, yet again that it would be ready the next day….nothing. Finally on July 9, his wife called saying come get the boat its been ready for a few days. When I arrived there, the boat was still in the exact spot….UNTOUCHED. All the equipment he was going to install, was just thrown haphazardly into the boat. When he showed up, there was no explanation why he made me come out for a third time yet again, knowing nothing had been done. That was when he started yelling how if I keep bad mouthing him, that’s what he calls my calls and emails he doesn’t answer to, he would sue me! He then proceeded to throw these 4 ugly rusted seats into the boat, I asked him where were the seats my wife and I ordered and there was no answer. Instead he just kept giving me junk I didn’t need to make up for it. The stuff given is useless garbage. I was so upset I decided to take the boat with me. That’s when I noticed my marine jack I had just installed on my trailer last October was broken, my spare tire also new missing! We finally found the tire, but there was never anything mentioned about the destroyed jack. His wife made me sign a piece of paper that she wouldn’t give me a copy of saying it just said I took it and it wasn’t stolen.

When I arrived at home I realised they had lost the key to the ignition! So I had to get a locksmith out to fix it! Since I have had it home I’ve had to rewire all the lights, install my fishfinder, my downriggers, carpeting, fixed a large hole in the keel that was the size of a toonie that wasn’t there before! Basically everything he was going to do, I’ve done. My wife emailed him saying those aren’t the seats we ordered and wanted back the $500 he was taking for seats and labour. That’s when he told her, I don’t do refunds, and your husband signed a release that he was satisfied with the work. No I didn’t! As of yesterday he hasn’t returned any calls or emails.

Yesterday I finally took it out only to find out that the motor he sold me won’t go into gear, just stays stuck in neutral. I called him from the water as my friend and I were just drifting on Lake Ontario, he didn’t answer. When my friend called from his cell phone, he answered. My friend explained what was going on, and he just said, I guess the transmission is shot, and hung up! We were towed in by the harbour police.

I called all night, emailed and still haven’t heard a thing. I’m sorry if this was a little long winded but I wanted you to understand exactly the kind of business they operate. There is a lot more I could tell you, but I hope you get the idea of how my wife and I have been treated by Shawn and Stephany, the owners of Stevensville Auto Truck Marine on 13717 Ort Rd, Stevensville.

I have contacted BBB and filed a complaint. Hopefully I will get the results I’m looking for. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

I bought in August 2007 a Hyundai Santa Fe. I noticed about two months ago a rust on my driver’s side door (inside of the car), which I took to the dealer to have it inspected. I first of all need to clarify that I have purchased this vehicle at the Hyundai Mississauga dealer, and since I had moved to the city of Oakville right after purchasing the vehicle in August 2007, I decided to start servicing the car at the dealer located in Oakville instead, just for convenience.

The first comment the dealer in Mississauga had to make when I took the car for inspection was that I had not been servicing the car at their dealer reason for why they could not deal with the claim, as it would required too much paperwork for them to justify this claim to the head office. I alluded to the fact that I had bought the car there as well as the rusting protection for the car at the time of purchase, however, they mentioned that this policy only covers for rust damages caused on the outside of the vehicle not on the inside. This for me does not make sense. I followed their recommendation to take the car to the dealer when I usually do service it, the Oakville dealer. The Service manager at the Oakville dealer, Mr. Steve Allum, ask if I had bought the rust proofing, and asked for me to show it to him. When he looked at it, he mentioned that his dealer does not deal with the Diamon protection plan, that they have a completely different plan and that therefore he recommended me to take the car back to the dealer where I have purchased it from. This immediately to me sounded incorrect, as I was felt that no one wanted to take ownership for the claim neither wanted to provide the customer service any client deserves, even more for a car that was at the time only 18 months old.

I took the time again to contact the dealer in Mississauga to update the service manager Mr. Kohli about the conversation that I had with Mr. Allum, of course he said that his statement was completely wrong and that he was going to call him to discuss.

Three weeks after I did not have any response from neither of the two, despite the follow ups. At the end Mr. Kohli mentioned that he had agreed with Mr. Allum that the Oakville dealer would take care of fixing the door. To my surprise, after dropping off the car on 6 Jul 09, I got a call from Mr. Allum on 7 Jul 09 indicating that they had determine that they can not fix the door properly but have decided to put some kind of patch on the rust, as it was felt that I had caused the rust with the scratches caused by my shoes by getting in and out of the car. I have to say that this is the lamest excuse they could have come up with. Since when the cars rust by the contact they have with your shoes for getting in and out of a car. The recommendation that Mr. Allum had given me is that I need to take the car to a body shop for proper fixing, which could cost in the range of the $300 dollars he indicated, and that they were not going to assume responsibility for paying for this repair as it was considered outside of the car warranty.

I decided to follow up directly with Hyundai Canada to seek their advice, and was unfortunately turned down. The customer service department rep at Hyundai Canada told me that they can only go with what the dealer is telling them, and if they say that I had caused the scratches, there is then nothing they can do about it. I told the lady that I can not believe that they would jut wash their hands and not provide the Customer Service that someone’s deserve. I even told her that if that was the case I would return the car to the dealer. The response of their rep was that I can do whatever I wanted to since the car has already been paid by the bank, so basically they did not care what I did with it. As you can understand this is extremely disappointing and frustrating, even more so knowing that I still have a couple of more years to go paying the car. If the car is going to start falling into pieces from the inside out and they are not going to be responsible for responding for this then I do not want this car. This is the reason why I bought a new car, if I wanted to have a car that falls into pieces, I could have easily bought a used car for that matter.

I am writing to you to seek your advice and look at the possibilities that I have for making them pay for the repair. The clean up work the dealer did its very poor, I even noticed that the rust on the door is coming form underneath a plate that is sitting by the door foot step, so how I can my shoes get underneath this plate and also cause this kind of rust? In case needed, I do have pictures that I took to show exactly where the rust it’s actually located and also for anyone to look at the quality of the job the Oakville dealer performed. I am very concern about the lack of service Hyundai Canada and their dealers provide, specifically post-purchasing of a car.

I thank you in advance for your advice and attention to this matter.

Lizbeth Carmona

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Business involved:
Yorkdale Volkswagen o/b 2031113 Ontario Limited
600 Wilson Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M3K 1C9
Phone: 416-741-7480

I leased a new VW Passat CC through this dealer. They used an offer to lease form which doesn’t include the selling price of the vehicle on it. They told me the purchasing price was $34,735,which included the base price of $31,975 + $1,400 for auto transmission and $1,360 for freight and PDI. The leasing company is VW Credit Canada Inc. The numbers were the same as posted on VW Canada’s website. The monthly payments were a little more than what I wanted to pay so I asked if they could lower the purchase price enough to make the monthly lease payment an amount of $350 per month (this included an $8,000 trade-in). The salesman told me that he required my credit card in order to present this to his manager. He came back with a reworked offer to lease form and told me I have a deal. At that time, the salesman took my ownership papers for the car I was going to trade-in.

What they did not tell me was that they retained the same purchase price, but increased the amount I would have to pay up front, not to mention that they used a slightly higher interest rate to calculate the lease payments than the amount posted on VW Canada’s website. After I released what they did, I called the new car sales manager to complain and ask for my $1,000 deposit back. He would not give back the deposit. He agreed to reduce the my up front payment by $700, while maintaining everything else the same. Further I was told that I could have the car in the colour scheme that I wanted by the end of the week. I later found out that they do not have the car I wanted, and promised to order one for me from the manufacturer. The car arrived three weeks later. It did not come from directly the manufacturer. Instead, they acquired it from another dealer and had a manufacture date that was ficve months old, meaning it had sat through the Canadian winter — they did not disclose this to me.

When I picked up the car and fill out the leasing paperwork, the leasing rate offered by VW Credit Canada had dropped from 4.9 to 2.9%. The dealer had forms for me to sign which stated that the interest rate was 2.9% but the monthly payments or up-front payments had not changed. The residual value had been lowered by a mere $340.00. Again the purchase price was not disclosed on the new offer to lease form. When I pointed out that the lower interest rate should have a more significant effect on lowering either the up-front payments or the monthly lease payments, I was told that the effect was minimal. The Business Manager told me that they made $250 and he would make it up to me in services. At this point they already had my car and my insurance had already been transferred to the new car. So I just took his word for it. However, the lease agreement itself, which is an entirely different document, only presented to me after all of the above had occurred, contained a Vehicle Selling Price that was 37,662.83. This price was significantly higher than the MSRP of the vehicle, and when I questioned it I was told it includes freight, security deposit and first month payments as well as some other small charges. Not having a computer with me at the dealership, these items cannot be easily checked. After getting home, I realized they the selling price only included freight, not security deposit and first month payment and was $3,319.83 above the selling price I had agreed to.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.