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Ceg'er Exemplified vs. crooked repair shop

Dispute the charge with your credit card company also. Not sure it will stick, but it will definitely cause some hassle for the shop in dealing with the CC as well.

Exactly, the CC will really push the shop down.

May also help to pay another visit after the CC company goes after him. Bring some buddies with you and exercise patience. Your presence will probably put a little more weight to his shoulders to get it resolved.
 
Exactly, the CC will really push the shop down.

May also help to pay another visit after the CC company goes after him. Bring some buddies with you and exercise patience. Your presence will probably put a little more weight to his shoulders to get it resolved.

Actually, I used a debit card. I don't know if the CC rules apply, or it's too late to get my money back that way. There's really nothing this shop can do to resolve this situation - other than to return my money. I'm sure they won't do that, so I'll have to seek some kind of legal solution. Hopefully, the NYS courts actually care about individual citizens rather than favoring businesses. Whatever, the outcome, I'll certainly try to exercise my rights (whatever is left of them in this political climate).
 
Actually, I used a debit card. I don't know if the CC rules apply, or it's too late to get my money back that way. There's really nothing this shop can do to resolve this situation - other than to return my money. I'm sure they won't do that, so I'll have to seek some kind of legal solution. Hopefully, the NYS courts actually care about individual citizens rather than favoring businesses. Whatever, the outcome, I'll certainly try to exercise my rights (whatever is left of them in this political climate).

unfortunately, debit cards transactions are instant. ccs take a number of days to go through. thats why its easier to stop payment on one. problem is, when u use a debit card, u might have to use a pin. and since only u knows the pin, the bank assumes that u gave full consent to the transaction. all the best.
 
unfortunately, debit cards transactions are instant. ccs take a number of days to go through. thats why its easier to stop payment on one. problem is, when u use a debit card, u might have to use a pin. and since only u knows the pin, the bank assumes that u gave full consent to the transaction. all the best.

This is a lie. A shop does not have a debit machine, at least not any around here. When the run a debit card through, they run it through as credit. It takes a day or two for the transaction to clear and for the funds to be taken out of your account. Your "Available Balance" will immediately be depleted, but your actual account balance will not be affected immediately.
 
This is a lie. A shop does not have a debit machine, at least not any around here. When the run a debit card through, they run it through as credit. It takes a day or two for the transaction to clear and for the funds to be taken out of your account. Your "Available Balance" will immediately be depleted, but your actual account balance will not be affected immediately.

problem is, when u use a debit card, u MIGHT have to use a pin.

take the time to read my post. i said if he used a pin. if he didnt, then it was run as credit. dont 4get there are some debit cards that absolutely require u enter a pin. not sure if "lie" is the word u were looking for. am guessing u meant 'inaccurate'.
 
take the time to read my post. i said if he used a pin. if he didnt, then it was run as credit. dont 4get there are some debit cards that absolutely require u enter a pin. not sure if "lie" is the word u were looking for. am guessing u meant 'inaccurate'.

A debit card that REQUIRES a pin is a debit card only. Most debit cards are actually debit/credit cards, with a credit card logo on them.
 
A debit card that REQUIRES a pin is a debit card only. Most debit cards are actually debit/credit cards, with a credit card logo on them.

u're funny. u're also stating the obvious. i'm going by what the op said. which is " i used a debit card." how am i supposed to know which he had? i only assumed he used a pin:shrug:. Anyway abyss, do what u can to get ur money.
 
re: debit card

re: debit card

I used a debit card, but it was processed as a credit card. I had to sign my name, etc.

I went to talk to the guy, and he felt that he'd done nothing wrong and as far as he was concerned our business together was over. I got the feeling he was trying to elicit an "illegal" reaction out of me. However, on my part, wisdom prevailed over testosterone. I intend to file a complaint with the NYS DMV. This link is the first draft of my "testimony" to the DMV. I'd really appreciate comments before I send it off. It is my intention to get this shop to lose its inspection license as well as pay me back my money.

http://www.cinesage.com/testimony.pdf
 
I would stress the fact the the RTV prevented the appropriate function of the IMRC, and most likely cause an additional CEL and also have a direct negative effect on the emissions of the vehicle.

and for reference, i tracked this link down for you from Dom and FCO, where you can clearly see the rod is removable and the o-ring replaceable.

http://www.fordcontour.org/index.php?app=blog&module=display&section=blog&blogid=1&showentry=26

Excellent data, turbo fox. Thanks for finding that link. I'm putting together the photos to go along with the text and these will be excellent additions to help me prove the level of incompetence. I kinda focused on the potential damage to the IMRC electronics, motor, gears, cable, etc. Is this a valid claim, or should I revise that and focus on the emissions impact? Right now, the CEL's were P0171, P0174.
 
Excellent data, turbo fox. Thanks for finding that link. I'm putting together the photos to go along with the text and these will be excellent additions to help me prove the level of incompetence. I kinda focused on the potential damage to the IMRC electronics, motor, gears, cable, etc. Is this a valid claim, or should I revise that and focus on the emissions impact? Right now, the CEL's were P0171, P0174.

i think it is both. Sure, locking up the secondary rods will damage the IMRC and associated components, but now you are also preventing the secondary intake runners from opening, therefore preventing the appropriate levels of air to enter the combustion chamber.
 
i think it is both. Sure, locking up the secondary rods will damage the IMRC and associated components, but now you are also preventing the secondary intake runners from opening, therefore preventing the appropriate levels of air to enter the combustion chamber.

Thanks again. I'll be adding your sentence verbatim.
 
if you plan to take him to court make sure you have an ASE certified mechanic who will testify on the botch job and state the possibilities of further damage that may have been done to the engine for driving this way..... i watch alot of court tv lol that will be your winning factor over anything else with pictures and have fd3rew write a written and notorized statement to the fact of the work he did and why he did unless he is willing to go to court with you as witness as well...... this is a no brainer case and you could possibly get a default type judgement for any further work that may need to be done to the engine because of his botch job
 
You might consider a brief explanation before getting into the details. The letter is lengthy and the entire thing needs to be read before learning what you are after.

Something like:

This letter is to explain my experience with a repair shop that performed an ineffective repair and I am seeking your help with reimbursement. Details are as follows.
 
I should also mention that it is likely that the DMV cannot force the shop owner to reimburse you. In California, the Bureau of Automotive repair cannot force the shop owner to do so. If New York is the same as California and the DMV is unable o help, you will need to go to small claims court.
 
Update

Update

Thanks Big Jim

I've editied the report quite a bit and added a section with color photos. I filed the complaint with the NYS DMV initially. They claim to have an administrative judge review the case and act as an arbitrator. In addition, they claim to have 'technical experts' who review the case and issue a report as to its merits. It's true that NYS DMV can't make the shop refund anything. However, they can suggest it strongly. In any case, this doesn't stop me from going to court. And, if I have a favorable DMV technical opinion, this should weigh heavily with the Judge (I hope).

In any case, if NYS DMV decides they've screwed up with the Safety Inspection division they're in a world of hurt. Without that license, they'll lose business big time.

Right on the invoice they state I have a 30-day warranty, yet they completely ignored this when I went to talk to them about it. The shop manager was claiming that they were trying to "do me a favor." He was actually trying to assume the role of victim! His arrogance is astounding. When I asked him if he realized that restricting the IMRC rod could damage the engine, he said "I always do it to Windstars, maybe the Contour is different."

I began to realize this guy may just be plain ignorant. He never considered any time of recompense. It appears he feels this episode is over. I"ve done eveything I can staying within the law. The complaint to the DMV is only the first step. I'm looking into consumer agencies - and of course my local small claims court if this is how I have to deal with him. I don't want to do this, but he's left me no choice in the matter. These are links to what I filed with the DMV, if you're interested.

http://www.cinesage.com/testimony_new.pdf

http://www.cinesage.com/pictures_new.pdf

By the way, I forgot to mention that the 'testimony' corresponds with the official form I had to file with NYS DMV. The 'questions' and 'Part' references correspond with the contents of the form. I know it seems lengthy. But, I didn't know how else to get it all out. The two linked documents are addendums to the form, which do not provide enough sapce for details.
 
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if you plan to take him to court make sure you have an ASE certified mechanic who will testify on the botch job and state the possibilities of further damage that may have been done to the engine for driving this way..... i watch alot of court tv lol that will be your winning factor over anything else with pictures and have fd3rew write a written and notorized statement to the fact of the work he did and why he did unless he is willing to go to court with you as witness as well...... this is a no brainer case and you could possibly get a default type judgement for any further work that may need to be done to the engine because of his botch job

I hope this is the case. I'm told that in NYS, if you paid the invoice in full, the court almost always sides with the consumer. If you refuse to pay, cancel the credit card, etc. then the court tends to sympathize with the shop. I don't know any ASE mechanics that I could ask to testify. It's likely that in NY they'd all stick together anyway. It's been my experience, that the Lion's share of private repair shops in NY are inherently dishonest.

Most of their business comes from extended warranty work. Therefore, the average consumer doesn't know or care if they 'paid too much', or had 'unnecessary work done'. They're only concerned with paying their deductible. If the shop charges their insurer thousands of dollars, they are totally oblivious to this. For example, this shop would charge me $1800 to replace the lower intake, rather than taking another hour to dissemble it, and replace the o-ring(s). If my car was warranted, I probably wouldn't care what they did, since it would only cost me the $250.00 deductible. It seems that 'car care' and 'health care' are very similar in this regard
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The repair shop I deal with in NY is completely honest, but it's one of those shops that most people would never take a car to........dirty, dead cars out in the lot, old equipment (in the bays, you don't see the $25K worth of diagnostic tools out back)........

But the line of mustangs and old corvettes that get worked on in that shop speak volumes.
 
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