Is the service I received something I can dispute with my credit card company?

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Old 05-30-2018, 08:52 PM
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Is the service I received something I can dispute with my credit card company?

Hello everybody,

I recently had a very frustrating experience with dealership service on the AC system of my Acura, and am considering opening a complaint with my credit card company. I wanted to get some feedback whether I have a reasonable case against the service. Below is my experience, as I posted on Yelp for Radley Acura of Falls Church, VA. For background, the initial issue I went in with was a non-engaging clutch, and the first service described below (the $900 one) supposedly fixed it via a replacement of the relay component and leaking AC hose component, along with the necessary recharge.

I have been a customer for several years, but won't be returning again since I lost faith in the service team with my most recent experience with my car's AC system. It took 3 visits spanned across over almost 2 weeks (and 3 loaner cars) to properly fix my AC.

First diagnostic through service rep #1 resulted in a ~$900 total bill, which I approved and expected to fix the problem. The next day, AC had an issue again, with it blowing cold only when accelerator was pressed (no cooling otherwise), so they took my car and did a recharge free of charge and claimed to have tested it and that it was good to go. However, 5 minutes after leaving the lot, the problem surfaced again when I stopped at a light. It was the end of the day with a heavy storm, so I had to come back the next day.

This time, I was assigned to another service representative (service rep #2), and after discussing with a technician (no diagnostic performed), he said I would need to have the evaporator and expansion valve replaced. At this point, I questioned him why such major components of the AC were not recognized as problematic in the initial diagnostic with service rep #1. The answer I received was that the service technician I was assigned to at the very beginning was young and new to the field and was intimidated to present any customer (including me) with an expensive bill (which concerned me a little because this implies the service rep filtered out required fixes that the technician may have told him were needed). As it turned out, the evaporator+expansion valve fix came out to ~1300 dollars (parts + labor). I leave the car with them again and take up a loaner. Next day I get a call from a totally different service rep (service rep #3). This time, I am told that the evaporator+expansion valve service was not enough and that I would also need a condenser replacement (~$250 for parts and labor). I questioned why this was not diagnosed first since it was cheaper than all the other services that did not fix the issue, and at this point I lost confidence that all the previous repairs were needed (apart from a portion of the very first service I was sure was needed). The answer was not satisfactory, basically saying that everything would be needed to be fixed eventually so it didn't matter the order. Tired of the weeks long ordeal, I just went ahead and authorized the service. I pick up my car and drive off from the lot, with the AC finally working, and with me wondering: why didn't they start with the condenser first?

Other things to note:

My car was returned in a filthy state. Seats stained with dark marks, floor mats dirty, and service tags and plastic coverings on seat and floor all left for me to clean up.

During the evaporator+expansion valve day, service rep #2 claimed to be taking over supervision of my case and provided me with his cell phone number, however he was completely non-responsive on it and I found out the next day he was on vacation by calling the dealership's front desk. He never mentioned his vacation to me when he handed over his business card to me. He also said he would take care of fixing a small insignificant light bulb that I had mentioned was burned out at no charge to me. I assumed this was out of good will due to the things I had gone through with the service up to that point, so I appreciated it greatly in that moment. However, this was also not followed through, and sadly, I was not surprised given my experience with this whole ordeal.

I don't know what changed, but this is not like my previous experiences at this dealership, and I won't be returning again since this was basically 4 failures in a row (I am including customer service in my failure count) in properly diagnosing and fixing one system on the car (AC), which I expected an authorized dealership to have mastery over. The experience I had definitely did not match the nice facades and amenities of the newly renovated waiting room building.
And the sad thing is the day this review was posted, I found another issue, for which I insisted firmly that I stay in the shop with the technician. They acknowledged there was a problem and fixed it in 15 minutes.

I would appreciate any thoughts on this matter.
Old 05-30-2018, 11:20 PM
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Certainly, Your experience, has been a serious, comedy of errors. Had this happened to me, my first inclination, would have been to follow the "chain of command", up to, and including the Dealer Principal (OWNER). In the event, I received an unsatisfactory resolution, from the Dealer's management team, nor, the Dealer Principal, I would SUE the Dealership, via a small claims action. This is an unacceptable chain of events, assuming your disclosure, of the facts, is accurate! As a side note, it is my opinion, that a Negative Yelp Review, may not have been your best approach toward a resolution! Furthermore, it is unlikely, your credit card company, would resolve the matter, in your favor. Bottom line, You authorized the work! A Judge however, might identify, with your position, and be considerably, more sympathetic. I would highly recommend, that you ALSO, make Acura Client Relations aware of your EXPERIENCE!
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Old 05-31-2018, 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by frankjnjr
Certainly, Your experience, has been a serious, comedy of errors. Had this happened to me, my first inclination, would have been to follow the "chain of command", up to, and including the Dealer Principal (OWNER). In the event, I received an unsatisfactory resolution, from the Dealer's management team, nor, the Dealer Principal, I would SUE the Dealership, via a small claims action. This is an unacceptable chain of events, assuming your disclosure, of the facts, is accurate! As a side note, it is my opinion, that a Negative Yelp Review, may not have been your best approach toward a resolution! Furthermore, it is unlikely, your credit card company, would resolve the matter, in your favor. Bottom line, You authorized the work! A Judge however, might identify, with your position, and be considerably, more sympathetic. I would highly recommend, that you ALSO, make Acura Client Relations aware of your EXPERIENCE!
Thank you frankjnjr. I contacted Acura Client Relations and all they were able to do is "document" my experience for their own internal training. They said they cannot deal with the dealership directly and that I need to keep talking to the management there. I did consider going to small claims court, but the hassle is so much, I resorted to venting on Yelp with the hope that at least one potential customer would read it and decide to take his/her business elsewhere.
Old 06-01-2018, 05:54 AM
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Perfectly understandable. At least, the cause of your concern, has been documented, with Acura. It will be interesting, to see if Radley Acura, reaches out to you, in an attempt to offer some type of satisfactory resolution, to this issue.
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