Used Parts and Credit card Rant ( We do not have that option 101)

[Turdle]

Soon after my pole dance at walmart incident, I met with a few Forum members for hu hot mongolian barbeque, a farewell to Inh, and lastly worked a trip in there to Hess and Son's salvage yard in Junction City Ks. Techieman33, Inh,his wife Shay, my lovely bride ssmith and I all met up for this event.
We met up with Dkchrist later in the day, however he was not present for the following


On the previous day I had called them to pre order a fender, hood, grill, header and core support.

We all arrived, to the dismay of the owner. Right off the bat it seemed like we were a nuisance.
I asked about the items, and was told they were not pulled yet. It being saturday they weren't all that about pulling them either. Well, we had already driven 3 hours, and I was just ready to de smash my truck. Plus, these were black parts.

I knew I could count on the help which had accompanied us, so, we all stepped back out there and started pulling parts.

The Owner says " I don't want your whole family back there stomping around in flip flops"
I tried to make light of this by telling the girls they need not go back to the yard.
They, being females decided it meant " go home and change shoes"

ok, now we are in a hurry. We had to get these parts off before the girls got back. Ever try to tell a woman "NO"


I ran to back to the front right as the girls were getting ready to go get proper shoes on their feet, when the owner said "here's your total"

We paid him 645.30 using the cap one card. The girls went about getting the shoes, I went back to pull parts and we had the core ready to go out. for some reason I went back up front. oh yeah to see if the girls were back yet, and was informed, I quote" insurance will not let me run my torch on saturday"

OK WTf dood. I called you friday and said I was coming to get the stuff today!!

He started in with the " just go home then without anything " talk and told me he'd get the core monday for me.
I looked at the stack of nicely pulled parts beginning to be piled up by Eric, chris and 2 of the yard dogs.
I wimped out and said "yes sir."

Well, Sunday the smashed core support got pulled out good enough by yours truly and a come along, so, Monday I was feeling good about it all, and made it a point to call him first thing to tell him not to bother with the core support. I even started calling there about 7:50 AM so I could stop him from the wasted effort. At this point money was not an issue. I didn't need the part and didn't want anyone feeling bad toward me for wasted work. Besides, there was a slight risk of hazard also.
I did make 2 unanswered, calls, finally got an answer at about 8:10 AM

Well, I said, "Hi , I got those mountaineer parts remember?"

The very first thing out of his mouth was " I wish you mountaineer guys would quit calling here.You are getting on my nerves.

So, I said wait a minute, I was just going to tell you not to bother cutting out the support"
He said, well, if you think you are getting money back you have another think coming--why th F--- you bothering me?

I said, well, now that you mention it I think I would like the 175.00 you quoted me for it refunded.

He said," I aint refunding ****, and if you try anything With the card I will personally come and get my parts back, or smash them. And you better not be in the way either"

Ok, so, yeah. I file a charge back for 175.00

Cap one sends us a letter to fill out. Says they are refunding 175.00. Since we have the card paid off it is now in the black.

Then a letter saying they need more info and are chaging the amount back until they get it. I call the 800 number, get ahjid in india who says they are sending another letter

The letter they send is identical to the first. I copy the copies of first response and send it back. The questions are answered in there.

We get a letter saying they are crediting the account again.


Then another charge back letter, requesting the same info. They have charged the account again

Again I call the 800number and get Ahmahd in india. Says about the same.
He sends another letter

So, this time --3rd time now I fax the letter back, and have confirmation report in hand. They have it.

I now get a letter saying they have credited 645.00 to my account, but, if they don't receive the response the amount will be charged back.
The letter is the ame as before, except now to dispute the entire amount.

I am tempted for a minute to just play it this way, but honesty made me ill to think this way , so I call and get India again.
I explain that I really think there is a communication issue at hand, and, since I am responding to a letter I received from Salt lake city Utah, I would like to speak to someone in Utah please. ( all of the correspondence with cap one is US. All incoming and outgoing mail is US--the bill payment center is US addressed also)

"I am sorry to inform you mr smith, we do not have that option"

"OK, then I would like to speak to someone in the United States please. I feel this is a communication issue"


"I am sorry to inform you mr smith, we do not have that option"


He tries to explain he has made a note on my account the amount is in error, and I need to respond by mailing this letter disputing the 175.00 amount. Now they wanted an itemized receipt.


I asked for a supervisor.

Now we get Romeo. In India.
He asked "What seems to be the concern MR Smith?"
I tell my long story again. ( I thought they noted the account?)

I explained he never gave us an itemized receipt. I also explained I tried reasoning with him and was threatened. So, no there was no way I was going to go there and ask for one. Especially when they ( cap one) have already shown him my cards.

So he said ok, just send it in I have noted this in the account

I asked for a correct letter, stating the correct amount, fearing if I send this one in I may be delayed by a "fraud" alert.

I am sorry to inform you , mr smith, we do not have that option.


He said it so perfectly. I now think they have a special class in India, just for this answer. In fact I am convinced of this and will be until it is proven otherwise. From both of them it came out like prime vintage wine pouring out of a finely crafted bottle.



Believe it or not--My handset phone went dead right there. Battery died.

Sheri said" you were going to hang up on him anyway"

Yeah, but I didn't get to and now I am reaaaallly pissed. ha ha

 

[BrooklynBay]

Why would you give him your credit card information before you had all of the parts in your possession? You could have given him a deposit just to hold everything. This guy sounds like 75-90% of the yards in my area. They only deal with body shops, and do similar things to guys like us that come off of the street. Most of them lost their license about 2 years ago, and had to close down. I'm not surprised since they don't care about their customers.

 

[Turdle]

^^good point. Of all my dealings, with several types of vendors in all sorts of product, I have never been treated so much like a piece of crap inconvenience from anyone like I have from salvage yard owners.

I do not mean to say they are all like that. Some are very friendly and helpful. However, the worst business practices and customer relations are found in this industry in my experience.

Why would you give him your credit card information before you had all of the parts in your possession?

Try to remember. My whole sate has less than 3 million people. I was ready to get my truck fixed, was tired of trying to find parts, dkchrist said he'd bring it down the next weekend, and I trusted he would deliver the part. We country folk kind of run on trust a bit.

I initially called to be a nice guy and forget the money issue. It was when he got rude and threatening I decided to exercise my right.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I was a little surprised that they would act like this in a small town. I would expect people to be more friendly. I guess you will find bad apples in places other than the big apple NY too.

 

[CDW6212R]

Sad story about bad business, and the phone tag stuff too. I've had to ask for supervisors many times, but fortunately not often. I hate phone machines in general, they are a waste of time.

I need to make a two minute phone call, but not a fight for two minutes with a machine, and wait five to just get a person. You end up mad before any conversation begins.

I bought four wheels through an eBay seller 4+ years ago. They said they had the four and a fifth was available. After many delays and calls, I finally received four wheels, all bare and no packing left on my porch. One wheel was bent, badly, and I was charged for five. I got no where with the business or local police, they suggested I be happy with what I did get. I feel for anyone trusting strangers.

 

[kert0307]

Most of the yards I have dealt with are mom and pop type of places, I usually bring cash and pay after I get everything. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

jon, thats horrible. most of the yards up here are very easy to deal with (except for one, and i know the guy personally, i used to take his crap, but a few months ago i made him realize i am not 10 anymore and will not put up with his bs). most places up here, you ask them if they have anything, you can look and see if they do. if they do, you negotiate a price BEFORE you pull it, then when you do, you pay them. most of the times, the more you pull, the more they will come down in price. thats also why i love my job, i work at a scrap yard, so the wreckers come to you! LOL

don, that also sucks about your rims. i would be on fire after seeing that! all the stuff i have ever sold on ebay, i make sure they are happy with it, or it is undamaged when they get it. if there is a problem, then i either give them a partial or full refund. do you remember the name of the seller, so i can avoid the tool?

 

[Maniak]

Wow, that yard must be raking in the money to be willing to throw away business and then get a bad reputation to the point that there are now many people that may not ever go there.

If he doesn't want Mountaineer people buying parts, I guess He doesn't want any of the 100k+ member here to know to never buy parts from Hess and Sons salvage yard in Junction City Ks.

~Mark

 

[dkchrist]

Man, Jon I thought this got cleared up. I am so sorry!!!

I have had a little problem with that yard. The didn't know how to pull a CV and beat the $h!t out of the end and I had to spend an hour to get it useable. Then, they sold me a bad unit bearing. It was bent and worn out.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good mark, that's the point. Jon has spread the word well for their business reputation.

That guy I dealt with had lots of BBB complaints and the police were watching them for other issues. I don't think they were in business much longer, I was a little fish at the time.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I went to a yard with a friend of mine to get a part for his car. The dealer wanted $70 for it as a new part, and the guy in the yard wanted $100. My friend told the guy what the dealer was charging, and he said that his part was "better than new", and still wanted $100. My friend said that he will get it from the dealer, and the owner of the yard said that he would rather crush parts with the car, and give it away as scrap metal than lower any of his prices.

Another time I went to this ayrd, and asked the guy for a few things for my van. He said that he didn't have anything for me. As I was leaving, a worker came over to me, and said that he didn't want to get fired, but they do have some vans like mine in the back. I went back into the office, and told them that somebody who works there said that they have what I'm looking for. The guy got angry, and said whoever told me this didn't know what they were talking about. I went back to the worker, and he said that I should go before he gets into trouble for talking to me. As I was walking away, he got pulled aside, and got yelled at. That boss gave me the impression that he was a boss from hell just like the guy Jon had to deal with.

 

[CDW6212R]

The good late model yards here want to charge 50% of retail prices. Plus they pre-sell tons of parts to certain buyers(radiators, rotors, condensers, wheels, radios, airbags, etc). The yards where you can walk in to look and pull stuff are becoming fewer.

 

[BrooklynBay]

All of the yards in my area don't allow customers to go past the front office which is a small trailer. Many years ago a few places would let you take things off, then show it to them for a price, but that is a thing of the past.

 

[JDraper]

All of the yards in my area don't allow customers to go past the front office which is a small trailer. Many years ago a few places would let you take things off, then show it to them for a price, but that is a thing of the past.

Around here it's all pretty much "you go get the part". The ones I've been to all say "there's a vehicle with parts you need down by the oak tree in the corner...have at it". They will pull 'em if you call in advance, or you need help if it's a larger part or needs to be cut off.

 

[rizzjc]

Around here it's all pretty much "you go get the part". The ones I've been to all say "there's a vehicle with parts you need down by the oak tree in the corner...have at it". They will pull 'em if you call in advance, or you need help if it's a larger part or needs to be cut off.

Yep. we've got a nice one here that's all u-pull. No "customer service" really, but you pay your $3 or $5 to get in, with you bucket of tools, and then pay on the way out. No expectations to be broken. Unfortunately they are a little short on Explorers.

As for the credit card, and India, I found, in my dealings with overseas persons, that they get a script for sure, and until you drop the hammer they don't move off that script.

 

[Bill Kemp]

Usually the only way to find out who is good & who is not is to get jabbed by a bad one. Because a unhappy person tells 20 people and a happy person tells 2 people (some poll or something) we usually hear about the asshats.
So, if your around Greenville, MI., go to Armocks or Buds. Both great folks who want to help.