Complaint Review: Pep Boys

GETTING DEEP, BUD - BETTER READ REAL SOON! DON'T MAKE ME ISSUE PRESS RELEASES, ETC. NO KIDDING!

I know this is quite detailed, but will be WELL worth the read time. Pep Boys Claim # 104575

To Mr. Darius "Bud" DiFatta, District Manager, Pep Boys, North Western, Nevada, and the Sacramento Valley, CA, area:

(that's darius_difatta@pepboys.com
which is a hard name and email to come by, if you live anywhere near Yuba City, Sacramento, Auburn, Chico, Vacaville and on into Western Nevada!)

"STIFFED ON CUSTOMER SERVICE DEAD END":

I am, in a way, sorry to have to use my time and effort to place this complaint and have it dumped on you, Bud. HOWEVER, I had to go a long way to find out who and where you are - and I have emailed you that I need your attention - and have called you when you were at the Vacaville, CA, store to let you know I needed your help in resolving this. I have waited a generous amount of time, and have heard absolutely nothing from you or other Pep Boys employees. This silent treatment is not helping anything.

IF I HAVE TO OBTAIN A LIST OF PEP BOYS STOCKHOLDERS NAMES AND ADDRESSES, AND NOTIFY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HOW PEP BOYS MAKES IT'S PROFITS AND TREATS IT'S CUSTOMERS, BE FOREWARNED THAT I AM MOTIVATED ENOUGH TO DO SO, AS WELL AS HELP OTHER PEP BOYS VICTIMS DO THE SAME - AND HOPE PEP BOYS STOCK IS DUMPED IN RECORD VOLUMES, TO THE POINT OF BANKRUPTCY. DEAL WITH ME FAIRLY BEFORE I BECOME FURTHER INSULTED BY ALL THIS, I URGE YOU. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME!

*********************************************

"BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, IT DOESN'T WORK EITHER!"

Issue #1: "Customer Service" for Pep Boys is routed through a Philadelphia voice mail hell at 1-800-PEP-BOYS. Whenever you finally do get a human on this line, expect to talk all you want into a void of silence while the operator likely files her nails. When she suspects you have vented enough, regardless how polite you may have tried to be, she will tell you your issue is being sent to the proper person in your area for resolution, and that they will contact you. They will not willingly give you this mystery person's name, email or phone number, etc. They expect you to sit and wait until you forget about it. I am a pit bull at this point. I DON'T FORGET THIS KIND OF ISSUE. I AM HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL.

*********************************************

"THE DIS-SERVICE!:

Issue #2: In good faith we had certain routine maintenance performed on our Lincoln Town Car, (just an overgrown Ford - not difficult to fix...UNLESS YOU ARE A MORON CLAIMING TO BE A CERTIFIED MECHANIC, JUST WAITING TO PUNCH OUT ON THE TIME CLOCK!), at what we then considered reputable mechanics, Pep Boys, in Reno, NV.

We realized that an air conditioning problem could be either a small, reasonable thing, or a real monster price tag. We wanted to be sure the a/c worked properly, as Nevada and parts of California are blazing hot in the summer. I told the service manager (they have a rotating lot of them at this location) that if the a/c could be repaired effectively at any reasonable rate, that we wanted it done first, before doing any other repairs or maintenance. Hey, if you can't be comfortable in the summer in a Lincoln with cool air, sell it and get another one - right? So, Pep Boys knew the primary purpose was to have the a/c working correctly. Nothing else really mattered at this point. Admittedly, the Lincoln has a few years on it, but it is in otherwise truly decent condition. Therefore, I would not be spending money to make it as "cherry" as possible. I believe in keeping doing things right.

As you can see on Pep Boys work order #0708 1091538, dated 5-24-01, we allowed Pep Boys to do a tune up - as an after thought. We really went to them for an air conditioning service. I told Pep Boys that we had plenty of air blowing; however, sometimes it was just room temperature and other times it was cooler, but not as cold as it could be. In good faith, we thought Pep Boys could handle this job, as they advertise this service. If you can't fix a Ford, you need to give up. Right? We are sorry we ever went to Pep Boys for anything.

Pep Boys claimed they knew "just what the problem with the a/c was, and they had it all taken care of". The retrofitted the old style R-12 Freon with the new and improved R-134a. They also replaced what they claimed was a leaking accumulator dryer or receiver part and a minor tube. They told us this fixed the problem and the a/c tested out on their machines perfectly. We figured we got luck for once with a reasonable a/c repair bill, and gladly paid them a total of $354.99 because we believed they had properly serviced our a/c problem, which could have been over $1,200 had it been the blower motor, etc. Because we were assured this was fixed, we said what the heck, let them to a tune up and new wiper blades also. (CHA-CHING!!! Misery apparently loves company.) We did not get out of their parking lot before the a/c started blowing, not room temperature again, but like the winds of hades. However, they were closing, so we couldn't go straight back. They gave us a 90 day, 4,000 mile warranty, so we didn't worry excessively that night.

(By the way, ever since the "tune up", the Lincoln idles so fast that when I pull up to a stop sign, the digital odometer still tells me I am going 4 miles per hour, and I can pull a speed bump from a standing stop without ever touching the gas. I have to hold it back. Baby wants to run big time now. THANKS PEP BOYS! I'm not even dealing with that for the moment. First things first.)

*********************************************

"TIME IS MONEY, EVEN TO US LOWLY CUSTOMERS!":

Speaking of which, we had gone into Pep Boys the day before asking for this service, but they said they were too busy for us, and for us to make an appointment with them. This is the value of their appointments: We made the appointment for 10:00 am the next morning. We were there by 10:00 am, and I told them I had to wait in their waiting room, (filthy), for the car to be finished. THEY KNEW I WAS THERE, RIGHT UNDER THEIR NOSES. At 12:30 noon they finally rolled the Lincoln into the service bay. They closed at 9:00 that night. That was when I left with the car not properly repaired. So this is 2 visits, $354.99 cash, and 11 plus hours of my time. . . thus far. My husband has been waiting in the parking lot and waiting room also - so, double the man hours I have in this fiasco.

*********************************************

"DAY THREE AND COUNTING $$$$$":

We returned home to the Bay Area (that's Greater San Francisco to folks not familiar with California:-) some 225 miles from Reno, NV). We had another return trip to take, and were passing through Reno. It was 107 degrees in Sacramento at the time. It was even 100 degrees in parts of the immediate Bay Area, which is most unusual. Needless to say, we were crispy fried by the time we got home, and my face was red like a beet from just sitting in traffic with no a/c. We sang the praises of Pep Boys all the while we sat on the Bay Bridge at rush hour.

We had called before leaving to let Pep Boys know we would be back in a few days for warranty service, and what the problem still was. I restated that had I known they couldn't fix the a/c, I would not have proceeded with any further work. They said they would fix it.

Believing them, we allowed them also to replace the power steering pump, as there was a small leak. We don't let things blow up before we pay attention. Their work order clearly shows they were to recheck the a/c. They claimed it wouldn't do it for them. How convenient. I hope it didn't have anything to do with my having a California license plate. I spend more time in Reno than most of them do. So I hope they weren't just hoping to brush me off, thinking they would never see an out-of-towner again. They couldn't perform their warranty service on the original a/c work, but said it operated just fine. This was work order #0708 1092224. We paid them another $289.56, and crossed our fingers. This was on June 13, 2001. Again, we didn't get out of their parking lot before the cooling system was acting up again, despite them saying they could find nothing wrong.

We called and complained the problem was getting worse, and why can't they either fix it or admit they can't fix it. They said to bring it back again. On June 15-19, 2001, work orders # 0708 1092294, and 0708 1092294, we were game enough to let them do preventive maintenance on the rear differential, thinking they were actually this time going to really fix the cooling problem. We paid another $143.32, cash. They claimed the mechanic "tweaked around with some switches and wires, etc., but could not find the a/c problem. I knew we were in trouble when I looked in the garage and saw our mechanic, allegedly certified in a/c systems, etc., reading the how to manual and scratching his head. I mentioned to the service managers, I have no problem with them learning on the job, but why do they have to learn on me! No relief provided. That was just prior to the explosion!

(This was only a 13 hour job altogether, with an appointment.)

*********************************************

"I KNOW YOU CAN SEE THIS, MR. MAGOO!":

We pulled out of the parking lot, and went less than 4 blocks, when the air conditioner started blowing extremely hot air. We immediately turned around and took the car back to Pep Boys, so they could not claim they never saw it acting like this. These MORONS, knowing it was blowing hot air, just left it deliberately running with the A/C on full blast, right in front of their open service bay up against the yellow chain, until I looked out and saw brand new antifreeze and smoke flying in every direction. This was their doing, leaving it running indefinitely, knowing it was blowing extremely hot air, and no one even looked at it, only 3 feet from several mechanics, until I was jumping up and down yelling fire to get their attention. Pep Boys was very negligent on this whole matter. They claimed it blew a heater control valve. You can see on this work order, they put "PROBABLY" this is the problem. They won't just come out and admit they can't fix a Ford!

"Probably" doesn't cut the mustard, MORONS! Would you have someone give your mothers, wives, daughters, sisters this same kind of service, and send them out on the expressway! This is getting dangerous! We didn't come here with a radiator barfing brand new antifreeze and smoke. THANKS A MILLION, PIMP BOYS! They replaced what they called was a heater control valve they claim the pressure blew off and broke after the mechanic tweaked wires and switches, (just plastic, like a sprinkler hose head), and said this PROBABLY fixes it. It did not fix it. It still overheats antifreeze (we had just had it flushed and filled with new, so there was no lack of maintenance there), and it still blows air from hades whenever it feels like it, not just room temperature air!

Get this one: They told us we could come back for the hourly rate (about $75 =/-) and let this same expert mechanic fool around with all the wiring under the dash board for 4 hours to see if he could find something else. Yes, right after I let him do a pap smear on me. That's $300 of exploratory surgery by a MORON.

We have had enough of Pep Boys in Reno! We left, and had 4 more overheating episodes. We found Pep Boys had put a makeshift piece of junk over the radiator reserve tank, which had fallen into the antifreeze!

I called and spoke to the manager, Charity, about voiding all these sales, under the circumstances, as they have not only not fixed the original problem, but have taken money to repair other items we may not have wanted to repair had we known the original item was not fixed yet - and they in fact made the original problem even worse and compounded it with an overheating situation which may have damaged the engine while they walked by pretending not to notice! Charity was reasonable, and said she had no problem with a refund under the conditions, and to come in and she would inform the service manager and her store manager, Michael J. Neville. Charity was the 2nd manager. I believed her, and would have been satisfied with voiding all this, forfeit their so called warranty, take this same money and go to the Ford/Lincoln dealership and have it done right.

THIS WAS A VERBAL AGREEMENT, BINDING AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED. I called right before going over to get this refund. I was going to be very reasonable and only request refund on the a/c related woes, for a total of only $380.33 plus tax. However, when I spoke to Michael Neville, he said he was going to give no refund at all, and for me to take it to the Ford dealer and let them fix it! I told him, how can I, YOU have all my @#(*$& repair budget money at this point! He overstepped his authority and claimed he was the final word, and that his only boss is in Philadelphia and that was that. Not to continue to be insulted, I told him I know for a fact there are district and area managers higher than him and closer than Philly, and I please wanted to contact them. This a*****e repeatedly refused my polite requests, I even begged him, and would not give me the area or district manager's name, his email, his phone number, or even his location. The gall! I assured him that I WOULD get this information, and that I WOULD speak to this district management about this. Neville told me I COULDN'T SPEAK TO THE DISTRICT MANAGER, who I found is Darius "Bud" Difatta. Neville highly compounded the whole matter by telling me whom I cannot speak with about a warranty matter! So, I had to ferret out Mr. Difatta, who has not contacted me.

So, here we are. NOW I WANT ALL THE MONEY REFUNDED AND ALL THE SALES VOIDED. SCREW PIMP BOYS! I TOLD THEM I WANTED THE A/C FIXED BEFORE FIXING ANYTHING ELSE. UNDER FALSE PRETENSES THAT THEY WERE FIXING THE A/C THEY LED ME TO FIX OTHER ITEMS I WOULD NOT HAVE TRUSTED THEM TO DO HAD I KNOWN IN ADVANCE. I WANT A TOTAL REFUND OF $354.99, PLUS $289.56, PLUS $143.32, AND IF PIMP BOYS KEEPS JERKING ME AROUND, WE CAN START TALKING ABOUT NEGLIGENCE, INCONVENIENCE, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND JUDGE JUDY! I WILL HAVE SATISFACTION SOONER OR LATER. A jury would have the lot of you cained for this! DON'T TELL ME WHOM I CAN TALK TO, AND DON'T RENIG ON A REFUND AGREEMENT FROM MANAGEMENT!

SEND MY REFUND WITHOUT FURTHER HASSLE TO:

April Barhorst
PMB #113
2480 Middlefield Road
Redwood City, CA 94063

You KNOW you can call me at 415-201-2670, which rings right here in Reno for a 500 miles radius. You have no excuse. THE AMOUNT DUE ME IS NOW: $787.87.

I kid you not, Pimp Boys, about Judge Judy, or your stockholders. Don't make me have to organize a people's movement. You have by far the highest number of similar complaints posted against you on this site, from all over the country. We all can't be wrong. PAY ME WHAT YOU OWE ME.

I even gave Neville 2 courtesy phone calls to beg him to reconsider his hard nosed position about the refund or about even just giving me the district manager's name. Neville was a total p***k both times. Now, thanks to his miserly ways, we all have to dance to this music. If you need a scapegoat, blame Neville. He didn't have to be like that with me. I finally told him that if anything happens to me in the car over this screwed up work, that I was holding him responsible for my safety. Neville had the disregard to tell me he was NOT RESPONSIBLE for me or anything else! Fine. Have it your way, Neville. Tell Judge Judy.

The dissatisfaction with work under warranty with Pep Boys in Reno, NV, at 5000 Smithridge Drive, #1, Reno, NV 89502, in the Smithridge Shopping Center off McCarren Blvd., phone # 775-827-1700, is still unresolved. DO NOT GO THERE FOR ANY REPAIRS!

*******************************************

On June 22, 2001, we visited another Pep Boys nearby, and had the thermostat replaced. This is work order #0709 1091775. We still have the original a/c cooling problem, but it is compounded by an overheating problem which we feel is directly the result of Pep Boys in Reno's negligence. We paid another $90.35. I have no problem at this time with this, whether it helped anything or not. There was still antifreeze overheating after this point.

********************************************

This was posted also on complaints.com For those of you who have toughed it out this far, you deserve a break today. Try out a new complaint site called www.screwedcentral.com I value my time, but I can't let this rest until I am refunded. I am just ready to use them for the first time, and don't know them. I was emailed their name after they read my complaint. Double dip! Let everybody know who's screwing whom. Don't stand for it! Also, you folks may get some relief by persisting at: Pep Boys-Manny Moe & Jack 3111 W. Allegheny Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19132-1197 Phone: 215-227-9000



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------