Complaint Review: Saridakis Auto Maintenance - Maple Heights hio

I am writing this letter because I have been a victim of an unscrupulous business owner in the Maple Heights area.

I am originally from Toledo, Ohio and just recently moved to the Cleveland area after my divorce was final. I own a 1995 Dodge Caravan which had to be towed to Maple Heights and needed the transmission rebuilt. My now fianc, George Neiden, towed the van to Saridakis Auto Maintenance in Maple Heights on June 26, 2000 and spoke with the owner, George Saridakis about working on the van to not only rebuild the transmission, but to also

determine whether or not the transmission had been vandalized, as there was reason to believe that it had been. Mr. Saridakis was quite willing to take on this responsibility, but as we later found out, had to out source the transmission work to Bill's Transmission in Cleveland (even though his business card states that he does transmission work). Mr. Saridakis required $1,100 up-front in cash in order to begin the work. After a week, Mr. Saridakis contacted Mr. Neiden and told him that yes the transmission had been vandalized as well as things broken off of the engine and that he would tell the insurance company that it was vandalism and even testify in court if need be. The insurance company came out and inspected the parts taken from the van and determined that the van had not been vandalized and denied the claim. This was really not a problem as I had already paid the man the required amount. On July 13, 2000, Mr. Saridakis finally called Mr. Neiden and told him that the van was ready for us to pick up and required another $820 as final payment on the bill. After paying the bill, Mr. Neiden drove the van and determined that the transmission just was not acting right and took it back to Mr. Saridakis for a second try at fixing the problem. Mr. Saridakis was quite apologetic and stated that he would do whatever it took to get the job done right. Another week and a half went by before Mr. Saridakis called us and told us that the van was again ready but he had to test drive it first. During the test drive, the transmission blew while Mr. Saridakis was driving the van. So he again had to have it worked on, which now makes 3 times and the job still was not done properly. On July 29, Mr. Saridakis called Mr. Neiden and told him that the van was ready and was in top condition. We went out to pick up the van and upon driving the van on Sunday, the transmission blew yet again. After three times with the same people working on the transmission and being unable to get the job done properly, Mr. Neiden and I decided that we had wasted enough time with Mr. Saridakis and had the van towed to Ganley Dodge in Bedford to be fixed. Mr. Neiden

and I have contacted Mr. Saridakis a number of times and have requested a full refund for the work that was improperly done as well as reimbursement for a rental vehicle that was subsequently rented on July 15th after the first time the vehicle had to be returned to Mr. Saridakis for an improperly rebuilt transmission. Mr. Saridakis has refused to refund the

money stating that he has a legal right to fix the problem and I keep telling him that his legal right expired after the third failed attempt at fixing the problem and even went so far as to go to Ganley Dodge to try and explain to them what had been done and to find out what they had determined. They told him to leave and that they were not going to give him any information.

I am now forced to litigate this issue in a Civil Court to get my money back from this unscrupulous business owner who has already stated to me that even if win the case, he will never pay me the money he owes me. I do not feel that I am being unreasonable in my request for a full refund as well as rental care reimbursement as we gave him the money when requested and contracted in good faith with Mr. Saridakis to do the work. Yet he failed to deal with us in good faith.

I have already contacted the Better Business Bureau, The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Line as well as an attorney in this matter. I feel that everyone should be made aware of the unscrupulous nature of this man and how he runs his business so that others are not scammed and left broke because a business owner does not stand behind the work that he is contracted to do. I hope that you can help me in this

endeavor and if you wish to contact me in regards to this matter, I can be reached at 216-445-7683 during the day or 216-475-5311 in the evening.

Thank you...Terri Hardy