Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On or around August 2021, Ms. ****** was involved in a car accident with her CLA250.She had it towed to Uptown Auto Specialist after speaking with you on the phone. Ms. ****** understood that you specialize in repairing ******** **** vehicles. You inspected the CLA250 and provided an initial estimate of repairs in the amount of $13,602.55, dated August 13, 2021,Quote ID ********. At the time you provided the initial estimate, you knew that Ms. ****** was moving to ************ and that she would be communicated with you remotely, and further,that she would need to come back to *********** to retrieve her car when you had completed the repairs. Having little choice but to leave her car with you, Ms. ****** agreed to your estimate and paid you a deposit in the amount of $5,000.00 on November 19, 2021. On December 15, 2021, she paid you an addition $5,000.00 and requested that she pay you the balance of $3,602.55 upon completion. ****** from your office agreed.You originally estimated two to four months to complete the repairs. My client emailed you on January 7, 2022, asking for an update with no response. After periodically checking on her car with you, your office finally responded on August 16, 2022, providing an updated estimate. The email, this time from ******** at your office stated,In the middle of servicing your car we came across additional damages and updated our estimate. Here is the most up to date estimate we have on file for your car. The parts are on there way to the shop and we are hoping to have your vehicle at the end of September at latest.Uptown Auto Specialist never provided the updated invoice to Ms. ****** prior to this email dated August 16, 2022. My client never had the opportunity to review or approve your updated estimate. Needless to say, my client was very surprised when your updated estimated shows a significantly higher cost, increasing from $13,602.55 to $16,978.45. At this point, this updated estimate was more than the value of the car.On October 10, 2022, Ms. ****** sent you an email expressing her frustrations. She stated that you had been working on the car for more than 14 months, and your estimates had increased to almost three times the original amount. She had not agreed to these increased costs,and she demanded the release of her vehicle. On October 8, 2022, she emailed you again, stating that her email from October 10, 2022, had gone unanswered.This pattern of behavior continued into 2023. Another email from my client and your office, this time from ******, occurred on March 1, 2023. Ms. ****** again asked for an update, and you informed her that certain modules required programming. ******** said she would provide an update the following week, but none occurred.On September 29, 2023, your office stated that the final portion of the repairs were the rear seatbelts, which were on order for three weeks. Finally, upon full completion, you sent my client an email on October 13, 2023, with an invoice that totaled an astounding $23,832.59. This final invoice represented an increase from the original estimate by more than $10,000.00. Again,my client never had the opportunity to review or approve your estimates prior to you ordering and installing the parts. To add insult to injury, the entire repair process took almost two and a half years, far exceeding the original estimate of two to four months.Under the ********* Unfair Trade Practices act, my client has significant claims against you. She believes you misrepresented the original estimates in terms of time to repair. Further,she believes your original estimate was a bait-and-switch, enticing her to leave her car with you while she moved back to ************. You held the car hostage knowing that my client would not be able to easily retrieve the vehicle. Then, you took a commercially unreasonable amount of time to conduct repairs, taking two years longer than you originally stated. During that time, your estimates steadily increased without my clients approvals. If my client is successful in her claims, you would be liable for damages, costs, and attorneys fees, and severe penalties.My client hereby demand that you honor the original estimate of $13,602.55. She is willing to pay you the unpaid amount of $3,602.55, in exchange for the immediate release of her CLA250. If I do not hear from you or your attorney regarding this demand by March 14, 2024,we will assume that you do not intend to comply. At that point, my client intends to pursue all claims under ********* law against you, including any claims under the ********* Unfair Trade Practices act, fraud, and civil conversion of her property. Thank you for your urgent attention to this letter.

  Business response

  03/14/2024

  My recollection of events for ******************** 2015 ******** **** CLA250
  Ms.******* vehicle arrived at ***************** on August 8, 2021
  The vehicle arrived at ***************** on August 6, 2021.It was towed to our facility on August 12, 2021 and we wrote our initial estimate. I provided her with a copy of the estimate and asked her if shed be going through insurance or if it was self-pay. On August 13, 2021 we sent our estimate and photos to her insurance company, Allstate. The date of incident on the preliminary estimate was also stated as August 8, 2021, which is false.  Allstate did write a preliminary estimate on it as well but denied the claim because she was not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident. Her boyfriend at the time was responsible for the accident. She did also inform me that she would be leaving town.
  Somewhere in between August 13, 2021 and November 18, 2021 Ms.****** gave us a verbal ok over the phone. On November 18, 2021, I called Ms.****** to acquire a deposit for the work we were performing and informed her of the delays via phone. We had trouble with availability of parts for this vehicle.  One part in particular, the front radar sensor, we had to wait over a year for. We also had to work the vehicle back in the queue.
   We also set up to have her transfer the money via email instructions on November 19, 2021. On December 15, 2021 Ms.****** inquired about sending over another deposit. She initiated the second transfer of $5000 on December 17, 2021.
  On January 5, 2022 I had to have an emergency cesarean section so there are a few months that I was not able to return to work.
  After an updated estimate was sent on August 18, 2022 we did not hear back from her until October 10, 2022. Repairs were suspended during this time while we waited for a response. On October 19, 2022 **** spoke with her and gave her an update. Her vehicle was worked back into the queue for repairs. At no point in time did Ms.****** ask us to halt any repairs to her vehicle,even after the updated estimate was sent.
  In March of 2023 Ms.****** sent email communication asking for a status update. She spoke with **** on the phone and via email a few times over the course of this month. Ms.****** also sent a friend, **** *****, by that lives in the area for updates as well. **** spoke with her friend every time she came by, if he was here, and we assumed her friend was giving her the updates that she was sending her by for. Again, no mention of halting repairs for her vehicle.
  May 30, 2023 Ms.****** emailed asking for an update and on May 31, 2023, **** sent her an update. He informed her that we were waiting for a part, the front radar sensor, which was on backorder. He also let her know that there were mechanical issues that popped up that we had to address.Between June 2023 and September 2023 Ms.******* friend came by for updates,and we let her know that we were also having to replace the rear seatbelts due to the accident but they would be in soon.
  In various emails and in communication via phone she was informed about repairs we were doing that were outside of the scope of the estimate we gave her. Again, no mention of halting repairs for her vehicle. There was a lack of communication on our part from July 2023-September 2023. We were still waiting on parts and there was no new information to give her.
  On September 28, 2023 Ms.****** sent an email looking for updates and informed us that she would be seeking an attorney and that we should hear from them on September 29, 2023. We never heard from an attorney via email or phone. I emailed her back and said I understood but gave her an update as well.
  I sent her the final bill on October 13, 2023 and did not hear back from her at all until I sent another email following up on January 31,2024. She responded on February 1, 2024. She was unhappy and stated again that she would be having her attorney, *************************, contact us. At this point I stopped responding to her because I realized we would also have to retain an attorney for this. She then sent a follow up email on February 6, 2024. She said that her attorney attempted to contact us but I have no record of phone calls or emails from ************************* or ***********************, who sent us the letter we received via email on March 4, 2024.

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