Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought a car from her in June. He has never given me the title. He has given me one excuse after another. I gave him money for this car and he needs to give me the title. I don't want any bad blood, this is business. I need that title coz I am running on expired tags. So I asked him to refund my money so I can get a car I can get a car I can give the title to. He is putting me at risk.

  Business response

  10/03/2022

  Dispute Resolution ID:  ********

  In response to ******** *********'s complaint:

  Ms. ********* did officially purchase a vehicle in June 2022.  The said vehicle was purchased with the understanding that it had a salvage title that had gone through the inspection process, however the inspection needed to be processed with the title to formally get the title in Ms. *********'s name.  At that time of the sale, I was unaware that the State of Missouri (SOM) had changed the policy regarding inspections on salvage vehicles and honestly told Ms. ********* something that I confirmed with the Missouri Highway Patrol a week prior to the sale.  So when the documents were delivered to the DMV of the (SOM) my representative was turned away with the paperwork as they claimed that the inspection did not follow the vehicle, however the inspection needed follow the owner of the said vehicle.  This did NOT appear to be right, as a Safety and or Emissions Inspection follows the vehicle as any name can be on the inspections as the VIN number is the most important part of any inspection.

  Stepping back to the original transaction, Ms. ********* was told the entire process of purchasing a salvage vehicle prior to exchanging monies and or taking possession of said vehicle.  Upon close of the transaction Ms. ********* signed off on paperwork speaking directly to the salvage title process.  At that time I also explained that I was sending someone to Jefferson City to take titles to the DMV of the (SOM) to process other titles and if she liked I would have them take her title and inspection with them merely as a courtesy as she was referred to us as Ms. ********* had other options to purchase a vehicle and she chose The Car Doctor..  This gesture was just that a gesture of kindness and respect.  At the close I provided Ms. ********* her original title as she immediately went to get a temporary tag so she could drive said vehicle until her title was returned.  Ms. ********* returned the following Tuesday with her title as my representative was going to Jefferson City to the DMV of the (SOM), the next day which was Wednesday.

  The title was delivered Wednesday as promised to the DMV of the (SOM) and at that time was rejected as the title was fine, however the salvage inspection was not in the customers' name.  Again, based on the Highway Patrols inspectors the inspection follows the vehicle and the VIN number vs the individual.  The title was finally received back, 5 business days later, however with NO information regarding why it was rejected outside of my representatives explanation. I called the DMV of the (SOM) and spoke with a representative to confirm just what happened.  The representative explained that the inspection should have nothing to do with the individual as the vehicles VIN number is what is being inspected.  Therefore, I asked if I could return the title and inspection and get this problem resolved and at that time I was told that I could return and they would fix the problem.  Unfortunately for my family and I we experienced a loss, therefore that took me away for over a week.  However prior to the loss I spoke with Ms. ********* and explained just what happened and apologized for the delay, but gave my word I would address the issue properly, however I did not expect to deal with a family loss.

  Upon, my return I left for the DMV of the (SOM) on Wednesday, to get the title processed and get Ms. ********* her paperwork, so we could conclude business.  To my surprise when we got to the DMV I was told that the person who sent away my representative nearly a month ago was correct, the rules changed and the inspections now follow the new owner vs. the vehicle.  The SOM DMV representative could not understand the rule change as well as we discussed the importance of the inspection being driven on the VIN number, nonetheless that was the new rule.  The manager joined in on the conversation and was willing to make an exception based on this being the second attempt in Jefferson City, however could not make the exception as the date of the inspection had expired.  Seemed like bad luck at that time.

   

  I return to call Ms. ********* the next day to explain the situation and due to how long this process had taken and her assumptions that I am playing games or just not being professional she had some harsh words for me, I attempted to explain again, that I could not control the process and that I was doing this out of respect as all my other customers' were responsible for this process themselves.  I explained that I would contact the Highway Patrol to schedule an inspection and Ms. ********* apparently had enough and hung up the phone.  I called back as I had  to leave a message on her answering machine merely to let her know that when I got the date for the inspection I would call her to have her bring the vehicle to have the inspection. 

  I received a date nearly two weeks later from the Highway Patrol and contacted Ms. *********, we spoke briefly as I shared the date and again, Ms. ********* had choice words for me, I explained that if she did not get the vehicle to me for the inspection I could not do anything more.  I was explaining to Ms. ********* that I would make another vehicle available so she could get he children to school and also get to work, however before I could conclude Ms. ********* hung up the phone for the second time.  I again, called back and left a detailed message on the phone explaining that I would provide a car for her to drive for the day and provide a license plate for a week as typically it would take 5 days for the title to return.  I left a message explaining that if she does not make it that day, that I was done trying to assist and that she would need to handle this herself moving forward.  NO Ms. ********* for the inspection.

  Three weeks later Ms. ********* comes to the shop, expecting me to provide her with a dealer license plate to drive on since she had given me her paperwork to get processed.  I went to the office to get the paperwork that she provided me so she could handle things herself as this was going no where and I personally had exhausted myself trying to make this right, as I had not done this since I opened as this was really going out of my way to take a customers' paperwork to process it in Jefferson City.  None of my customers' ever had any problems getting there titles themselves nor get hung up in the process so why was I doing this.  So before I concluded and just gave up on Ms. ********* I listened to her story, and realized that I have never let my customers' down in 15 years and regardless how this became personal, I would do what I needed to do to assist.

  I told Ms. ********* that I did not have dealer plate for her to take on a whim, as she showed up without a call and the last we spoke she hung up on me and that was over four weeks ago.  I told her to come back in Thursday as she popped up Monday September 12. 2022.    We concluded that I would get another date with the Highway Patrol and we would get the inspection done so we could get this behind us both.  At that time I believed that Ms. ********* understood my sincerity and I felt I proved that I was not the guy she wanted me to be and just leave her hanging. 

  I called Ms. ********* on Thursday, September 15, 2022 and she comes to the shop to get my license plate.  We wrote up a liability document taking The Car Doctor out of any liability issues while she had while driving with the license plate, she appeared to be in good spirit and thankful.

  The mail comes and I have this complaint that was filled on Monday, September 12, 2022.  I was extremely disappointed that I had a face to face conversation with Ms. ********* and I did just what I said I would do, nonetheless I am here addressing this issue.  I contacted the customer Tuesday, September 27, 2022 to inform her that I have a dated for Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 9:30.  I inquired on the complaint and initially Ms ********* spoke right over my inquiry, however I again realized it was not going any where so I concluded that I needed her to be available before 9:30 am Thursday.   She agreed that she would make the appointment.

  In conclusion, I apologize to the BBB as this situation was being addressed to the best of my ability and beyond most expectations.  However I have learned a great lesson in dealing with this situation and more confident in our business process now more than ever, as moving forward we will stick to the business practices that have afforded us over 20 years in business.

  I thank you for your time in advance, as I surely have provided you the details you need to conclude that our efforts to support Ms. ********* have been grand..

   

  Respectfully,

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

   

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