ComplaintsforHonest 1 Auto Care

• Initial Complaint

  09/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Plaintiff gave an incredibly detailed description of a loud clunking sound coming the front end of the car on 08/30/2022 (see attachment). The detail description would typically mean a problem with tie-rods however I found out later that the Defendant ignored the tie-rods because they "looked" new. Honest A-1 diagnosed the problem at a right front axle. The call from A-1's Manager said it was the axle and so I authorized them to fix it. After the axle was replaced, the Manager said they got rid of "most of the noise," which was not true, there was zero change in noise and A-1 said, on further inspection, that yes in fact the inner tie-rod was loose. A-1 takes not responsibility for their misdiagnosis, and I made two offers to resolve the matter that the service advisor, Kevin, said were "reasonable" but the A-1 Manager, Sky, did not return my calls on Thursday (09/01), my call on Friday (09/01), not on Saturday (09/02) or my call on Tuesday (09/06), forcing me to file this lawsuit. This is an extremely frustrating when the Manager refuses to discuss issues and ignoring very reasonable offer to cure their mistake and when they take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever for this obvious misdiagnosis and there lack of ordinary care. I feel that a lesson should be sent to this company to show they have a duty to pursue the customers symptoms and discuss with them when those symptoms are not going to be pursued especially when it is a silly reason like "something looked "new". In addition, we must show a company that managements refusal to even talk to the customer and address their offers for a reasonable resolution. Seeking refund of $643.50

  Business response

  09/13/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/08) */ We became aware of ***** ****'s concern today. Through some miscommunication within our shop, the Service Advisor, Kevin M*****, thought he had met the customer's needs and did not notify the Manager, Skye V********. Skye was unaware that the customer had repeatedly called to discuss his concerns. Once receiving notice that the customer, Mr. ****, was having issues with his vehicle, Mrs. V******** contacted Mr. **** immediately. We offered to repair the vehicle to his satisfaction at no charge or refund all of the diagnostics fees. The 36 month and 36,000 mile warranty is still in place for the repairs that were performed. We are waiting for the final response from the customer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Honest 1's response to the BBB should make us all concerned about how this business operates. First, I am concerned that the technician did not seek the advice of his supervision, the Master Technician. The technician ignored the symptoms because a suspected bad part "looked" new, when even a new inner tie rod can be broken from hitting a pothole. Possibly the Master Technician would have recommended that they slide the boot down and look at the joint. I paid $119 for a diagnosis, and they claim they also perform a "comprehension" inspection of the entire vehicle, so I think they failed on both points to properly eliminate the most obvious problem. Second, we should all be concerned that a customer could call 3 different days to resolve a situation and the customer was told that the Manger would return the calls and according to Honest 1's response to the BBB, it turns out the Manager was never told of my 3 calls. Both items above show an inability of the workers to be able to freely communicate with their supervisors which I hope corporate leadership will investigate further. After a week of trying to resolve the matter, I finally had to go to another shop for the repairs. When Honest 1's management finally responded to me, only because of the complaint to the BBB, I was offered a refund of only the $119 for the diagnosis fee. This means I am still expected to pay the full amount of $418 for a totally unneeded repair... hardly a fair offer. I had to ask for them to at least refund the labor. In the end we agreed to an acceptable partial refund. If it were my company, and a customer was treated liked this, I would have at once refunded the entire invoice amount of $644 without question with a most sincere apology.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩