Hi Jane,

These are the kind of people who give the car business such a bad reputation. It makes me so mad! If these jerks were working for me I'd fire every one of them.

Now, don't go giving up on your $200. At your earliest convenience get on the phone and call the General Manager. Don't wait for him to call you. Explain the whole story to him and demand your money back.

Stand up for yourself.

If so, tell the General Manager that if he doesn't give your money back you will go to this agency for help. We also have the Better Business Bureau here. If you have something similar threaten to complain to them too.

The way these guys treated you is inexcusable. Shame on them. They should be paying you extra for the anguish they caused you.

If you don't get any satisfaction from the General Manager find out who the owner is and talk to him or her. If you still can't get your money back contact the agencies mentioned above. Don't let up on them. If you let them off the hook they'll be even quicker to do it again to some other customer.

Stand up to them and stick to your guns until you get your money back. They did nothing to earn it. On the contrary!

Good luck and let me know how you make out.

All my very best to you...

Tony Iorio

Hi Tony

Just to give you an update...I finally have my $200 back from the dealership. It took 3 weeks for them to respond and in the end I'm glad that I didn't give up the fight. This is what I did after I received your reply to my email.

I called the GM and explained to him about the situation and requested that my money be returned. He gave me this big speech that his sales people did their best to sell me the vehicle and are "peeved" that I have changed my mind. He also tried to give me guilt that his sales people are on commission and that their job is the bread and butter of lives and are needing this sale.

I told him, that I would rather go elsewhere and invest my money in a dealership who deserves my business then to deal with his dealership. I also made it clear to him that the way his sales people treated me was not right and that as a consumer I have every right to decide where I want to invest my money.

I also mentioned that his sales people need better customer service skills, because what I have experienced from them was totally unprofessional.

His response was, "Not all people can get a university degree." I replied, "It doesn't take a degree to do good customer service, it's more common sense, and it is a big part of being a sales person."

He kept going on and on, trying to get off topic to a point he mentioned about the farmers and how it is their livelihood to put bread on our tables. I responded, "We are not talking about the farmers but for your dealership to return my $200." His response, "The dealership is unable to refund my money in cash and it will have to be a cheque." I said, "That is fine, you have my information, you can mail it out to me." Sure enough he agreed and we ended our conversation.

1st week passed no cheque.

2nd week no cheque....so I decided to write a letter to the GM, indicating that I would pursue going to the Better Business Bureau of Manitoba and file a complaint if there is no response to my letter. (May 11/05 I've sent this letter)

May 13/05 - received a phone call from the receptionist of the dealership indicating that they received my letter and that they already sent the cheque to me and it has been cashed. I told her I haven't received that cheque and to look into their records.(This was quite fishy)

May 17/05 - I finally received the cheque through the mail. The cheque was dated Apr 28/05 but mailed out on May 16/05 indicated by the postal stamp.

So after how many weeks...I have my $200 back! I feel relieved that this is now in the past and I have surely learned my lesson through this ordeal.

Tomorrow I'll be picking up my new vehicle Honda CRV-EX at one of the Honda dealership here in Winnipeg. This dealership treated me with respect, no hassles and the sales person was highly recommended by one of my relatives. So in the end all things worked out. I have my $200 back and plus a new vehicle from a dealership who deserves my investment and my business.

Thanks Tony for your guidance!

Jane

Hi Jane,

Great job hanging in there until you finally got your money back. It sounds like after they wrote the check they deliberately let it sit around for a couple of weeks. They were hoping you wouldn't follow-up. If you hadn't they would have never mailed it.

What slobs!

Good luck with your new car.