Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 6th, ****, I encountered a problem with starting my car (white 2017 ****** Camry). I was unable to jumpstart it to even get it to an mechanic and after doing a ****** search, I found that this company would be able to come to me and replace my battery for me. After looking at the numerous five star reviews on the website (which I now believe are false reviews) and reading the descriptions on the website, I believed I would be getting a trustworthy and durable battery. The company sent an employee by the name of ****/**** out to replace my battery for me. After installing the battery, I was asked to start my car. Upon starting my car, there was a strange noise that would go away after a few seconds. The next day, I decided to take my car to the ****** dealership for service and to just make sure there were no other problems, as I was concerned about the noise I heard. After running a total test on my car, they told me that the battery that had been installed in my car a day prior was not up to the standard that it should be in order to keep my car running and that after a few times of using my car, I would most likely encounter problems. I am extremely disappointed because I feel like I was taken advantage of since I was in a pinch for a new battery. They should not be advertising durable batteries if that is not the case. When I called the company to report my concerns, they went as far as to say that ****** was wrong and that they are just trying to scam me into buying a new battery. The person was trying to deflect and say that the problem was with the starter and that is what caused the noise, but ****** said that the starter was perfectly fine. I even got the people at ****** to speak to him and explain the problem. I requested a refund and offered to return the battery because I no longer wanted the defective battery. The company requested that I send them a picture of the test results of the battery to which I did and I have not heard a response.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2024

  Hello,

  Your comments are deceitful to say the least. Our highly trained and knowledgeable team that includes battery experts, can only try our best to make everyone happy but unfortunately there is no way to make everyone happy.

   

   Come on, don't lie, be truthful -

   For starters we told you that you will need to go to a repair shop because that noise your starter was making was not normal and it could potentially drain your new battery.

   

   The Battery Test -

   According to the repair shop's test results the battery was sitting at ***** volts.

   This means the battery is about 40%+ discharged. It should have read 12.60-12.80, this would have indicated the battery was fully charged and that was what the battery state of charge was (*****) before the installation. The shop stated no charging was required, but the battery was about 40% discharged.

   That doesn't make any sense other than they were trying to sell you a battery and / or didn't know what they were doing. A discharged battery is not a defective battery. We tried explaining it but nobody wanted to listen and learn. Everyone kept talking over us, wouldn't allow us to break it down, and couldn't tell me the percentage % of charge.

   

  The Starter Problem -

  "Will a stuck starter drain a battery?
  
  The starter will draw a charge from the battery. If it's drawing too much, that's a clear indicator that's has failed. The vehicle may still start; however, it will continue to draw too much power and will drain the battery."

   

  "Can a bad starter cause loss of power?
  
  Depending on what is wrong with it, yes. A high current draw can short out things, and damage other circuits from low voltage. But more damaging is when the starter drive (often called Bendix) keeps spinning but not engaging the flywheel, wearing out the teeth."

   

  "What does a stuck starter sound like?
  
  
  One of the symptoms of a bad starter is a clicking noise when you turn the key or push the start button. However, a starter can die without making any sound at all, or it may announce its impending death with whirring and grinding noiseso listen up!"

   

   I personally told you before we left on the day of service, "Don't let them try to sell you a battery if your starter discharges your battery."

   

   We told you that your starter was hanging up/sticking and that is why we had you start it, and turn it off, 5-7 times, to confirm the diagnosis, issue, noise, and to make sure you knew what a faulty/going bad starter sounded like.

   

   We were tying to make sure that you and your vehicle were both 100% good to go and safe before we left. We started it a bunch of times and we both agreed it was making an odd noise that it shouldn't be making which was the starter gear hanging up in the fly wheel, and then we told you that you should go to a repair shop because that can, does and will discharge your battery and leave you stuck and stranded......

   We told you that you should go to a repair shop because your starter is having an issue. Which is THE reason you went to the repair shop / dealership. Unfortunately, they sold you a new battery, and the battery is / was brand new, under warranty through us and it INCLUDES a nationwide warranty through Interstate Battery. We were trying to explain that to you but after the initial conversation, we said that we would call you back, but you wouldn't answer the phone and you were ignoring our text messages.

   

   It clearly shows that in their test results, the battery was about 40% discharged and should have been charged before being tested and then replaced for no reason.....

   

   Here is our refund cancellation policy -

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

   Here is our warranty details -

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

   

   We were going to give you the benefit of the doubt after talking with your dad. After talking he understood and we were both on the same page and agreed. If the battery was defective it wouldn't have started (PERIOD) for you the next day when you went to the repair shop like we recommended.

   He told us how you were a college student and tight on funds. To be nice we were going to buy back the battery from you even though it is against company policy and even though the person at the repair shop and you were being rather rude. But then we seen you posting lies and being rather deceitful, so we chose not to proceed.

   

   If you have any questions about the refund, cancellation policy or warranty information you can call or text our team anytime. My apologies for any previous confusion and I hope this clears things up for you. Perhaps take your test results to a 3rd party mechanic shop or automotive battery store and let them explain what the test numbers all mean if you don't want to hear it from us (or believe us). Have you talked to your father yet? Your father and I were both on the same page and agreed on everything I stated.

   

  Tow Recover Assist,
  Core