Key Scales Ford

Key Scales Ford responded

Theresa Owens 2017 Ford Escape On 4-7-23 Ms. Owens calls in to schedule an appointment. Indicates that she was told it was an alternator concern. Appointment is made for 4-24-23 RO # FOCB248673 dated 4-24-23, advisor training is to get more information from client on what the vehicle is experiencing. Advisor documents customers complaint. Customer states car is running rough & hesitating and feels like it is all over the road. Technician diagnoses vehicle, right hand motor mount & transmission mount failed, steering gear failed internally. Customer is given an estimate of repairs and declines. Customer acknowledges and signs document. RO # FOCS248734 Liberty STF Inc approves $2,097.89 of the repairs leaving a balance of $1,009.69 that Ms. Owens will need to pay out of pocket. Repairs are authorized and completed. Customer again signs documents approving and acknowledging repairs. . This repair order is doing the repairs from the previous RO # FOCB248673. Repairs are completed May 3rd. RO# FOIS249321 on May 17th Ms. Owens comes back to the dealership and states anytime going over 40MPH car starts to shake, can hear vibration and it is worse when you are on the gas and the faster you go, the worse it gets. At this time, the technician checks all of his work from RO FOCS248734 to ensure our repairs were completed properly. The advisor and the technician drive the car, and do not experience the same concern the customer stated. We did not charge Ms. Owens for our technician’s time to revisit the prior repairs. On 7-27-23 When Ms. Owens spoke to James (service advisor) , James consulted with the technician involved in the repair. The technician restated he had already inspected the vehicle back in May and would need to check the balance on the tires to see if there was an issue with the tires based on the information provided by the customer from Repair Order FOIS249321. The only way to verify the tire balance is correct is to balance the tires. The customer agrees to balance the tires. See RO FOCS250997, We charged Ms. Owens $89.88, but we refunded her $5.40 where we overcharged her. On 8-3-23, Shirley called Ms. Owens to review the survey results and discuss her perceived issue with her vehicle. After speaking with Ms. Owens, Shirley consulted with the service manager Donna and we agreed that we would have a senior master certified technician, Shirley and the client take a test drive to recreate the customers’ concerns. On 8-7-23 Ms. Owens rode with Shirley and the Senior master technician. During that ride, the senior master technician experienced road noise that is characteristic of her Escape and the road condition. When he puts the vehicle in gear with his foot on the brake, there is a slight vibration/noise in the under-hood area. He agreed if she dropped the vehicle off the next day, he will inspect the work the previous technician had performed. On 8-8-23 Ms. Owens drops the vehicle off. Troy inspects the vehicle and does not see anything related to our repairs done that would cause the concern. His only suggestion was to disassemble the vehicle to inspect the transmission mount that was already installed for possible part failure. This is highly unlikely because we have no documented cases of a transmission mount failure when they are new. But we were willing to go verify if the part had gone bad. Donna, the service manager, calls Ms. Owens to confirm with her that the vehicle can be left overnight. Ms. Owens said no she is unable to be without her vehicle “ever” and asked if we could provide a free loaner car. We only have loaner cars available for customers that qualify. Ms. Owens did not qualify for a free loaner car; we did offer a vehicle to rent. She declined. Donna explained to Ms. Owens that we needed authorization from her in case the issue was unrelated to our repairs. The customer refused. Donna tried to explain to the customer that the vehicle is a 7-year-old vehicle that we have limited-service history on. We do not have any maintenance records on this vehicle either. This slight vibration/noise could be a plethora of issues. For example: A valve body in the transmission could be starting to fail, internal engine issue, drivability concern like spark plugs and coils, could be a vacuum leak, emission component failure to name just a few. Or it could be a normal characteristic of this vehicle. See document # F for this visit. Ms. Owens got furious. She said she was coming to pick up the car. Donna tried to explain the situation to her and come to a common ground with Ms. Owens. Ms. Owens said she is not taking financial responsibility of anything regarding her vehicle. We explained to her that we could not proceed without her cooperation. Finally, Donna had to get the General Manager because Ms. Owens was pounding her hands on Donna’s desk and demanding us to fix her vehicle for free. The General Manager reiterated what Donna had said. The customer was unreasonable and tried to say that her initial concern was this vibration. We told her all the signed documentation doesn’t support her statement. We checked this vehicle multiple times and never verified a concern that relates to the work we performed. If Ms. Owens had accepted financial responsibility for her vehicle, we would have continued to assist her in trying to identify this slight vibration/noise. She chose not to. This customer filed a complaint with the BBB , However, the BBB acknowledged that the business addressed the issues in the compliant. The customer refuses to accept financial responsibility for her vehicle.

Theresa responded

WOW! Here we are again with absolutely not factual and deceitful information. Your integrity never ceases to amaze me. I will not further embarrass you with documentation evidencing KeyScales unbelievable, unprofessional, deceitful and unlawful business practices to name a few. Refer to ALL complaints filed against KSF with the BBB and just do an online search ... rants raves and reviews and type in KeyScales Ford Leesburg, FL ... (Yelp reviews KeyScales Ford Leesburg, FL) for more detailed factual information. I'll let that speak for itself as I am just one(1) person. Truth will always prevail. Just sit back, watch, wait and see. Again, BEWARE of purchasing a car or having service work done at KeyScales Ford, Leesburg, FL.

Key Scales Ford responded

Ms. Owens we have been in business for over 50 years and it is NOT by being deceitful and having NO integrity. We pride ourselves in being a dealership with integrity and honesty. We have NO reason to falsify documents. You signed all the documents agreeing to the concerns and repairs performed on your vehicle. Your concerns that you signed for were addressed properly. If you are having further issues with a 7 year old vehicle which we have ZERO service history on prior to your initial concern, then the vehicle needs to have further tear down & diagnostic, regardless of what facility you would take the vehicle. As we have told you multiple times in multiple ways, YOU must be financially responsible for YOUR vehicle. We have many happy long term repeat customers. We have great reviews online and we have been asked by BBB multiple times to become accredited with BBB.

Theresa responded

It is my opinion that yes as you supposedly claim you may have many happy returning customers but at the same time you have just as many if not more very dissatisfied past customers which oddly enough address same issues I experienced in dealing with you and your dealership. Like I stated earlier … yelp and other websites speak for themselves. We can’t all be lying. My documentation is factual and reflects negligence deceit over charging by yourself and KSF staff.

Key Scales Ford responded

Hi, Adam. We’ve tried reaching out to you regarding these concerns, both over the phone and through email. It seems you are under the impression that we have charged you for the initial deposit on the vehicle. As you requested, we did not submit your credit to any lender. When you decided not to go through with the purchase, we had your deposit refunded a couple days later. As far as running your credit is concerned, when you inquired about payment plans, we informed you that we would need to receive a credit application and pull your credit to have an approximate idea of the plan. Your wife then proceeded to fill out and sign the application. It is unfortunate that you misunderstood the process. We will learn from this experience and work hard to ensure we are more clear with our wonderful customers in the future. If you need clarification regarding anything else, please reach out to our GSM, Don Garrett, at 352-787-3511.

adammetcalfe31 responded

Hi Don, First of all I think you need to read my email again and look at the pictures( advertising the car for $16,000) or perhaps change your ocularist. I’m not under the impression that you charged me initial deposit- I left the $500 to hold the car. My wife and I told Ishmael(finance/warranty) Kevin and your desk manager- that my wife had a 791 Auto beacon score and been approved from a Lexus store. Yes my wife started to fill out a credit app, signed it but my wife scrubbed out her signature and we told Ishmael, Kevin and the desk manager not to check credit. The facts are: 1. You advertise the car for sale at $16,000- but don’t honor the price- you bump $500! So why not advertise the car for $16,500? 2. You’re salesman describes the car over the phone (no pictures on the internet) but fails to mention the accident damage on the drivers side! 3. After expressly telling all 3 members of your staff not to pull credit- you go and pull it anyway! My wife hadn’t signed a privacy document either!

adammetcalfe31 responded

4. We gave the deposit on the 9th and did not receive a refund the following day… but on the 13th!

Key Scales Ford responded

Hi Adam, We have the signed credit application by your wife, with nothing scrubbed out, giving us authorization to run her credit. The initial $500 deposit was taken on 9-6-22 at 7PM to hold the vehicle. Once you decided you did not want the vehicle, we refunded the $500 deposit on 9-9-22 at 940AM. Credits take a few days to process from the credit card processors. That is something we can not control. The vehicle has no history of any accidents, the vehicle had scratches on the drivers side front bumper, which we said we would fix for you. This vehicle is 9 years old ( in model years) it is bound to have scratches or some sign of wear. We did not submit your credit to any lender or shared any information to any bank. We only pulled your credit score to give you an idea of your payment. We are sorry that we could not earn your business. We wish you the best in locating the vehicle of your choice.