Ultimate Performance Car - Buyer Beware
Just wanted to pass on to the group my experience with Ultimate Performance Car, an on-line muscle car parts supplier located in Mallorytown Ontario. This company is strictly an on-line business, they work out of a garage and they do not have any parts in stock, when an order is placed, they order the parts from the companies they deal with.
I contacted the company in mid July 2010 to enquire about a set of rear calipers for my 87 IROC-Z. Before contacting them I did a lot of searching on the net and could only find remanufacturered calipers, which cost on average about 70 dollars. The ones listed on their website were 222. 47 each so I called them to ask if they were new or remanufactured. I figured since they cost so much more than other remans, they were new calipers. I was told they were new and decided to wait to purchase them. I purchased the calipers at the end of July and waited over a month for them to come in. I wanted to inspect the calipers before taking them, so I decided to drive to their place of residence to pick them up, a round trip of 250 kilometers. They looked okay so I accepted them and drove home. When I got home a noticed a sticker on the side of the original equipment box stating the units were remans not new as I was told. To make matters worse, the price on the sticker was 55 dollars, a lot less than I was charged. The company would not stand behind their original claim the calipers were new so I returned them. To add insult to injury, I was charged a restocking fee of 125.70. I have submitted a complaint to the better business bureau in the hope of getting back the restocking fee since I was mislead by the company by being told the calipers were new. Let's see what happens.
Here's an update for the complaint I registered with the BBB. The issue I raised was not addressed by the owner and it has been closed by the BBB. I've copied the whole complaint below, you can come up with your own conclusions. I just wish I had checked this companies BBB rating before dealing with them.
I called Ultimate performance mid July and enquired about the above part number, specifically if the product was new or re-manufactured. I was told this part was new and didn't place an order because I wanted to check other sites and compare prices. I found the same product on a number of other sites, however, they were re-manufacturered and cost roughly 70.00 each, a huge difference from what Ultimate Performance was charging so I assumed they were correct in telling me they were new and placed an order on July 28 for two rear brake calipers.
I picked up the calipers on Aug 30 and when I got home I realized there was a sticker on the outside of the box stating the calipers were not new but re-manufactured and a price of 55.00 was also indicated on the label. I immediately phoned the company and they told me they weren't sure if the parts were new and would have to contact the manufacturer. I waited until Sept 3 and heard nothing back from them so I placed another call to Ultimate. They told me the calipers were infact remans and not new. I told the sales person ( Sean )I was told these were new items when I phoned in July and since they were not I wanted to return them. He asked if I had it in writing the calipers were supposed to be new. I said no, however, I pointed out I could have bought the same caliper for around 70 bucks a piece if I had wanted reman units, so why would I spend 222 bucks a piece knowing they were not new. He said that was okay but I would have to pay a 25% restocking fee.
I was charged a restocking fee of 111.24 plus the applicable HST. I am asking for a full refund of this charge since I was mislead by the company by being told these calipers were new.
I am hoping to settle this claim amiacably, however, I am more than willing to take this case to small claims court to recover the restocking fee and cost of fuel for the 500 kms. of driving to pickup and return these itmes.
Consumer's Desired Resolution:
I am seeking the refund of the restocking charge of 111.24 plus 14.46 HST for a total of 125.70.
BBB Processing
2010-09-03 Web BBB Complaint Received by BBB
2010-09-07 JL BBB Complaint Acknowledged by BBB Operator
2010-09-07 Otto EMAIL Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
2010-09-07 Otto MAIL Inform Business of Complaint
2010-09-10 Web BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : The customer ordered genuine ACDelco brake calipers which he received. Our policy on returns and restocking fees is quite clear both on the invoice he received when he picked up his order and on our website.
2010-09-13 JL EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer
2010-09-14 Web BBB RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am quite aware of their company policy on restocking fees, I think 25% is too high, however, this is not the issue. I also have no problems with restocking fees and understand small businesses have to charge them, however, the main issue of my complaint has not being addressed. The reason I returned the parts is due to the fact they were remanufacturered parts and not new as I was told when I phoned the company. I did not get the parts I ordered therefore feel I should not be charged the restocking fee. The stickers on the ACDelco boxes clearly state the units were renamufacturered and one sticker has a price of 55 dollars on it. The business owner states this is the SKU, well it is quite clear it the cost of the unit and there is no bar code with every SKU has. I've shown pictures of the labels on the box to my lawyer and he agrees with me the company has not dealt with me in good faith, especially as I have already stated in my original complaint I would never pay 222 dollars for a part I can purchase elsewhere for less than 100 dollars, unless I thought it was new as I was told by the company. I was definetely mislead by their sales people and am not satisfied by the owners response and do not want this complaint closed. I stated I wanted to settle this complaint amiacably, however, it appears I have no choice but to pursue this matter in small claims court. I will send an additional update to this complaint after a decision has been made by the court.
2010-09-14 JL MAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to NM Business
2010-09-23 OttO BBB No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal
2010-09-28 JL BBB Bureau judged complaint to be closed UNRESOLVED
2010-09-28 Otto EMAIL Inform Consumer - Case Closed UNRESOLVED
2010-09-28 Otto MAIL Inform Business - Case Closed UNRESOLVED
2010-09-28 Otto BBB Case Closed UNRESOLVED
For the record, we are a small Canadian business which is the lifeblood of the muscle car sport in Canada. We are a reputable company and we have thousands of happy customers across Canada. We have a small shipping warehouse in Canada and a larger receiving warehouse in New York state.
We don't lie to customers and we run an extremely reputable business.
1) This individual ordered ACDelco calipers which is exactly what he received, at no point was there any discussion about remanufactured or new. AC Delco products are not offshore products and as such cost more. These are genuine US AC Delco parts.
2) There is no sticker price of $55 anywhere on the product. There is however a manufacturer's SKU on the label that uses a dollar sign as a character.
3) Our policies are very clear that if you order something and want to return it there is a restocking fee. We tell the truth so there is no questions later on. As a small business in Canada we can not afford to order products for you and then be stuck with them.
Once again, if something is incorrect we take care of it and we stand behind our product. Unfortunately this individual obviously disagrees with our policies and we can' do anything about his opinion but we can certainly communicate our side of the story.
Ultimate Performance Car