CLIFF’S
AUTO
MADRAS, OREGON
(330 SW CULVER HWY)
FOR TAKING FINANCIAL
ADVANTAGE OF MY
PREDICAMENT AS I WAS
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TRAVELING THRU
OREGON ON A
SUMMER TRIP.
(THIS COMPLAINT WAS
ORIGINALLY ISSUED TO MY
CREDIT CARD FOR A FORMAL
“DISPUTE” OF CHARGES).
re CASE NO#
redacted for privacy
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DATE OF TRANSACTION:
JULY 3, 2018 AT
CLIFF’S AUTO IN
MADRAS, OREGON
(330 SW CULVER HWY
AMOUNT OF
TRANSACTION:
$639.99
AMOUNT DISPUTED:
$200
Re CASE NO# redacted for privacy
Re Credit Card # redacted for privacy
DATE OF TRANSACTION:
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JULY 3, 2018 AT CLIFF’S AUTO IN
MADRAS, OREGON
AMOUNT OF TRANSACTION: $639.99
AMOUNT DISPUTED: $200
ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE:
THEY (MR CLIFF & ASSOCIATIONS AT
CLIFF’S AUTO REPAIR) KNOW THE
TRUTH, but ARE NOT BEING HONEST TO
ME NOR TO CAPITAL ONE. THEY CAN
VOLUNTARILY REFUND ME $200; OR IF
THEY PERSIST IN THEIR DISHONESTY, I
ASK CAPITAL ONE TO USE THEIR
AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE CORRECTION
BASED ON THE INFORMATION &
EVIDENCE DISCUSSED BELOW.
COMPOSED ON 8/10/18
SHORT VERSION:
On July 3, 2018, I was stuck a traffic jam due to a
wildfire detour when MY 2006 FORD
FREESTAR VAN (3.9L) BROKE DOWN in a
remote area north of Madras Oregon. All I
thought was a broken serpentine belt. I was stuck
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overnight until I got a tow truck the next
morning which took me to Cliff’s Auto in
Madras. The owner or operator (I still do not
know his name. Maybe Cliff or Mr. Cliff? )
diagnosed the primary problem as a bad water
pump and offered to replace it and the serpentine
belt for $429, which he wrote by hand on a pink
paper and showed it to me and asked me if this
was okay.
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WORK” . Why did I pay this amount if I did
NOT AGREE TO IT ? READ SECTION #6
BELOW. The original price offered differed from
the final price demanded by over $200 dollars
without justification. Also they may have inflated
the price of the parts they used and/or used the
highest priced parts without asking me for my
preference (see more below) .
LONG VERSION:
1) BACKGROUND/ CONTEXT: Being a
Christian Evangelist (BA/BA/M.Div) , every
summer I take a “mission trip” to different parts
of the country. Last summer (2017) I traveled by
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vehicle from California to Key West. The
previous summer (2016) I traveled by vehicle to
the Midwest Chicago area. And the list goes on,
including mission trips to the Philippines, and
other parts of the world.
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then southward on highway 197 & 97 which goes
thru Madras towards Bend.
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something like that. SO FAR SO GOOD, HE
WAS RIGHT ABOUT THAT.
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3) re THE ORIGINAL QUOTE OF $429
WHICH CLIFF’S AUTO FALSELY OMITTED
FROM THE INVOICE THEY SUBMITED TO
CAPITAL ONE (see images at bottom).
Eventually, Mr. Cliff said aloud to himself or me
“Nobody else in town can do this today” … and
seemed to suggest that he would TRY to get it
done mostly out of the goodness of his heart ,
otherwise I would be stuck in town over the
holiday (the next day was Independence Day,
nobody would be open).
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experiences , now at the age of 51, I believed it to
maybe be a bit above average price, but I
accepted THE $429 PRICE AS IS. I said
“OKAY” to this price.
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4) RETURNING TO THE SHOP TO PICK UP
MY VEHICLE ASSUMING IT IS READY, BUT
STILL NO CALL OR TEXT FROM MR. CLIFF
So I took a hike up to the viewpoint nearby and
spent another hour or so allowing time to pass.
Finally around 4 or 430 pm I felt I HAD to
interrupt and check the status of the work on my
vehicle. As I walked back up to the garage I
noticed one of their workers, a tall fellow, saw me
coming and suddenly turned quickly around about
as if he wanted to warn Mr. Cliff that I was
returning.
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I FELT VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, even under
illegitimate duress given all that had transpired
and what I had observed during the day, as
mentioned above. ALL of this went through my
head in a matter of moments, and then I said,
“OK” , DESPITE FEELING LIKE THEY
WERE ROBBING ME. They were TWISTING
MY ARM , SO TO SPEAK. I knew NO
ALTERNATIVE AT THE MOMENT BUT TO
PAY & MAKE A CASE LATER.
PAYING THE HIGHER PRICE DESPITE
KNOWING I WAS BEING SCAMMED . SO I
TOOK A DEEP BREATH, PULLED OUT MY
CREDIT CARD, all the while feeling I was being
SCAMMED. I have NEVER in my 51 YEARS Of
living had an auto repair experience where there
were alleged complications & the original price
was increased without being informed DURING
the WORK and without my approval. It was
UNCONSCIONABLE !
7) LATER, I CONFIRMED MY SUSPICIONS
ABOUT BEING SCAMMED . I took it upon
myself to double-check the prices of the parts and
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also called and asked other auto repair places for
their estimate to do the work. When I add up the
total of the parts that Mr. Cliff used it comes to
approximately $300 ($295.13 + $4.80 for
“hazardous waste”) .
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the higher-priced supposedly superior OEM
water pump) .
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approximately $150 more than the highest
estimate, and approximately $270 more than the
lowest estimate, and once again $211 higher than
their original estimate, which they FALSELY &
DISHONESTLY OMIT from the invoice they
provided to CapitalOne .
And in reference to my quotes above from the
other auto repair shops in Madras , when I asked
for their estimates I included the need for
serpentine belt & tensioner assembly, which did
NOT seem to add much (in terms of labor) to
their final price.
(AAA estimator comes to $387.13 - $566.12 )
NAPA estimator also comes to $372 - $489)
Another estimator which includes the serpentine
belt comes to $422.87 (see
https://www.yourmechanic.com/estimates )
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I am NOW 51-YEARS-OLD, & based on my
years of traveling and various automotive repairs
along the way here & there I INTUITIVELY
KNOW a decent or fair price AS OPPOSED TO
EXTORTION ( other words that come to mind
include: profiteering, unethical, unscrupulous,
exploitation, price-gouging, greedy,
unreasonable, dishonest, rotten, preposterous,
exorbitant, & yes, even corrupt, among others),
and IN THIS DAY & AGE OF INTERNET &
SMART PHONES, WE CAN ALL DO DUE
DILIGENCE IN TERMS OF CALCULATING A
FAIR PRICE. I agreed at the time, based on my
judgment, to a price of $429.
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I ask that Mr. Cliff, be a REAL AMERICAN
MAN and treat others with HONESTY,
RESPECT, INTEGRITY, & FAIRNESS, the
same way which you wish to be treated. I don’t
know if there was some sort of “prejudice” or
bias based on something they inferred about me.
It does not seem to be a matter of race or skin
color or some other form of discrimination
because I am also “white” (as were all the
workers in this shop), nor am I gay. I am
heterosexual.
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I, JOHN DOE (name changed for privacy/safety )
DECLARE THAT ALL OF THE ABOVE IS
SUBMITTED IN GOOD FAITH BASED ON
INFORMATION & FACTS
____________________
JOHN DOE (BA/BA/M.DIV)
DATED: 8/13/18
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