Am I being crazy? (NWR)

julieanne912 · March 2015

MagicInk said:
Follow these steps:
1. Go to the place during whatever their business hours are. Are these posted on the door? They should be.
2. Ask for your car. If you can't get in, look through the window or whatever and see if you can see your car.
3. Call 9-1-1. Not the non-emergency police. 9-1-1. Calmly tell the operator "I dropped off my car to repaired several weeks ago at so and so company at blah blah address. I talked with Tom, Dick, and Harry. At this point they have not given me back my car, they have taken money from my insurance but not actually fixed anything, I believe my car has been stolen and I need a police officer out here at this place now".

Seriously, don't just call down to the local police station. 9-1-1.

You are going to have to make a fuss, that is what is going to have to happen. Also, at this point, I doubt you will get your car back. But if you file criminal charges for your STOLEN car, you can at least recoup your loss. Or some of your loss.

Yeah they don't have hours posted. I've been by there twice already, once at about 7:45 this morning and then on Monday at about 1 or 2pm, nobody is ever there. I'm trying again on my way home here in about 15 minutes.

Thankfully, I have good insurance, and GAP insurance so I'll get the car paid off and can start over. It's just a bummer because I really like my car! I looked around at dealerships today online and nobody has the same car as mine available.

Also just finished typing out a play by play to a news station here. My coworker is contacting them as well.

ShesSoCold · March 2015

Holy crap, OP. I'm sorry - I really hope this turns out well. Or at least okay.

Good for you for having good insurance. If this turns out as bad as it seems, at least you won't have to pay for something you don't have.

huskypuppy14 · March 2015

julieanne912 said:

julieanne912 said:
Just an update, I talked to my insurance, they have been trying to get a hold of them too. They paid the shop back on 3/2, over $7200. I also talked to the police, and she basically noted that we talked, but told me it was a civil issue, and gave me the number for the court. Ugh.

WTF. How is it a civil issue? Worst case scenario, they stole your car. That is a crime.

That's basically what I said to the person I talked to, she was all like "well you gave them the car so they can't steal a car you gave to them". Uhhh yeah, I gave it to them to fix, not keep forever. I'm going to call again either later tonight or tomorrow and talk to someone else (the same girl answered when I called back to try and get someone else). My boss also gave me his uncle's information, who is a civil attorney, so I'm going to call him to ask him his thoughts. My coworker and I are also contacting news stations. I'm stopping by there on my way home from work here shortly to see what I can find out, if anything.

And yeah it was this freak hail storm that just pummeled a whole stretch of Denver Metro (including about 10 car dealerships, hail sale anyone?). We all just stood in our office watching our cars get hammered. My car is black and was under a tree so it doesn't look too bad unless it's really clean, but some got really torn up.

What an idiot. So if I give my car to the valet driver and they take it and don't give it back, it's not considered stolen. Clearly this isn't a legitimate theft.

lyndausvi · March 2015

If it's too good to.be true, it's normally is.

You might have long term insurance issues as a result. Insurance companies don't take too kindly to pay puts. Let alone scam ones.

I would not be surprised if they go after your 'rebate'.

On another note. There is reason why everyone needs at least a $1000 emergency fund. Just for things like unexpected deductibles. Sorry you're learning the hard way.

julieanne912 · March 2015

Oh I have the money now if had to pay the deductible, I just didn't want to use it for that. Last December when I had an appointment set elsewhere (with a deductible), our dog got sick and had to have surgery so that drained my savings.

I went by the shop after work and someone had clearly been there at some point during the day. The shade that was wonky on the door this morning when I stopped by was fixed, so I couldn't see in anymore. I only could see under the shade in the bottom 1 foot of the door by getting down on my hands and knees. Good news for my coworker (who also has her car there), her car is at least there, it was parked right by the door. I was also able to see a sliver through the blinds, and saw they hadn't even worked on her car

I couldn't see mine. I tried knocking on both front and back doors, and nothing. I wish I could just park myself there all day til someone shows up but my job is really busy right now and my immediate boss is not a very flexible person if I said "hey, I need to go sit out front of this shop all day, I'll work off my ipad".

FI has 2 friends that are police officers in nearby towns. He asked their opinions and one gave him the name of a state statute that I can give to the Aurora police that shows that it could be considered theft.

We'll see what I can come up with tomorrow....

hellosweetie1015 · March 2015

Please call the cops and report it stolen. If it turns up at the shop, you don't have to actually take the next step and file charges. But you cannot verify that they have it, and that alone is enough to make the report. Don't keep saying, well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. Do something about it. Put the onus on the shop to prove they still have your car, and protect your interests in the meantime.

flutteringinfl · March 2015

I wonder if that cop you talked to sympathizes with the repair guy who stole Jerry's car in that Seinfeld episode.

Please call the cops. I'm so sorry you're going through this, but you need to be proactive. Listen to @MagicInk. Don't let yourself hesitate because you're afraid of making a fuss or wasting anyone's time.

mrsk616 · March 2015

just call them... report it stolen thats the only way your going to get the car. they should not be playing those games. it sounds like they did not fix it and your insurance company should put a stop payment on the check or something to get money back. your going to end up paying to get the car fixed right because the obviously cant work on cars right.

novella1186 · March 2015

Yeah... I'd definitely be calling 911 at this point. And I'd keep it simple so they don't latch onto the wrong words, ya know?

Not: "So, my car got damaged in hail and I needed to get it fixed, they were gonna give me a rebate and they were fixing my car, I waited this amount of time, then this other thing got damaged, but then I wanted my car back and now I can't get it back etc etc etc."

Instead: "This repair shop has had my car for x amount of time. I need to report it stolen because it doesn't seem to be at the shop any longer. I've been trying to reach them for x number of days with no answer."

The police will ask you for whatever other details they need, but when you initially call just be very concise and to the point.

In my experience, this is the only way to get the point across in some cases. If I want to tell someone I need coffee but I say, "I need coffee and my foot hurts," then they latch onto "Your foot hurts? Why does your foot hurt? You don't need coffee, you need a pain killer. Go get a pain killer. What happened to your foot?" So I've learned to leave the extra out.

lyndausvi · March 2015

I'm not surprised the police are not as concerned. I've had 2 cars stolen. 2 different states. Neither time was there any urgency on the polices part. One car was stolen in a span of 5 mins. I put stuff in the car.. went back in the house for more stuff and it was gone.

I also do not consider this a 911 call. 911 is for immediate possible life threatening emergencies. Not a repair shop has not given back my car after a few weeks kind of call.

Go down to the station and file a report.

plainjane0415 · March 2015

lyndausvi said:
I'm not surprised the police are not as concerned. I've had 2 cars stolen. 2 different states. Neither time was there any urgency on the polices part. One car was stolen in a span of 5 mins. I put stuff in the car.. went back in the house for more stuff and it was gone.

I also do not consider this a 911 call. 911 is for immediate possible life threatening emergencies. Not a repair shop has not given back my car after a few weeks kind of call.

Go down to the station and file a report.

I have to agree here that I don't feel that this is a 911 emergency situation. But that at this point, a police report should be filed. I don't know how far you would get with a 911 dispatch telling her/him that your car was stolen, but that's just me, and I could be totally wrong.

sal2015 · March 2015

lyndausvi said:
I'm not surprised the police are not as concerned. I've had 2 cars stolen. 2 different states. Neither time was there any urgency on the polices part. One car was stolen in a span of 5 mins. I put stuff in the car.. went back in the house for more stuff and it was gone.

I also do not consider this a 911 call. 911 is for immediate possible life threatening emergencies. Not a repair shop has not given back my car after a few weeks kind of call.

Go down to the station and file a report.

I agree. This does not seem like a 911 situation to me at all. Definitely a situation for the police, but 911 is more of a life and death type emergency thing!

novella1186 · March 2015

lyndausvi said:
I'm not surprised the police are not as concerned. I've had 2 cars stolen. 2 different states. Neither time was there any urgency on the polices part. One car was stolen in a span of 5 mins. I put stuff in the car.. went back in the house for more stuff and it was gone.

I also do not consider this a 911 call. 911 is for immediate possible life threatening emergencies. Not a repair shop has not given back my car after a few weeks kind of call.

Go down to the station and file a report.

Yeah, sometimes the police are pretty lax. I mean if you think about the kinds of emergencies they see/deal with on a daily basis, it's probably like "Oh another stolen car? k." (Not that they don't care, just that they won't be shocked or anything).

When I was a kid (maybe 9?) my mom left me home alone to go run an errand. It was the middle of the day, she set the house alarm, and big dog was with me, so we both thought it was fine. Right after she left, the house alarm went off (which only happens if the front or back door is opened) so I got scared and called 911. I told them my age, that I was home alone, and that the alarm had gone off and I didn't know why, but it can only go off if a door opens so I was scared that someone was trying to get into my house.

My parents lived about 5 minutes from the police station, and it's not a big city by any means, so at any given moment there's likely an officer driving somewhere within a few minutes of their house. It took 45 minutes for the police to show up. They strolled up to the front door like it was no big deal. Meanwhile, my little kid self was cowering behind the curtains with a baseball bat, hugging big dog for dear life. So... I guess some things just aren't a big deal to them.

Maggie0829 · March 2015

I have to agree with the recent PP, this is not a 911 emergency. This is a go down to the police station and file a report situation.

And for what it is worth OP, I don't think that this question was annoying. You actually have gotten some good insight and advice from other posters. This is a chit chat board so really anything goes. There have been plenty of pointless questions and discussions posted on here before that would have had common sense solutions but people have been happy to respond with said common sense answer. I don't really get why it was necessary to call you out on your post. Sometimes when you are in panic mood (like when you can't get your car back) a lot of your common sense goes out the window and it is helpful when people with more calm minds give you advice.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

I wouldn't necessarily call 911 either - calling 911 gets you to a dispatch center anyway, not the "real police." BUT you said the same person answered both times - that likely was a police receptionist or something, it's not like you're getting directly through to the grand theft auto people. Don't spill your whole drama to whoever answers the phone, just tell them you need to report a stolen vehicle. Or better yet, go there in person. Explain that you've tried numerous times to retrieve your car, cannot get any answer from them, and cannot even verify that your car is still even there and believe it to have been stolen.

southernbelle0915 · March 2015

Yea, I'd go into the police station and tell them you need to file a police report to report a stolen vehicle. That'll get you started on the report and talking to the right people.

The receptionist was probably knotting and didn't want to be bothered.

plainjane0415 · March 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
Yea, I'd go into the police station and tell them you need to file a police report to report a stolen vehicle. That'll get you started on the report and talking to the right people.

The receptionist was probably knotting and didn't want to be bothered.

TRUTH.

VulgarGirl · March 2015

I was always told to call 911 and let them sort out where to get you too. As long as you aren't calling 911 for a non-criminal act (ie: McDonalds is out of chicken nuggets=non-criminal act=don't fucking call 911 dipshit), it's not wasting their time, it's not out of line, it's not the wrong thing to do.

If it not a life threatening emergency they'll get the police department for the area on the line and transfer you over.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

MagicInk said:
I was always told to call 911 and let them sort out where to get you too. As long as you aren't calling 911 for a non-criminal act (ie: McDonalds is out of chicken nuggets=non-criminal act=don't fucking call 911 dipshit), it's not wasting their time, it's not out of line, it's not the wrong thing to do.

If it not a life threatening emergency they'll get the police department for the area on the line and transfer you over.

Right, you can call 911 for non-emergency situations - you just tell them it's not an emergency, like when you're reporting a fender bender. I wouldn't necessarily call them in this situation, but it would still be better than letting a receptionist give you legal advice.

julieanne912 · March 2015

I GOT MY CAR BACK!!!!!

It's a rather odd story really. So I stopped by before work, and their logo'd truck was parked outside. The whole front was dark, but I had a feeling someone might be there. So, I started setting off the car alarm of my car, which was inside. I would set it off for 30 seconds, then turn it off, knock, then set it off again, then turn it off, then knock. After doing that a few times I heard a dog barking, and a little chihuahua appeared at the door. So I'm like, OK, somebody's in there.

Finally, someone came to the door. She is the owners mother. She told me the owner and his girlfriend (the sales rep I met with) got in an argument and he ended up getting arrested on Monday. WTF!! Anyway, I told her I just wanted my car. The windshield wiper sprayers are missing and the heat shield under the hood is currently in the backseat, but at least I have my car back. I also ended up having to pay $172 for the rental car that they were supposed to cover.

Today is a crazy day at work so once that settles down I'll decide my next steps, if I want to pursue them for anything, or just call it a day and be glad I got my car out of there.

ashley8918 · March 2015

julieanne912 said:
I GOT MY CAR BACK!!!!!

It's a rather odd story really. So I stopped by before work, and their logo'd truck was parked outside. The whole front was dark, but I had a feeling someone might be there. So, I started setting off the car alarm of my car, which was inside. I would set it off for 30 seconds, then turn it off, knock, then set it off again, then turn it off, then knock. After doing that a few times I heard a dog barking, and a little chihuahua appeared at the door. So I'm like, OK, somebody's in there.

Finally, someone came to the door. She is the owners mother. She told me the owner and his girlfriend (the sales rep I met with) got in an argument and he ended up getting arrested on Monday. WTF!! Anyway, I told her I just wanted my car. The windshield wiper sprayers are missing and the heat shield under the hood is currently in the backseat, but at least I have my car back. I also ended up having to pay $172 for the rental car that they were supposed to cover.

Today is a crazy day at work so once that settles down I'll decide my next steps, if I want to pursue them for anything, or just call it a day and be glad I got my car out of there.

cupcait927 · March 2015

julieanne912 said:
I GOT MY CAR BACK!!!!!

It's a rather odd story really. So I stopped by before work, and their logo'd truck was parked outside. The whole front was dark, but I had a feeling someone might be there. So, I started setting off the car alarm of my car, which was inside. I would set it off for 30 seconds, then turn it off, knock, then set it off again, then turn it off, then knock. After doing that a few times I heard a dog barking, and a little chihuahua appeared at the door. So I'm like, OK, somebody's in there.

Finally, someone came to the door. She is the owners mother. She told me the owner and his girlfriend (the sales rep I met with) got in an argument and he ended up getting arrested on Monday. WTF!! Anyway, I told her I just wanted my car. The windshield wiper sprayers are missing and the heat shield under the hood is currently in the backseat, but at least I have my car back. I also ended up having to pay $172 for the rental car that they were supposed to cover.

Today is a crazy day at work so once that settles down I'll decide my next steps, if I want to pursue them for anything, or just call it a day and be glad I got my car out of there.

Glad to hear you got your car back! As far as next steps - I would count your blessings that you got your car back, find a new place to get the rest fixed and call it a day. I can't imagine it would be worth your time and money to pursue anything against this shop.

julieanne912 · March 2015

cupcait927 said:

julieanne912 said:
I GOT MY CAR BACK!!!!!

It's a rather odd story really. So I stopped by before work, and their logo'd truck was parked outside. The whole front was dark, but I had a feeling someone might be there. So, I started setting off the car alarm of my car, which was inside. I would set it off for 30 seconds, then turn it off, knock, then set it off again, then turn it off, then knock. After doing that a few times I heard a dog barking, and a little chihuahua appeared at the door. So I'm like, OK, somebody's in there.

Finally, someone came to the door. She is the owners mother. She told me the owner and his girlfriend (the sales rep I met with) got in an argument and he ended up getting arrested on Monday. WTF!! Anyway, I told her I just wanted my car. The windshield wiper sprayers are missing and the heat shield under the hood is currently in the backseat, but at least I have my car back. I also ended up having to pay $172 for the rental car that they were supposed to cover.

Today is a crazy day at work so once that settles down I'll decide my next steps, if I want to pursue them for anything, or just call it a day and be glad I got my car out of there.
Glad to hear you got your car back! As far as next steps - I would count your blessings that you got your car back, find a new place to get the rest fixed and call it a day. I can't imagine it would be worth your time and money to pursue anything against this shop.

Yeah probably not. Especially for just a few hundred bucks. FI and I are going to see if we can fix the remaining stuff ourselves. The dude's mom gave me the parts needed to fix the windshield wiper fluid sprayers so we'll see what we can figure out. If not, we'll take it to our normal shop near the house.

My coworkers car is still there, and she's in Texas right now, so I got dude's mom's phone number so hopefully we can rescue her car this week for her.

KatieinBkln · March 2015

You should probably let your insurance know that they should start proceedings to get their payout back, given the repairs aren't done.

julieanne912 · March 2015

KatieinBkln said:
You should probably let your insurance know that they should start proceedings to get their payout back, given the repairs aren't done.

Yup I'm calling them later today. I also wanted to find out who all the check was written to... if it was just to the company, or to the company AND me, which means I would have to go sign it, which means I wouldn't sign it til they paid for things they said they'd pay for.

plainjane0415 · March 2015

julieanne912 said:

KatieinBkln said:
You should probably let your insurance know that they should start proceedings to get their payout back, given the repairs aren't done.
Yup I'm calling them later today. I also wanted to find out who all the check was written to... if it was just to the company, or to the company AND me, which means I would have to go sign it, which means I wouldn't sign it til they paid for things they said they'd pay for.

If it was made out to you and the company, they shouldn't be able to cash or deposit it without your signature.

ladyinthewhitedress · March 2015

plainjane0415 · March 2015

shlasher said:
Holy Rudeness Batman!! If you don't' want to be helpful that's fine, but there's no need to pull the "I can't believe you were really that stupid" crap. Most scammers are successful because they talk a really good game. Targeting communities that have been hard-hit by natural disaster is common bc victims are feeling particularly vulnerable and are looking for anybody willing to help. You would be amazed how easy it is to fall for the right scam.

Thanks for that.

BTW no one called the OP stupid.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

shlasher said:
Holy Rudeness Batman!! If you don't' want to be helpful that's fine, but there's no need to pull the "I can't believe you were really that stupid" crap. Most scammers are successful because they talk a really good game. Targeting communities that have been hard-hit by natural disaster is common bc victims are feeling particularly vulnerable and are looking for anybody willing to help. You would be amazed how easy it is to fall for the right scam.

Thanks random stranger, I'll be sure to take that to heart.

novella1186 · March 2015

shlasher said:
Holy Rudeness Batman!! If you don't' want to be helpful that's fine, but there's no need to pull the "I can't believe you were really that stupid" crap. Most scammers are successful because they talk a really good game. Targeting communities that have been hard-hit by natural disaster is common bc victims are feeling particularly vulnerable and are looking for anybody willing to help. You would be amazed how easy it is to fall for the right scam.

No one ever called her stupid (which by the way is against TOS here, so it definitely didn't happen). A few people pointed out that the solution to this is common sense, so it didn't necessarily need to be posted. A few other people posted the counter point that the OP may not have known what to do, received lots of great advice, was possibly in panic mode and genuinely needed help, etc.

Knotties disagree with each other all the time, and we do it with respect and tact, without name calling. That is not rude. That's called stating an opinion. There's nothing wrong with stating an opinion. In fact, that's what message boards are for. So no need to come in here, guns blazing, claiming everyone was name-calling and being rude.

Am I being crazy? (NWR)

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