Consumer Services

Consumer Action

• What a Pane 
• One Car Pile-Up 
• Mediation Results

What a pane
Mr. B purchased impact windows from a national retailer's local store and contracted for installation through the national retailer's home services program.  The windows were delivered.  However, a majority of the windows were the incorrect size and several were damaged.  Over a period of months, Mr. B made numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the correct sized windows delivered, the damaged windows replaced and all of the windows installed.  Feeling the "pane" of being ignored, Mr. B contacted the Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department Mediation Center to see if we could assist in getting the national retailer to see the light.

The Mediation Center contacted the national retailer's local store manager to discuss Mr. B's situation.  The store manager indicated that he was aware of the many problems with Mr. B's window installation, but was having problems with both the window manufacturer and sub-contracted installer.  He indicated that everything should be resolved within a week. 

After a week passed, the Mediation Center contacted Mr. B regarding the status of the installation.  Mr. B indicated that no real progress had been made and that the store manager was not being very helpful. 

The Mediation Center contacted the store manager and obtained the contact information for corporate customer service.  The Mediation Center discussed the circumstances surrounding Mr. B's installation as well as possible resolutions with corporate customer service.  Corporate customer agreed to investigate the complaint and respond accordingly.

After conducting their investigation, corporate customer service guaranteed that the installation would be completed correctly within two weeks.  In addition, the Mediation Center was able to negotiate a twenty-five percent refund of the total cost of the project for Mr. B's inconvenience. 

When deciding to contract for home improvements, it is important to consider the pros and cons of dealing with large national retailers and home improvement warehouses versus smaller individual contractors.  Contracting with a national retailer is typically more costly than contracting directly with individual contractors.  However, large, national retailers offer guarantees/warrantees that are supported by an entire national or multinational corporations.  Guarantees/warrantees from smaller individual contractors depend on the firm's ability to stay in business and their willingness to perform in accordance with the stated terms.  When making your ultimate decision, verify that the contractors or sub-contractors actually performing the work are properly licensed and insured.

One Car Pile-Up
Mrs. L purchased a pre-owned vehicle from a local car dealership.  After driving the vehicle for a little over a year, Mr. L attempted to trade-in the vehicle toward the purchase of a new vehicle from a different dealer.  The dealer, to which Mr. L was attempting to trade in the vehicle, performed an inspection of the vehicle to arrive at a trade-in value.  The inspection identified so much accident damage that the dealer would only offer a negligibly low trade-in amount. 

Mr. L indicated that, for as long as he had owned the vehicle, it had never been in an accident.  He contacted the dealership from which he purchased the vehicle to discuss the situation. The dealership indicated that the vehicle may have been in an accident (s) prior to the date of sale but had no documentation indicating such.  Mr. L subscribed to a vehicle history reporting service and discovered that accident damage to the vehicle had been repaired on several occasions prior to the date he purchased it. Mr. L contacted the Mediation Center to get help with removing himself from the scene of this accident.

The Mediation Center contacted the dealership from which Mr. L purchased the vehicle to discuss his situation.  Using the vehicle history report and inspection results from the other dealership, the Mediation Center was able to mediate a mutually agreed upon reimbursement from the dealership to Mr. L that he could use toward the down payment on a new vehicle at the other dealership.

Sometimes a car has suffered extensive damage, but doesn't meet the 80% damaged rule to be legally declared salvage. In that case, a Salvage Rebuilt title may be issued. A rebuilt vehicle should always have a notice on the title stating that it is rebuilt. The owner will also receive a decal that must be placed on the car, signifying its rebuilt status. It's a felony to knowingly misrepresent a rebuilt vehicle to a prospective buyer. But unfortunately, it still happens. Whenever you are considering the purchase of a pre-owned vehicle, you can protect yourself as a buyer by subscribing to a vehicle history reporting service.   It will cost you some money (around $30 to $40), but it can tell you where the car was previously registered, whether the vehicle was salvaged, recalled or damaged by flood, and also if the odometer reading is correct.

Mediation Results
The Mediation Center receives and processes consumer complaints, mediates disputes between consumers and businesses, issues civil citations when a business operator violates the law and makes consumer education and awareness presentations to civic and business organizations as well as schools.

The mediation of disputes, between consumers and businesses, often-times results in the parties agreeing to some sort of monetarily measurable adjustments such as full refunds, partial refunds, or services being provided at no additional cost.  Below is a sampling of the various types of situations and resolutions that were mediated during this quarter.

• A consumer, who discovered that a credit account had been opened under her identity, was having difficulty getting the credit issuing bank to understand that the account had been opened fraudulently.  The bank was holding her responsible for over $6,600 in charges.  The Mediation Center was able to work with the bank in getting the consumer released from the $6,600 obligation.
• A local consumer opened a merchant account with a credit processing company. The credit processing company terminated their agreement with the consumer citing that the consumer had consistently exceeded the allowable percentage of monthly refunds.  As part of the termination process, the credit processing company was withholding $12,500 from the consumer to cover any refunds that may come due after the account termination. 
• The Mediation Center was able to negotiate the return of the $12,500 to the consumer.      
  A consumer who lived out of state brought her vehicle to a local repair shop for minor repairs. The repairs took approximately two hours.  However, the consumer waited seven months to pick up the vehicle. By that time, the total cost to retrieve the vehicle had escalated to $5,725 including parts, labor, storage and lien fees. The consumer indicated that she was not notified of the lien and storage charges and that she could not afford to pay the required amount. The Mediation Center was able to negotiate the release of the vehicle to the consumer at no charge.
• A consumer was notified by her mortgage company that her windstorm insurance was going to expire due to the premiums not being paid.  As a result, the mortgage company would purchase replacement insurance from a carrier of their choice to protect the property. The premium for that insurance would be $6,000 annually. The consumer could not figure out how her insurance had expired because she had been escrowing the taxes and insurance through her mortgage company.  The Mediation Center was able to persuade the mortgage company to more thoroughly investigate the situation.  It was determined that the mortgage company had made a clerical error and forwarded the escrowed insurance premiums to the wrong account.  The corrections resulted in a $4,047 net gain for the consumer.
• A consumer took her Rolex watch to a local jeweler for repair.  After not hearing from the jeweler for several weeks, the consumer contacted them to determine when the watch would be ready for pick-up.  The jeweler indicated that they had no record of the watch being dropped off for repair.  The consumer had a claim check verifying that an item had been dropped off, but the item was not identified on the claim check.  The Mediation Center was able to negotiate the refund of $3,500 to the consumer. 

The Mediation Center assists with a variety of different types of complaints. If you have a complaint, problem or need information, attempt to work it out directly with the firm or individual involved. If you are unable to resolve the issue, contact the Mediation Center at 305-375-3677 or submit a complaint online at www.miamidade.gov/csd.

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