DEAL Horrible Customer Service Experience with Rock Auto

[HARDTRAILZ]

I would like to share my experience with Rock Auto so others do not have to go through what I did.

Basic story:

8 days ago i order a part shown in stock and pay for it. Today I receive an email saying it is "out of stock." Check Rock Auto website and find the part is confirmed in stock, but for $50 more money. Email RA and get this:

"My apologies, I forgot to point that out as well. Yes, we do have the part you ordered but unfortunately it is from a different supplier and has a higher cost. If you would like that part instead we could get that for you but we would still need you to pay the difference. Since that part is more expensive, we would offer the $10 courtesy I previously mentioned to help with the price difference."

So:
I order part and pay for it.
RA fraudulently emails and calls me to say the part is out of stock while they have it on-hand.
Then when I call them on it, they try to force more money from an honest consumer.

Results:
They had my funds for 8 days and I have nothing for it.
This post.
Lost customer.
Truck without parts.

Sad they could not honor the contract they agreed to and I fulfilled my end of.

 

[Mooseman]

And that is the main issue with ordering online. They could have done a better job of letting you know it was out of stock. It happens but shouldn't take 8 days. I've had this happen and within a day, maybe two at most, they contact me and give me a choice of either ordering another similar part, wait until the original is back in stock or a refund.

Amazon is WAY better than all the others combined. No questions asked on returns at their cost, easy exchanges at their cost, I've even gotten a partial refund credit because of a delay in shipping. And RA with their shipping costs from different warehouses burned me a few times.

 

[littleblazer]

I can't really say anything bad about RA since my only expirences have been excellent. Yes the shipping can sting if it's from a few warehouses though. I agree, amazons service is untouchable.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

The part was in stock...

I always check total cost including shipping before placing an order. That is why I hardly ever used RA.



Good advice I was given:

RA deals in interstate commerce.
Interstate commerce is overseen by the FTC.
Bait and switch is illegal, FTC violation, felony.
Report them: https://www.ftc.gov/
Report it to your State Attorney too: http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/

 

[Robbabob]

How long before they get you your part at your price? If they switched suppliers, they can't get "your" part at your price any longer.

Yeah, perhaps it is report time.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

They offered me refund or $10 off a purchase of more than I spent. Not just a $10 off for the trouble.

 

[Robbabob]

Yup, time to file those complaints, or see what RA will do to keep you from filing a complaint. It's not blackmail when they are at fault, here.

 

[animal]

I would report it. See what if anything happens from there. If it's on their site they SHOULD honor the price.

 

[SnowBlazer]

Was your money sent through PayPal by chance? I've had to file a couple of disputes against sellers and they are pretty good about getting your money back.

If not, I'm sure the FTC will do the same. Not sure about turnaround time though.

 

[Sparky]

I'm really sorry to hear that. I've never had an issue with them in the past.

 

[dmanns67]

Same here. Ordered many different parts from RA over the years and not had an issue. Pretty $hitty how they handled it though. Surprised the RA member has not chimed in.

 

[northcreek]

I had an issue with RA a few years back regarding a fuel pump module issue. It took paypay resolution and a lot of correspondence to get the results that I wanted.
I do still use them and just got a set of front hubs from them today in record time and a great price too.
I guess that we might have to take the good with the bad sometimes but, I feel your pain when stuff like this happens ....Mike.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Went to the site today to see if they had it in stock now and if they retained the higher price and found it is back to the lower price and supposedly in stock at another warehouse...




MOOG Part # RK621316 R-Series; Complete Arm w/Ball Joint
Front Left Lower

* Stocked in outlying warehouse--shipping delayed up to 2 business days


$79.79

 

[Blckshdw]

That whole string of events is pretty suspect.