Benny's Car Wash ripoff dirty SOB's damaged car and tried to have me arrested for complaining Baton Rouge Louisiana
Jan 17 2003 went thru the Coursey blvd. location of Benny's car wash. When I got home noticed that a piece of my fender on the passenger side was missing. Went back to Benny's the attendant went in the wash picked up the piece and gave it to me.
The attendant gave me the name of the manager David Whitehead I called him and he met me at the Airline location. After waiting 20 min. for him to show up he went out and looked at the car told me that he would not pay for the damages ($600 worth) and if I did not leave the property he would have me arrested.
I filed a complaint with better business bureau Evelyn Landry got a letter that said that the company stated its side and would not change its position therefore the compalint was closed.
Attached to the letter from Miss Landry was a letter from Benny's. In this letter was a statment from Mr. Whitehead and it says as follows: Benny's is an automated car wash that coustomers drive their cars through. Each vehicle is led into the wash by a trained fuider and their drivers side tire is placed in a conveyor belt. Drivers are instructed to put car in neutral, take foot off brake, take hands off steering wheel. I spoke with our location manager and watched the film and this WAS DONE EXACTLY AS EXPLAINED therefor we can only assume that damage resulted in coustomer error (yeah choosing bennys in the first place).
Now does any one else see something fishy here. If every thing was done as explained then how could it have been customer error and they have films to prove it yet this was dismissed by the BBB. When I brought this to Miss Landrys attenion she just said oh well you can take them to small claims court (awaiting court date - will update when it comes)
David
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
U.S.A.
9 Updates & Rebuttals
Davitwayne
Denham Springs,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
Response to David in Denham
#10Author of original report
Fri, July 27, 2007
This must be The David in Question (MR> Whithead) Well see the other complaint on Benny's
Davitwayne
Denham Springs,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
The final word
#10Author of original report
Fri, July 27, 2007
Does not matter if it was a peice of trim or what the matter in wich it was handled being talked down to by someone that cannot do any better than manage a carwash and have him threaten me with jail if I did not leave his property instead of al least showing some kind of Profesionalism does not matter I sat next door for weeks with a sign saying and showing the damage even made T-shirts with a picture (one picture worth a 10,000 words) and share my experince with everyone I know or ask me about the shirts and hope that if I stop 1 person from using bennys I have dine him some damage in return it's old news and I have not been back to Benny's with the exception of using the free vacumn on coursey so just keep this in mind USE AT YOUR OWN RISK !! and all of you who doubt and defend maybe one day you too will have the same problem and rember you were warned in advance God Bless you and have a nice day.
PS A freind fixed the car at cost A certified body tech who was ready to testify that the damage was due to the car wash and that the car even at 13 years old was in excellent condition but thanks to him it was fixed at less than it would have cost to take it to court
Davitwayne
Denham Springs,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
The final word
#10Author of original report
Fri, July 27, 2007
Does not matter if it was a peice of trim or what the matter in wich it was handled being talked down to by someone that cannot do any better than manage a carwash and have him threaten me with jail if I did not leave his property instead of al least showing some kind of Profesionalism does not matter I sat next door for weeks with a sign saying and showing the damage even made T-shirts with a picture (one picture worth a 10,000 words) and share my experince with everyone I know or ask me about the shirts and hope that if I stop 1 person from using bennys I have dine him some damage in return it's old news and I have not been back to Benny's with the exception of using the free vacumn on coursey so just keep this in mind USE AT YOUR OWN RISK !! and all of you who doubt and defend maybe one day you too will have the same problem and rember you were warned in advance God Bless you and have a nice day.
PS A freind fixed the car at cost A certified body tech who was ready to testify that the damage was due to the car wash and that the car even at 13 years old was in excellent condition but thanks to him it was fixed at less than it would have cost to take it to court
Robert
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Is this a piece of trim?
#10Consumer Comment
Mon, October 03, 2005
If the piece that fell off was some side moulding, it is glued on. They fall off all the time, especially when the car is 13 years old.
David
Denham Springs,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
Thankx
#10Consumer Comment
Mon, October 03, 2005
Thank you for that information I have submitted the report and am waiting to see what happens again thanks
Megan
Baton Rouge,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
Maybe your car WAS damaged
#10Consumer Comment
Tue, April 12, 2005
If you say you took your car through the wash a zillion times before with no problem, maybe there was underlying damage to your car before it went through the wash, and the high pressure just did it in... Like how a little kid has a loose tooth, and then tying a string around it & slamming a door will knock it out.
Your story has a lot of holes in it and seems one sided. The way you make it sound, you went to Benny's, tole the manager your car was damaged, and then he threatened to call the police. I think any sensible person knows that no manager on the face of the earth is that jumpy.
The truth is that a lot of people have messed up cars and then when they go through a high-pressure car wash (which is bad even for the BEST cars) and parts are falling off, they try to hold the car wash responsible. I've been to these car washes before, and they make it quite clear that any damage resulting from using the car wash is not their responsibility.
If you do take your case to small claims, you're going to need tohave SUFFICIENT evidence that your car was in tip top shape the MOMENT before you took it through the wash. For all the court knows, you may have backed up into a pole before going through the wash and your fender coulda been hanging off. Your case is going to be extremely hard to prove. I hate to tell you this, but I think Benny's is gonna win this case.
Best of luck.
Nancy
Baton Rouge,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
contact an investigative reporter with one of the local TV stations
#10Consumer Suggestion
Mon, October 11, 2004
I would like to suggest contacting the Louisiana Attorney General, you can file a complaint online with them at http://www.laag.org/Complaint.aspx at the bottom of the page click "file a complaint".
Also, I suggest going to the Federal Trade Commission's website and file a formal complaint with them at http://www.ftc.gov/ at the top of the webpage you will see a menu bar, just click on "file a complaint".
You may also want to contact an investigative reporter with one of the local TV stations, such as WBRZ or WAFB and let them know what's going on. If they think the story is worth their while, they may jump on the bandwagon and report your story.
Also, put your complaint in writing to the company and send it either Priority Mail with delivery confirmation or Certified/Registered Mail with Return Receipt and carbon copy it to the Attorney General's office detailing the situation and all of the contacts you've had with Benny's since the incident occurred.
The more details you include (names, dates, times, etc.), the more credible you will appear.
I hope this helps...good luck.
David
Baton Rouge,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
Rebuttal to the rebuttal
#10Author of original report
Wed, June 09, 2004
Yes this was a 1992 Cadillac that has had the same owner since 1992. It has been thru many car washes since 1992 and has not substained any damage. It has never had damage to the back of the vehicle and I would like to see the manager of Benny's Mr. Whitehead's credentials as a body man and what makes him certified to make such a decision. I have many people who can attest to the fact than this car was never damaged. and you may also check with the better busniess bureau and belive it or not they have other complaints of damage done to other vehicles. yea you may get 10 out of 10 but I guess I was #11
Justin
Baton Rouge,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
The facts are wrong! customers, employees, and their vehicles our first priority
#10REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, February 09, 2004
Benny's Car Wash has been in business since 1951, and we have always made the safety of our customers, employees, and their vehicles our first priority. This person's vehicle was a 1992 Cadillac that had pre-existing damage to the back of the vehicle. We challenge anyone to find a vehicle of the same make and model with NO pre-existing conditions, and we will wash it 10 times and prove that we do not damage vehicles that are in good condition and the driver has followed instructions.