Complaint Review: John Keating Chevrolet

There are two groups which consistently rate at the top of polls for public distrust.  One of those groups is lawyers and the other is auto dealers.   The recent contest ran by John Keating Chevrolet in Crosby, TX really set new lows for the auto industry.   Very few people in the Houston area are going to trust John Keating or Chevrolet for a long, long time.

John Keating sent contest packets to people all over Houston the week of 12/10/12.   It had a scratch and win format.   Of course, everyone scratched and found out theyd won the top prize.  ($20,000 gift card or a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500)  That was the first deceptive act. When customers called the phone number given on the packet, their winning status was verified.  That was the second deceptive act. An appointment was then made for the customer to come in to the dealership and claim their prize. That was the fourth third deceptive act. Once there, winners we set up for sales presentations.

What was unclear was that the contest was actually a drawing based on a randomly selected number.   The packet identified that number as an activation code.  Once at the dealership winners were told that was their contest number.   Despite what the prize packet told them, they were not the big winner.   Salesmen pointed to rules printed on 4 pt type hidden inside the packet.  That was the fifth deceptive act.   

 Winners were then told that everyone won a prize, but only one person got the top prize.  Lesser prizes included Wal-Mart gift cards. They must have run out of the gift cards because most customers were given a .89 cent bottle of water valued at $5.  That was the sixth deceptive act. Winners were also required to fill out a form to claim their prize.  That form requested sensitive information such as social security numbers, employers, gross income, address etc.   It was actually a pre-qualification form for purchasing a vehicle.  That was the seventh deceptive act. 

Nor were there any deals on the vehicles.   Despite advertising for end of year sales there were no markdowns on the John Keatings vehicles.  All of them still had the number one invoice on the window.   There were no discounts advertised anywhere on the vehicle or at the dealership. That was the eighth deceptive act. 

I wrote GM of North America about this.  Their response was to bounce it between customer service and their "Aware" line.  Botton line - If Keating wasn't ripping off Chevy, then Chevy didn't give a d**n.

Stick to Ford and imports