Complaint Review: Nationwide Parts Distributors

I was in need of a GEM module for a 1998 Ford Windstar, so I did a Google Search.  This company was the first on the list, and when I went to the website it looked totally legit.  I requested a quotation from the website, and the next day I received an email from Adam E with an offer to repair my existing module for a flat fee of $149 plus return shipping.

The idea of repairing my existing module was very attractive to me, because I knew that a replacement/reman/NOS unit would have to be programmed with a VIN number at extra cost.  I had high hopes of a repairable unit because only 2 functions of the module (Wipers and Dome Lights) were bad; others like Door Locks and Windows worked fine.  This led me to believe that the problem might be bad driver transistors/mosfets; not the processor circuitry.

I boxed up my unit and sent it Priority Mail at a cost of about $10.  When it arrived two days later, I got a terse phone message saying I needed to give them a credit card before any work could begin.  I called and spoke to Adam, who was quite surly on the phone; giving him the info.  I noticed my card was charges $170 almost immediately.

About 3 days later, I got an email from Adam saying their technicians had diagnosed the problem and the unit was beyond repair; being traced back to the "main processor".  The only option was to buy a "new" unit for $399; and they could conveniently charge the card I had given them.  This raised my suspicions because, as an electronics engineer, I knew that if the processor on the board was bad, all functions would likely not work.  Yet mine was partially working.  I replied to the email, asking if the new unit would work without having to be programmed.  I was assured by Adam that it would work out of the box.  This raised my suspicions even further.

So I went back and did another Google search, and drilled down a little further in the results.  This led me to this site, where I was not entirely surprised to find not just similar cases to mine, but also the exact verbatim text of my email! I immediately called my bank, who readily agreed to reverse the charge to my card.  I also reported this site to:

- Google, so they could investigate and remove the misleading ad

- The FBI, using the site https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

- The FTC, using the site https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/?utm_source=takeaction#crnt

- The Florida Attorney General at http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Citizen_Services

- The Florida BBB at https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/nature-of-complaint/

I encourage any consumer with a similar complaint to first contact their bank to dispute the charge; and also to report this business to the appropriate authorities so that they can investigate this business.