Total Appearance, (owner Billy Abrams) Lied, overcharged, and called the police on me! Lawrenceville Georgia
Terrible. They (Billy) called the cops on me!
On 8/24/2013 I took my JL Audio 13TW5-3 subwoofer in to have it sent out to JLA for a rebuild, since this place is an authorized dealer for them. This came after receiving a quote from JLA for a repair plus return shipping cost = $200 Total. JLA tells me all I have to do is take it to an authorized dealer to be sent in for repair.
So I go to Total Appearance and discuss the arrangement to send it out with the manager there Eddie. I was told I would have to pay for the outgoing shipping costs upfront and that it should take 2-3 weeks to receive the speaker back. I say ok, pay the shipping cost to have it sent out, and I ask them to give me a call if there are any issues/delays and to let me know when the speaker’s back. They say the'll take good care of me.
So a month and a half goes by,.. Not a word. I give them a call to find out what the status is; Eddie picks up the phone. He tells me that he has to check on it and he’ll call me back. Never does. Another week or so goes by, same thing - they answer, say they’ll call me back and never do. Not even once! And this type of thing happened two or three more times until on 11/01/2013 I call them again and speak to Jessica. She puts me on hold to go check if they have something, and they do. She told me it’s been there for over a week now. I asked her why no one called to let me know, and she said yeah we should’ve called you.
Then she tells me it’s going to be $265. I explain to her that’s not the price discussed between me, JLA, and the manager Eddie. It should be $200 Total, no more. So she gets Eddie on the phone and I go over the same thing with him and remind him what we talked about. Of course he has no recollection of it and insists that the price is $265, reason being they had to pay for the return shipping. Again, I tell him that the quote I received from JL Audio included the return shipping. He tells me that I need to call JLA to discuss the issue with them…
At that point, I reminded him that He is the authorized dealer, and that he should contact them to find out where the mistake is. He agrees, and tells me he’ll call me back. Three days go by,.. Nothing. I call them again. Eddie gets on the phone and tells me that he tried calling JLA but couldn’t get ahold of anyone. I call JLA myself and speak to the same representative that originally gave me the quote. I explain the situation to him and he says that the dealer should have filled out the appropriate form. In there, is a field stating that the price Includes return shipping; $200. I call total appearance back, let them know what the Rep and I discussed, but they just held on to the position that they had to pay FedEx and JL Audio doesn’t pay for shipping. We went back and forth.
Finally, on 11/15/2013 I find the time from work to go over to their shop. Before I went, I printed out the original quote and spoke to another JLA Rep, that I asked to assist in the situation. So I get to the shop and I see Eddie. He greets me, and I introduce myself reminding him who I am. Then he says, “so yeah the price is going to be 265. I show him the print out and tell him I just spoke with the JLA Rep about it. Then, while I’m speaking, this guy behind the counter off to my right cuts in and says - “look pal, we’ve been over this 5 or 6 times. The price is 265. Either pay it or you’re not getting your speaker back”… ??WTF??!
I say wait a minute, who are you? He says - “I’m Billy, I’m the owner”. “Pay the money, take your speaker and I don’t ever want you coming back in my store”! I say first off, do not come at me like that, watch your tone! Second, you’re the owner and this is how you act? I couldn’t believe it. I told him this is how much I was quoted, this is how much I’m going to pay. That’s it. So this loud mouth starts saying how they have to pay for shipping, JL doesn’t pay for it, blah, blah,… I said, look, if you guys can’t stick to the agreement then I’m going to have to escalate this. He says - “go on, escalate it!
That’s the price, I have explained it to you already, you are incompetent”! This SOB calls me incompetent like 3 times. At this point I truly wanted to WHA! So I pull out my phone, and I tell him I’m about to record all this. On the recording he’s saying how JL Audio does not pay for the shipping TO them, lying trying to mislead because the whole issue has been the return shipping, I already paid the outgoing. Dude even has the nerve to call me incompetent on the recording! So after he got done making his statement on the recording, he said now you have 3 secs to turn it off or I’m going to use it against you in court. ??WTF??
I literally had to hold everything back not to WHA, trying to do this the right way! When I was done making my last words on the recording I called the JL Rep and put him on speaker. Billy completely ignored everything the guy was trying to tell him and said I have 3 secs to get out of his store or he’s calling the cops. So now he’s on the phone with the police as I’m speaking with the JL Rep trying to find the best way to pursue this AND get his shop off the authorized dealers list.
A few mins later I get off the phone and was on my way out and the cops show up. This SOB Billy comes out of the shop, yelling to the cops to block my car in to keep me from leaving, as if I was trying to escape. I walk up to them and explain the situation. They basically tell me since the shop already provided a service my best bet is to pay now and take him to small claims court, but they couldn’t do anything to get my sub back. Really didn’t want to give this guy a dime, but the speaker costs about 500 new.
This clown agrees to one of the other cops to release the speaker if I pay the 265. I end up calling my wife (live a few blocks away) to come by with the credit card for payment. Then this SOB says “cash only for you buddy”. I ask the cops if it’s even legal for him to only accept cash from me even though the signs on their door have all credit cards listed. The cops claim it is. I demanded a formal receipt if paid cash. So my wife comes out in the cold, with my 14 month old daughter. The two cops escort us inside and watch the transaction.
As I’m looking at the receipt and talking with my wife, this A-hole Billy just cuts in and actually said “As the owner of this store I’m going to ask you to stop talking now”, saying “Take it and go now, I want you out, you are not allowed back in my store”. My wife was only there for 5 mins, even had to ask him is that really necessary? The cops even had to tell him to stop talking! Finally, when I got done looking at the receipt, I looked over the subwoofer, made sure it looked right, paid and left. Now I’m just looking for ways to spread the word about this place. Do Not Go There!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Chris
Lawrenceville,Georgia,
Total Appearance, owner Billy Abrams Lied, overcharged, and called the police on me!
#2Author of original report
Sat, November 16, 2013
On 5/31/13 I received a quote from JL Audio stating that a repair of my subwoofer through an authorized dealer = $200. This price includes the return shipping. The customer is required to pay outgoing shipping.
On 8/24/13 I took my JL Audio 13TW5-3 Subwoofer to Total Appearance, so they, as an authorized dealer could send it to JL Audio for repair. We discussed my quotation from JL Audio and I then paid the outgoing fee to have the subwoofer sent out. I was promised I'd be informed via a phone call if there was any conflict in pricing or any other issues. I was also told the estimated turn-around time for repair was 2 weeks. They say they'll take good care of me.
So a month and a half goes by,.. Not a word. I give them a call to find out what the status is; Eddie the manager picks up the phone. He tells me that he has to check on it and he’ll call me back. Never does. Another week or so goes by, same thing - they answer, say they’ll call me back and never do. Not even once! And this type of thing happened two or three more times until on 11/01/2013 I call them again and speak to Jessica. She puts me on hold to go check if they have something, and they do. She told me it’s been there for over a week now. I asked her why no one called to let me know, and she said yeah we should’ve called you.
Then she tells me it’s going to be $265. I explain to her that’s not the price discussed between me, JLA, and the manager Eddie. It should be $200 Total, no more, I already paid for the outgoing shipping, I was able to speak with the manager Eddie Barrera. They rechecked the paperwork, and were then requesting $250, saying they had previously added the $15 to the total to pay for the outgoing shipping, but the return shipping was still due. Eddie informed me the only way they could do anything is to call JLA to discuss the issue with them.
At that point, I reminded him that He is the authorized dealer, and that he should contact them to find out where the mistake is. He agrees, and tells me he’ll call me back. Three days go by,.. Nothing. I call them again. Eddie gets on the phone and tells me that he tried calling JLA but couldn’t get ahold of anyone. I call JLA myself and speak to the same representative that originally gave me the quote. I explain the situation to him and he says that the dealer should have filled out the appropriate form. In there, is a field stating that the price Includes return shipping; $200. I call Total Appearance back, let them know what the Rep and I discussed, but they just held on to the position that they had to pay FedEx and JL Audio doesn’t pay for shipping. We went back and forth.
Finally, on 11/15/2013 I find the time from work to go over to their shop. Before I went, I printed out the original quote and spoke to another JLA Rep, that I asked to assist in the situation. So I get to the shop and I see Eddie. He greets me, and I introduce myself reminding him who I am. Then he says, “so yeah the price is going to be 265", I show him the print out and tell him I just spoke with the JLA Rep about it. Then, while I’m speaking, this guy behind the counter off to my right cuts in and says - “look pal, we’ve been over this 5 or 6 times. The price is 265. Either pay it or you’re not getting your speaker back”… ??WTF??!
I say wait a minute, who are you? He says - “I’m Billy, I’m the owner”. “Pay the money, take your speaker and I don’t ever want you coming back in my store”! I say first off, do not come at me like that, watch your tone! Second, you’re the owner and this is how you act? I couldn’t believe it. I told him this is how much I was quoted, this is how much I’m going to pay. That’s it. So this loud mouth starts saying how they have to pay for shipping, JL doesn’t pay for it, blah, blah,… I said, look, if you guys can’t stick to the agreement then I’m going to have to escalate this. He says - “go on, escalate it!
"That’s the price, I have explained it to you already, you are incompetent”! This SOB calls me incompetent like 3 times, and even asks me what I do for a living. At this point I was very upset, but still calm! So I pull out my phone, and I tell him I’m about to record all this. On the recording he’s saying how JL Audio does not pay for the shipping TO them, lying trying to mislead because the whole issue has been the return shipping. Dude even has the nerve to call me incompetent on the recording! So after he got done making his statement on the recording, he said now you have 3 secs to turn it off or I’m going to use it against you in court. ??WTF??
I literally had to hold everything back not to lose my composure, trying to stay calm and do this the right way! When I was done making my last words on the recording I called the JL Rep and put him on speaker. Billy completely ignored everything the guy was trying to tell him and said I have 3 secs to get out of his store or he’s calling the cops to have me arrested. So now he’s on the phone with the police as I’m speaking with the JL Rep trying to find the best way to pursue this AND get his shop off the authorized dealers list.
A few mins later I get off the phone and was on my way out and the police show up. Billy comes out of the shop, yelling to the cops to block my car in to keep me from leaving (as if I was trying to escape), saying he wants me arrested. I walk up to them and explain the situation. They basically tell me since the shop already provided a service my best bet is to pay now and take him to small claims court, but they couldn’t do anything to get my sub back. Really didn’t want to give this guy a dime, but the speaker costs about 500 new.
This clown agrees to one of the other cops to release the speaker if I pay the 265. I end up calling my wife (live a few blocks away) to come by with the credit card for payment. Then Billy says “cash only for you buddy”. I ask the cops if it’s even legal for him to only accept cash from me even though the signs on their door have all credit cards listed. The cops claim it is. I demanded a formal receipt if paid cash. So my wife comes out in the cold, with my 14 month old daughter. The two cops escort us inside and watch the transaction.
As I’m looking at the receipt and talking with my wife holding my daughter, Billy just cuts in and actually said “As the owner of this store I’m going to ask you to stop talking now”, saying “Take it and go now, I want you out, you are not allowed back in my store”! My wife was only there for 5 mins, even had to ask him is that really necessary? He was so non stop, the cops had to repeatedly tell him to stop talking! Finally, when I got done looking at the receipt, I looked over the subwoofer, made sure it looked right, paid and left. Now I’m just looking for ways to spread the word about this place. Needless to say, if you live in the area Do Not Go There!