Serious problem with 4wheelparts!

[Mudpuppy]

Hi! I'm new here. Just wanted to make you aware of a disturbing situation that?s developed regarding an order that I recently placed with 4wheelparts wholesaler.

I ordered five mounted and balanced sets of 31? X 10.5? BF Goodrich Mud Terrain (M/T) KM tires on 15" AR-23 American Racing wheels for my Jeep. Payment was by credit card over the telephone. He even read back my order to me and it was correct. I asked what proof would exist of the actual order that I placed. He said that there were recordings of the conversations of phone orders to deal with these types of situations and that the recording would be on the PC.

The shipment arrived and when I got home and unloaded the tires I realized that I had been given All Terrain T/As instead of Mud Terrain T/As. I immediately contacted the customer service center with my order number and spoke to the representative. He simply told me that the order said All-Terrain T/As and that I was mistaken. I stated that the situation was totally unacceptable and I demanded the mistake be corrected. He then stated that there was a price difference between the M/Ts and the A/Ts that I would have to pay that amounted to $23.00/tire. Assuming an honest mistake had been made, I stated that I was willing to pay the difference to get the tires I wanted (and had ordered). It?s not my desire to cheat anyone out of anything. If there was an honest mistake made (by 4wheelparts), and I had not paid the proper amount, I was willing to make-up the difference. I was however (and still am not) willing to incur any shipping related costs as the shipping of the errant order is absolutely not my responsibility.

He insisted that I was completely in error and that I would be at least partially responsible for shipping costs. I explained that it was 4wheelparts that was in error and that I was not willing to pay for any shipping. Then he accused me of ?deciding I didn?t like the A/Ts when I got them home? and further suggested that I was trying to cheat the company. I explained that I had ordered correctly and that his refusal to absorb the shipping costs suggested strongly that the wrong tires had been sent either on purpose (to reduce costs as the M/Ts are a more expensive tire) or simply with a disregard for the accuracy of the order since few people would be willing to absorb the shipping costs to make the exchange. I informed him that that type of activity amounts to fraud and I simply would not accept being a victim of it.

A heated argument ensued. At one point I asked to speak to his supervisor, and was told ?this is as high as you?re going to go?. I insisted that the recording of my order be produced as evidence of who was actually in the wrong. I further stated that if a recording of my placement of the order incorrectly could be played for me, I would immediately apologize and accept my mistake. He told me that only his supervisor was authorized to listen to the recording. I was put on hold for about 4 minutes after which, he came back on the phone and told me that his supervisor had listened to the recording and that I had ordered All-Terrains, but that he was still willing to absorb some of the shipping costs. I was shocked. I asked why he?d be willing to absorb any shipping costs if I was clearly in the wrong, and told him that if he played the recording for me, as proof of an errant order, or emailed me the sound file, 4wheelparts wouldn?t have to absorb anything.

He then told me that 4wheelparts wouldn?t provide the recording without a court order. Again, I was shocked. I restated that if the recording said what he had just told me it did, I would apologize and the issue would be closed. He reiterated the need for a court order. I told him that since a court order was required, I?d have to contact an attorney. He got very upset and told me that ?if I mentioned the word lawyer one more time, he was going to hang up.? I further stated, that his refusal to provide the recording that would definitively put the matter to rest, was a guarantee that either there was no recording, or that it had confirmed that I placed the order correctly. In either case, it was clear that we were no longer dealing with a simple mistake, but obvious dishonesty and falsehoods. I explained that I was absolutely not going to pay for any of the shipping charges, nor was I going to accept the errant merchandise. I told him that if I was forced to contact an attorney regarding the matter, that, given his behavior, it would be with allegations of fraud. Upon hearing more mention of lawyers, he said good-bye and hung up.

And so here I am. I have 5 incorrect tires, on 5 wheels, all of which I was charged for well before I had any chance to refuse delivery. I have no interim confirmations of the order and a 4wheelparts simply insists that I ordered incorrectly.

As far as stopping payment, it was taken before shipment. They are already paid for. I wrote Mr. Adler ( The president of 4wheelparts) a 2 page email 3 days ago and have not heard from him. The matter is closed as far as the representatives are concerned. They will NOT let me hear the recording.

I have called my credit company to chargeback this order and filed a complaint with the BBB.

If anyone has connections with 4 wheelparts or can help me out please mail me here

stevefurey@comcast.net


THANK YOU

[mrblaine]

You have taken all the steps I would have so far. It's fairly obvious that they don't want you to listen to the recording.

Your credit card charge back is your best bet at this point. You should not have to pay for something you did not order.

There are some folks on here that know folks at 4WPW and may step in to see if they can help.

The first thing I would want is to hear the recording and go from there. That will dictate all further actions.

[Mudpuppy]

I was just told Greg Adler (4WPW President) is in Baja for the 1000 race, and wont be back until Monday.

[Stu Olson]

I am not planning on ordering from 4WPH....but I am interested in how this turns out. If you could, please drop a followup post here that details your results.

I agree that had the alledged recording supported their statement that you ordered the incorrect tires, they would have happily shared it with you to show just how wrong you are. Yeah....it must be pretty tough to run the file and hold the telephone up to the PC's speaker (this assumes there even is such a recording).

Good luck and sorry to here you are having a problem.

[Mudpuppy]

Thanks and I will return with updates

[Mudpuppy]

I have just received a call from Mr. Greg Adler. He informs me that this mistake will be corrected today and I will not have to pay for any return costs, also I will not have to pay additional monies for the correct tires I ordered. Hopefully this will be the end of the problem. I will be posting the results of this situation as soon as I receive shipment!

[Stu Olson]

Glad to hear you are getting the correct tires. I sure wish they would have played the alledged recording for you.

[Joe Dillard]

Glad to hear things are being taken care of!

I've heard all sorts of complaints about 4WP, but for some reason I've had pretty good luck with them over the years except on 1 item, and that item they finally made good on.

[Croaker]

Wow, I'm impressed.

The guys at the local store are a mixed bag. Some are good, some are idiots. Like most places, I guess.

Really glad they are trying to set it right, mudpuppy.

[Makatak 350]

I'm sorry to hear about your problem, this happens all the time
I also had problems with them, and it seems the further you are away ( me being on the east coast) the harder it is to resolve things and no matter where you go you run into this. Go luck, At least something is being done and lets hope they aren't blowing sunshine up your a--

Kevin

[Mudpuppy]

Well, I just got a call from ABF Freight and my tires are in (hopefully the right ones). BUT..I have to wait until Monday because they are closed til then

[Makatak 350]

Thats great, but waiting till monday is lame