PEMRBOKE PARK, Fla. – When the back window of her husband's work truck shattered, Pam Price Googled for repair companies online and booked the company with the best quote.
Price's research lead her to Florida's Finest Auto Glass, which quoted her $250 for the repair and promised a lifetime warranty "as long as I own the vehicle." But when the installer came hours late for her appointment, that price jumped to $490, which could only be paid by cash. After some back and forth they agreed to pay $270 – but the problems didn't end there.
After the installation, water began leaking into the cab of his truck every time it rained. The water got Olen Price's work tools wet.
"I look behind me and the whole top seam is running streams of water," Olen Price said.
When the Davie couple tried to call the company back to activate the supposed warranty, Pam Price said the man on the phone "basically he told me to 'F' myself and hung up on me."
"It's a shame that they can do this to people and get away with it," she said.
A COMPANY BY MANY NAMES
Although the company name on the Price's receipt is Florida's Finest Auto Glass, the number Price called for service goes back to a company called Auto Glass Techs with an address in Hollywood.
When Local 10 News investigative reporter, Christina Vazquez, visited the address posted on a website for Auto Glass Techs, the current tenant they had moved out long ago, although the company still gets mail to that address.
"They used to be here," a person at the business said, "they moved about a year ago."
A Lauderdale Lakes address for the business also turned out to be vacant.
According to the Better Business Bureau, Florida's Finest Auto Glass is an alternate name for Global Auto Glass, which has an F-rating.
State records link Global Auto Glass and Auto Tech Glass to the name Christina Borriello and an address in Miramar. A van advertising another auto glass company was park on the property's driveway, although the number on the side door has been disconnected.
"This is private property, so you are going to have to go," a woman on the property said.
That person, who eventually covered Local 10 News cameras with her hands, claimed to know nothing about the company, and claimed it was just a coincidence that there was an industry van parked in the driveway.
"That's the van," Pam Price said when she was shown a photo of the van.
Borriello and the man's property records show owners the Miramar residence didn’t respond to requests from Local 10 News to comment on the situation with the Price family, and the email address on Price's receipt bounced back.
PATTERN OF COMPLAINTS:
"I think they are a bunch of thieves," Pam Price said.
And she's not alone.
Three other people complained about Florida's Finest Auto Glass to the Florida Attorney General's Office last year.
One man complained of a sudden up-charge and shoddy work.
"They quoted me a price of $195, over the phone and then charged me over $500 because of a rubber gasket that supposedly needed to be replaced. I reluctantly paid them, only to find that there is air, noisily leaking through the windshield when we are driving the vehicle," the man told the Attorney General's Office.
The company representative hung up on him and has "blocked all calls" after he reached out asking them to fix the window.
"This is a scam operation, and they have multiple websites and multiple phone numbers," the victim said. "They seem to have no actual address for this business."
Another man told the office he'd paid more than $200 for a windshield that was never installed.
"I am sure they are ripping lots of other people off too," he said via email. "We filed a complaint with the (Better Business Bureau), also at the Federal level. It seems as though you can rip people off with no consequences. You seem to be the first person who actually might care!"
Another victim filed a complaint 2012 with Palm Beach County's Consumer Affairs Division said after obtaining a verbal flat rate price quote of $229 for windshield replacement, additional charges were added to the invoice increasing it to $358.
The case also states that, "the installer was threatening, using intimidation to get the consumer to pay $300."
The case was closed in October of 2012 after investigators couldn't find company representatives.
"You take people's word. Your word is your bond, but apparently with these people their word is not their bond," Pam Price said.
SPOTTING THE RED FLAGS:
So how do consumers spot these types of scams?
For starters, be mindful of the accepted method of payment.
"The first red flag is that they insisted on only being paid in cash," Consumer Protection Attorney Jason Weaver, said. "Most legitimate businesses will take your payment however you can get it, and they won't require you do it in cash. Same thing when people only request money orders. If they don’t take credit cards or if they don’t take a check, that's usually a red flag."
What also caught his eye in Price's case is that there was no physical address on the receipt, and that company representatives didn't want to offer Price their last names.
"These are all indications that a company is trying not to be found after the fact," Weaver said. "The address, the phone number, websites, everything should lead to the same business. When you start getting so many different names that you're confused who you're actually working with, go somewhere else."
He said it doesn't matter if it's an auto repair company or house repair company, workers shouldn't have a problem giving their last name or a physical address.
"Otherwise, it's probably just a guy in a car that's traveling from house to house, and you're never gonna find him again," Weaver said.
When hiring a repair company, Weaver said consumers should get the quote in writing, look for complaints online, and check with an insurance company for a referral. This even applies if the insurance company isn't pickING up the tab, because they tend to only going to contract with reputable businesses.
Price said what she learned the hard way is, "be careful with who you deal with."