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do i have enough evidence for a refund?

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froogle29

Junior Member
Hi, I live in California and I'm new to this forum and I was trying to get an answer to see whether I have a case or not. So I bought an alarm for 300 dollars and spent another 250 dollars for the labor to install the alarm (I paid so much for labor because in order for my alarm to have lifetime warranty, I had to get it installed at an authorized dealer). The alarm I bought is a 2-way remote start alarm thats manual transmission compatible. Anyways, when I bought the alarm, they told me that they would be able to install the remote start along with the alarm, just they wouldn't be able to give me a receipt. When I went to pick my car up the next day, they told me they couldn't install the remote start part because they were afraid of malfunctions that would lead to a lawsuit if an accident occurred (this is AFTER the alarm installation was completed). So the store owner refers me to an ex-coworker of his that used to work for him several years ago to install it(in the streets, not professionally). I didn't contact his ex-coworker yet because I know that if I get my alarm installed or even altered by a person aside from an authorized dealer, the lifetime warranty would be voided. I contacted the alarm company and told them my situation. The representative told me that they have never heard of such a thing before and found it really odd, but in the end he recommended me to continue with the installation and told me that my warranty will be voided with the alarm company, but I should still have warranty with the dealer. Before I had time to even get back to this, my alarm started having problems. The range wasn't working correctly and the remote was starting to malfunction. So I bring my alarm back to the shop and they contacted the alarm company and found out that the products they shipped were defective and sent out new ones. The new ones didn't work and the company had to resend about 2-3 different units. I called them and told them that the alarm still doesn't function correctly and they told me to bring my car back today, this time to "run tests" on the alarm. When I went back to go pick up my car about 4 hours later, the installer of the alarm told me that he was instructed to install an older version of the alarm. So right now, I basically paid the price of the latest model of the car alarm and received a model about 3 years older. I went to look for the store owner, but he was nowhere to be found and I was told to go back tomorrow to speak with him.

I really want a refund and don't want to have to deal with this store anymore, but I don't know if I have enough evidence to be able to make a case out of this. On the paper I was required to sign in order to purchase and install the alarm, it mentioned that there will be no refunds on labor and no refunds 10 days after the purchase date of the product. I have made a minimum of 6 trips, taking time off work, and going back and forth just to try to have my alarm fixed. So basically, right now, I don't even have the correct unit installed. I plan to ask them for a full refund tomorrow, and I sort of don't know what to say if they say no. If I do decide to take this to small claims court, is it possible for me to receive a full refund?

Also, I left the receipt of my alarm in the door panel of my car and I think they took it or threw it away because when I tried looking for it earlier, it wasn't there. But I do have my friend that was with me at the time as a witness and I have a separate receipt of the installation process along with the phone number of the ex-coworker that the store owner referred to me.

If I don't have enough evidence to make a case out of this, is there any suggestions on what I can do? This is my first time running into something like this and I'm stuck. I don't want to make something big out of this but $550 isn't little enough to just look the other way. All I'm asking for is a full refund, I don't even want to sue for extra money or even the gas that I wasted driving back and forth. If I do have a case, what kind of lawyer should I contact? or do I even need a lawyer? Thanks
 
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BL

Senior Member
So you have a working alarm , but not the one you paid for ?

What is the product price difference ?

If any ask for the difference back .

Otherwise , it would be up to a Judge to decide .

If they won't remove the one you have now , then the Judge is going to decide the difference anyways , because you can't be in possession of the product and be awarded the amount for it too .
 

froogle29

Junior Member
The difference is about 2-3 hundred dollars. But the problem is that this isn't the alarm that I wanted and they don't want to deal with the one I purchased from the beginning. What are the chances of me being able to get a complete refund? Thanks
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I would suggest it is better than BL suggested but still not a slam dunk.

The basis of your suit would be; you purchased a specific unit. They cannot supply said unit and since you do not want the one they arbitrarily installed, you are entitled to the entire amount returned (of course with them removing the current one).

A small claims judge is often intent on settling an issue in an equitable manner, which would be what BL has suggested but you need to stick to your guns and simply tell the judge there is no way you would have purchased the installed unit and do not want the installed unit.

He'll make the call from there.
 

froogle29

Junior Member
I'm glad to hear I have a case, but do I still have a case even though they took my receipt that showed how much I paid for the unit? I still have the receipt that showed they installed the alarm, but the receipt didn't indicate which alarm was installed. The model I originally purchased came with 2 alarms remotes, in which I still have one because I didn't get a chance to return it. There are serial numbers on this remote which I'm pretty sure can indicate that it's a newer model. Also, before I returned the alarm, I went online and registered both the remotes of the newer model with warranty and have an e-mail of conformation with both the remotes serial numbers. I also have a friend that was with me at the time that saw me hand the cash over with his own two eyes. Is this enough evidence to take to court?

Also, I'm pretty sure the store has no idea that I'm considering taking this to court. Should I attempt to receive another copy of the receipt by trying to act like I need another one or should I just leave things the way they are and let the court handle it?
 
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nolow

Member
In my area, they will not install remote starts on vehicles with manual transmissions. They try to do the I know a guy who does "side work" option. It is understandable though. A lot of people leave they vehicle in first gear when they park. If your alarm isn't properly setup, this could lead to property or bodily harm of anyone standing in front of the vehicle. I installed a remote start on my manual transmission truck myself. It can be safely done, if your car is equipped with a gear sensor in the transmission. My vehicle has one that is normally open or normally closed (I can't remember) in the neutral position. I find it odd that the alarm company rep would say it was strange for an installer not to want to install one on a manual transmission. There are liability concerns. I'm assuming you bought the alarm and had the labor done at the same place. Well, you already know the model number for the one you originally purchased. You can ask for the model number of the replacement or just take off a few panels in you car and look for yourself. It should be on the "brain" of the alarm system. Once you get both models, you can make a side by side comparison of the features. Paying $250 for a standard alarm install (with no remote start) would be extremely expensive in my area. You wasted a lot of money either way. You basically have an expensive feature that you aren't using. You could have just bought a basic alarm with basic install and saved a few hundred dollars. I would tell them you bought the alarm and paid for the install on the basis it would be a remote start and that you do not want to pay $650 for a standard alarm system without that feature. I would just stick to that in your case. Otherwise, it looks kind of sloppy. The alarm manufacturer states it is acceptable to install it on manual transmissions and the dealer should have specified that they are not willing to install the full features of the alarm on your vehicle BEFORE they made the sale for labor. If you have any technical questions, I'll try to help.
 

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