What can i do about consumer fraud? RETRO SOLUTIONS SCAM

brondondolon

brondondolon

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Hey guys, so about 2 years ago i paid top dollar for an HID kit from Retro Solutions for a few reasons. They claim to be a true 55w kit and carried a life time warranty. So I bought 2 of their top of the line kits as well as a wiring harness. A few weeks after i bought the kits one of my head lights started to change color. I figured this was just the bulb maturing and the others would have their color wash out soon enough as well. However, it wasnt wash out it was the bulb burning. I contacted Retro Solutions about the issue and they had me do all these tests. After 11 months of emailing back and forth i finally had enough. By this time other problems arose. All the bulbs were a different color, meaning none of them matched, the original one near halogen in color, and one bulb was flickering. I sent them pictures of everything and was very descriptive with what was going on. Finally they tell me to send the kits in.

I send the kits in along with pictures and labeled each bulb and ballast for their convenience. I get an email from them saying that i used dielectric grease which voids the warranty and they send me a bill for f'ing $72! Ok... i dont use dielectric grease on anything... I know 100% i did not use dielectric grease. So i told him that... I told them that there is no way i used dielectric grease. They reply telling me that was a mistake they ment there are problems because i didnt use dielectric grease and that there is something wrong with my truck which would also void the warranty. I have a new dodge ram... Not a 88 nissan stanza with problems... There is no way there is anything wrong with my vehicles electrical system... Then the next day they send me 2 more bills for $14 and wont release my broken hid kits until i pay them... Basically holding my kit ransom.

I did a little research and found that this is common for this company to do. When others before me have filed warranty claims Retro Solutions gives them the run around and plays the blame game and never honors their warranty. There were 7 ppl on ripoffreport.com that went through the same thing im going through verbatim. These were just the people that have accounts to ripoffreport.com i can only imagine the number of people that either fell for their blame game or had this happen to them and never reported it.

I wrote a report to their states attorney general but i dont know what else to do. I want to take it to small claims court. I just want what i paid top dollar for and get working HID lights back in my truck. Any one ever go through something similar?
 
Can't say that I have, but if you are looking for a recommendation on a differnet kit, I went with DDM tuning 5+ years ago. Way cheaper than the kit you got. Comes with lifetime warranty. I've had 2 bulbs die over the course of 5 years, had no issues getting them replaced, only had to pay shipping. I bought a second set of bulbs so I don't have any downtime with bulb warranty returns, cost about $25. Ballasts have had no problems.

You do need to cut a hole in the back of the light housing, which I had no problem with.
 
Im a weirdo when it comes to HID i dont knwo why and ive put HID on all my family members cars as well as the many ive owned. DDM was the only kit i used to use. And their warranty is top notch. Since i got a brand new truck that wasnt used i decided id go with something of higher quality. Little did i know i was paying top dollar for complete junk...
 
i cant really comment on the issue with retro solutions but if youre willing to pay a bit more for better quality you cant go wrong with "the retrofit source" customer service and products are top notch
 
Lanceb028 said:
i cant really comment on the issue with retro solutions but if youre willing to pay a bit more for better quality you cant go wrong with "the retrofit source" customer service and products are top notch
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Yeah thats who i wish i would have gone with.
 
The retrofit source or TRS is the way to go for sure. I had a bad ballast and they are going to send a new one at no charge. This is over a YEAR since I bought the kit from them also. I just have to show them a picture of me cutting the wire on the bad ballast to show that I am not trying to get a freebie. Doesn't have a lifetime warranty but it does have a 5 year warranty on all components.
 
I'm no lawyer but the actions you decide to take will be based on how much compensation you think you can get. If you take them to small claims court, and they only award you $200, well how much is it going to cost you in fees, and in time spent, to actually get that amount? Is it worth it? Probably not. However, if the kit cost you $1000 then maybe that's a different story.


I've been screwed on a few different occasions, a mechanic who cut my ebrake cables and installed control arms upside down (didn't get any compensation for the ebrake, but they paid to have the control arm fixed). Also had a powder coater completely ruin a full set of wheels. In both cases, there was a decision to be made about how much action I take versus how much compensation I receive.


Carefully evaluate your options. Some courses of action will have added, unforeseen costs that will reduce your overall result.



Really my best piece of advise is to have a cool head. Overreacting to the situation and yelling and screaming over the phone will not help you solve this (not saying you have done this, just saying). And carefully evaluate your course of action before you do something that is going to be a waste of time and money.



Good luck! It sucks getting screwed, trust me, I know. You can learn from it!
 
1. HID kits are bullsh*t; if a housing is meant for a halogen bulb, use a bulb. unless you carefully retrofit into the housing a projector designed with an OE HID system, putting an HID kit in a halogen housing is not wise. i know a bazillion people do it, but it's still improper. i work with the premier automotive lighting company on the globe so i'm very particular with this point.
2. do a chargeback, if you used a CC and didn't already mention it (sorry if so)
3. good luck; having difficulties with any small company like that is a real pain and makes people think twice about working with small businesses. sucks, but it's true.
 
Well, most states now have laws in effect or going in effect about headlight modifications. Anywho, they are a board sponsor over at ramforum, you visit over there? Not sure if I glad I read this, I wanted to get a set of their LED replacement lights for the 13 RAM, I like the LED running lights. But I wonder if their $100 harness is crap!
 
parttimer said:
Well, most states now have laws in effect or going in effect about headlight modifications. Anywho, they are a board sponsor over at ramforum, you visit over there? Not sure if I glad I read this, I wanted to get a set of their LED replacement lights for the 13 RAM, I like the LED running lights. But I wonder if their $100 harness is crap!
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No, im on ramforumz though. Honestly dude i urge you to find another company. If something goes wrong they will blame you and not honor their warranty. Their HID kits are junk and they make false claims. For instance they claim they are true 55w kits although this is questionable, they claim their kits will never burn head light housings which they do, they claim life time warranty when they dont honor it. If you are looking for LED's get them from superbrightled dot com they are really helpful and are a great company to get LED from.
 
I've started checking the BBB before I order anything online anymore. If you haven't filed a complaint with them I would do so. I believe they contact the seller. If the problem doesn't get resolved it shows up as an unresolved complaint if you see a company with more than one...maybe two ( you can't please all the people all the time) then stay away from them. There are too many companies out there selling the same thing to deal with a company like that.
 
I just filed the complaint. Hopefully this all gets resolved soon. Judging from past results im sure it wont but im hopeful.
 
This is why I can't be bothered with most "mods". I have sympathy for what the OP is going through, but IMHO most of these reverse engineered types of parts are garbage.

I see this on BMW forums all the time. Guy spends like 8 grand or whatever for a supercharger for S54 inline 6. Motor has constant CEL issues and then blows up. Now guy gets mad at supercharger company.

But, in reality your modifying a system that was meant to work one way - another way.

All I can say is if you want HID or LED lights that work reliably and will be covered by a reliable warranty, then buy a vehicle that comes with those lights from the factory.
 
The guy Todd that runs that place is a real piece of crap. He buys junk kits from China, puts em in a fancy metal case and charges 6-7 times his cost. I've never heard of anyone having success with a warranty claim from him. Karma will eventually catch up with him
 
brondondolon said:
I just filed the complaint. Hopefully this all gets resolved soon. Judging from past results im sure it wont but im hopeful.
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The more people like you report them through various online sites that cater to complaints, the better off "the next guy" will be; regardless of what happens with you. If this company is not part of the BBB, they will only be able to engage the company up to a point and like someone else said they would just list it as an unresolved complaint. There is no charge for this from the BBB by the way. :)

As for you, as the non-lawyer mentioned it is really up to you how far you go. If you have a friend who is a lawyer have him draw up some form letter stating everything you will do beyond the BBB should he not help you resolve the quality issues with their products in good faith. Then, should he not respond, go to town. Here are some options:

- We already covered the BBB option
- Contact the local newspaper in the area where his corporate HQ's are located. Most states have an online database with corporate registrations and the HQ for a corporation is public record. See if they can help resolve the issue with you as negative publicity kills a company
- Contact your states attorney general and his. Send a letter (or call) every few weeks until you get some form of closure from them
- Take him to small claims court in your area and if possible, his area. Once you have judgements in your favor then you have some legal system support for any claims you have against them
- See if you have any friends that can run a credit check against the company. Sometimes that gives you some ammo to your in any informal conversations with the fraudster

No matter how far you go... good luck. My learning with fraud came from a company called Vacations Digest.
 
The following won't help...
but I find myself thinking that it's worth repeating:

FUNX725 said:
Man Oh Man..

It seems like every time you turn around you're:
"Stepping in some Crap-(py situation)"!
Click to expand...

Anyhow...Good Luck!

Bob
 
builthatch said:
1. HID kits are bullsh*t; if a housing is meant for a halogen bulb, use a bulb. unless you carefully retrofit into the housing a projector designed with an OE HID system, putting an HID kit in a halogen housing is not wise. i know a bazillion people do it, but it's still improper. i work with the premier automotive lighting company on the globe so i'm very particular with this point.
Click to expand...


swanicyouth said:
All I can say is if you want HID or LED lights that work reliably and will be covered by a reliable warranty, then buy a vehicle that comes with those lights from the factory.
Click to expand...

This.

brondondolon said:
Im a weirdo when it comes to HID i dont knwo why and ive put HID on all my family members cars as well as the many ive owned.
Click to expand...

You really shouldn't be doing this. It is dangerous to other drivers. I don't know why people think its "cool" to do.
 
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