Gman.45
04-25-2018, 12:36 AM
Ok, back on Dec 1 2017, my father ordered a custom trailer through a dealer in Sask (Majestik Trailers), a Big Tex unit which takes time for the company to build in Texas. We were told about 2 months it would be until it would arrive in Canada. Took much longer, it only arrived this week, end of April. No big deal, we made no complaints about that. Father had put a deposit of $500 and offered to pay the entire invoice ahead of time, but the dealer said that's not how they operate, and the remainder would be due upon delivery.
April 23 2018, the dealer calls (his wife/secratary), and gives us the amount to get a certified check/whatever made out for the same amount on the invoice/receipt we have in hand, 2669.02. We do so, and tell them we purchased a truck to pick it up with, and it'll be done on Wed the 25th, and we'll drive out to pick it up then. All is fine. Morning of the 24th, the guy who owns the dealership calls and says "I'll be up front with you, there is extra charges when you get here, $300 for the change in the dollar that happened, and blah blah blah". I call him back, tell him I have the graphs for the dollar the last 6 months in front of me, and at MOST on the lowest the dollar was to the US rate, it'd be a $20 difference, so WTF is going on? He starts yelling, telling me I don' understand the dollar, and that this is how the trailer business works. I tell him that's BS, and ask for an invoice showing where and why there are extra charges, showing where they came from. He refuses, and says he'll just refund our deposit and sell the trailer to someone else, as we bought it on a sale (about 200$ off), and their price has gone up since we ordered 5 months ago, and he can just sell it to another person easily.
I call Big Tex in Texas. They tell me he got hit with a 3% charge due to the price of US steel going up from the manufacturer (them). Dealer also screwed up the shipping and forgot to get our unit on a trailer in time (his fault they told me), and it cost him extra to get it put on a later load (also part of the reason it was so late in arriving). He also got hit at the border with some unforeseen charges apparently, but we haven't been told what those are. Big Tex legal tells me although he is their dealer up here on their website, they have no control over what he does. I tell him we're their customer as well as his, and they should at least call him about his illegal business practices, at the very least. She says she'll run it up the flagpoll and see if someone will call him. IE not much help from the builder/primary company involved being offered.
Last phone call with Majestik, he was adamant he was refunding the deposit (hasn't shown up on credit card as of yet), and just telling us tough shit.
The trailer has a registration serial number on it, and is registered through SGI. Car dealer we bought the truck from told us legally that trailer is ours the second it comes into the country when you have a signed contract and receipt in hand, and this guy can't just sell it to someone else.
Any dealers here (I'm sure it's the same in AB as SK) know what course of action we should take? I have all the calls recorded, he threatened me on one call as well (funny). I called the consumer protection agency with the SK government, and sent in all the docs at their request, they called back and said he's absolutely in breach of the consumer protection act, and emailed the legal stuff highlighted with the parts of the code he's breaking. They said they'd launch an investigation if we can't get the trailer, and that we'd have to go to small claims court and sue him for damages for time wasted, $ wasted on vehicle to tow the trailer, etc. We can't just buy another trailer as nobody stocks the type we need, it's pretty much all custom order, and it'll take another 3 or 4 months, ruining the summer business not having a way to move the tractor around. We just want our trailer for the agreed upon price - there is nothing on the receipt/contract about possible extra charges due to changing market conditions, shipping or border issues. Only a statement that 2% charge for unpaid invoices monthly, that's the only stipulation. Dealer never verbally warned of extra charges either, not until the day after his secretary called with the invoice amount owed, which was correct as per the receipt/contract.
Advice?
April 23 2018, the dealer calls (his wife/secratary), and gives us the amount to get a certified check/whatever made out for the same amount on the invoice/receipt we have in hand, 2669.02. We do so, and tell them we purchased a truck to pick it up with, and it'll be done on Wed the 25th, and we'll drive out to pick it up then. All is fine. Morning of the 24th, the guy who owns the dealership calls and says "I'll be up front with you, there is extra charges when you get here, $300 for the change in the dollar that happened, and blah blah blah". I call him back, tell him I have the graphs for the dollar the last 6 months in front of me, and at MOST on the lowest the dollar was to the US rate, it'd be a $20 difference, so WTF is going on? He starts yelling, telling me I don' understand the dollar, and that this is how the trailer business works. I tell him that's BS, and ask for an invoice showing where and why there are extra charges, showing where they came from. He refuses, and says he'll just refund our deposit and sell the trailer to someone else, as we bought it on a sale (about 200$ off), and their price has gone up since we ordered 5 months ago, and he can just sell it to another person easily.
I call Big Tex in Texas. They tell me he got hit with a 3% charge due to the price of US steel going up from the manufacturer (them). Dealer also screwed up the shipping and forgot to get our unit on a trailer in time (his fault they told me), and it cost him extra to get it put on a later load (also part of the reason it was so late in arriving). He also got hit at the border with some unforeseen charges apparently, but we haven't been told what those are. Big Tex legal tells me although he is their dealer up here on their website, they have no control over what he does. I tell him we're their customer as well as his, and they should at least call him about his illegal business practices, at the very least. She says she'll run it up the flagpoll and see if someone will call him. IE not much help from the builder/primary company involved being offered.
Last phone call with Majestik, he was adamant he was refunding the deposit (hasn't shown up on credit card as of yet), and just telling us tough shit.
The trailer has a registration serial number on it, and is registered through SGI. Car dealer we bought the truck from told us legally that trailer is ours the second it comes into the country when you have a signed contract and receipt in hand, and this guy can't just sell it to someone else.
Any dealers here (I'm sure it's the same in AB as SK) know what course of action we should take? I have all the calls recorded, he threatened me on one call as well (funny). I called the consumer protection agency with the SK government, and sent in all the docs at their request, they called back and said he's absolutely in breach of the consumer protection act, and emailed the legal stuff highlighted with the parts of the code he's breaking. They said they'd launch an investigation if we can't get the trailer, and that we'd have to go to small claims court and sue him for damages for time wasted, $ wasted on vehicle to tow the trailer, etc. We can't just buy another trailer as nobody stocks the type we need, it's pretty much all custom order, and it'll take another 3 or 4 months, ruining the summer business not having a way to move the tractor around. We just want our trailer for the agreed upon price - there is nothing on the receipt/contract about possible extra charges due to changing market conditions, shipping or border issues. Only a statement that 2% charge for unpaid invoices monthly, that's the only stipulation. Dealer never verbally warned of extra charges either, not until the day after his secretary called with the invoice amount owed, which was correct as per the receipt/contract.
Advice?