Just Brakes ripoff made up problems, charged me a fortune, brakes failed a day later Tampa Florida

I took my minivan to Just Brakes on Dale Mabry in Tampa for a 4 wheel brake job. I was trying to save some money and they quoted me a good price over the phone. I went in and had them look at my van which I knew needed new rotors and desperately needed new brake pads. They took my wheels off and brought me out to show me what they thought.

First, the guy (Jason) said that my calipers were bad and that they could rebuild them for cheaper than replacing them. He said my brake conditions would go right back to the way they were in no time if they didn't fix it. Then he went to the rear wheels, and said the back brakes weren't working at all because some part was frozen up. He said you should be able to easily move this particular part.

He said it was a safety issue, and we eneded up haggling over total price, which he wanted to charge me almost $600. I said no way, I don't have $600 to spend. He worked out a deal to fix the back brakes and replace the pads, for $375. So what I went in for and thought would only cost me $99 actually cost me $375. He was a very good salesman, and talked me into it and I honestly believe now that what I paid for was not necessary and that I was ripped off.

I took the van home that night, and the next morning my wife took our kids to school and on the way noticed that when she pushed in the brake pedal that the van was not stopping. She called me and said she was going to turn around and go back home. She ended up just barely making it to a friends house near our home driving very slowly so she didn't have an accident. She had to borrow a van to get my daughter to school.

The night I drove the van back to our house after having the brakes done I noticed there is a just brakes office very close by our house. So I called that office after we had the brake problem. They said they were very busy and I should call the location that did the work. They recommended we take it to that office and let them look at it.

I explain that the brakes don't work and we have 3 kids, how do they expect me to get it to them. The guy said "do what"? He then said that if we called a tow truck, Just brakes would pay for it. So we called the original office that did the work, and had the van towed there. They checked it out and found that didn't tighten a bleeder enough or something like that and all the brake fluid leaked out effectively causing the brakes to fail. They fixed it for free and sent us on our way with no apology or refund.

I was very upset by this as this screw up could have cost the lives of my wife and 3 children. We travel busy highways in Tampa every day and this kind of risk should never be tolerated. So I filled out the feedback section on the just brakes website and complained. I received a call back from someone in their Dallas Tx office. He was very apologetic and said he would follow up with the dale mabry office and also the office that said they were too busy.

This office was on 56th street in Temple Terrace. He said that they have human beings working there and although its not an excuse, people do make mistakes. Then I started looking into this further and found many many more people having similar experiences online. Turns out Just brakes is known to be like this and somehow is still in business. I'll never do business with them again and still wish there was some way I could get my $375 back.

I was never offered anything compensation for the trouble and would recommend that people avoid using this chain at all costs. Its worth it to go to a reputable mechanic shop and maybe pay a few dollars more than the just brakes price, then to put your safety in the hands of just brakes.

Joe
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.