Brake Planet ,brakeplanet.com DiscountBrakes.com, AutoPartsWarehouse.com brakes, brake supplies, Santa Clarita, California

Looks like the same old story.  Purchased brake pads and heavy duty rotors from BrakePlanet.com (AKA DiscountBrakes.com).  They arrived and I had Merchants Tire and Auto do the istall.  Five months later, I experienced a major brake failure due to "heat cracking" - a condition associated with bad/cheap manufacuring.  Hey, but arent you glad the U.S. promoted China to "preferred" status in the World Trade Organization?!  They're our #1 trading partner with major reductions on tariffs on their imported goods - down 41% over just a few years ago!  This allows losers like BrakePlanet.com to supply out of work Americans with China's sub-standard products!  Effectively endangering our lives when we're just trying to save a buck and keep their cars driving safely.  (see also the following article on bad Chinese imports at http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=259100)

I had the bad brakes removed and stupidly bought more from the same company as they told me that if I returned the bad products, they'd refund me $160.00!  Surprise, surprise - no surprise - I paid the $52 to send them back and now I find that www.BrakePlanet.com no longer exists!  The customer service phone number doesn't work and the e-mail address comes back as not deliverable.

In checking into this I find that many "bad" companies set up multiple identities online.  When one gets a bad enough reputation it just goes away - leaving their other names (www.DiscountBrakes.com, www.autopartswarehouse.com also comes up under a "BrakePlanet" Google search as a subscribed vendor ad to fool chumps like me into making other purchases while still supplying the same lousy products.  And where are the laws that are supposed to protect the consumer?  If you write or call any consumer protection agency (like the Federal Trade Commission) you get - guess what?  No help.  Surprise, surprise - no surprise.