Texas Truck Sales Deceptive Trade Practices Houston, Texas

On, 09/14/09, I was contacted by Claudio Mendez, sales Manager at Texas Truck sales, that I was approved for in-house financing for a 1998 Freightliner FLD. I was told that the truck was ready and that I could come and pick it up. I got a ride to their location, 40 miles away, the morning of the 15th. The truck was in the shop, I thought getting detailed. When I arrived Claudio eventually asked me if I was going to take the truck that day, and I answered yes, and then he told me that it still needed to be DOT inspected. He told me that they could get it done and get me on my way that day. He then moved me over to Tony Ortiz, Financial Director, so that we could take care of the paperwork and be on my way. When I presented a business check for the downpayment, Tony told me that they would have to wait until the check cleared before I could take possession of the truck. I explained that I had talked to Claudio by phone that morning and he made no mention of that, but if I had a way to the bank, then I could get one. Tony had Claudio take me to the bank, I secured a Cashier's check and returned to the truck lot at approximately 12:00.

I gave Tony the Check, signed the contract and waited. And waited and waited somemore. While we were out, Claudio told me that if the inspection wasn't completed that day, that I would be allowed to take the truck, place my decals on it, get the 2290 info and insurance started, and bring the truck back in the morning for the DOT inspection. By close of the day, the truck was still in the shop, and I was informed by Tony that I would not be able to take the truck with me. Claudio promised me that the truck would be ready no later than noon on the 16th and that he would call and let me know that it was completed. Needless to say, Claudio didn't call, so I called him. He said that he had just came to work (at 1:00pm) and was going to check on the status of the truck and call me back. Again, he did not return my phone call. I called the morning of the 17th, talked to Claudio and told him that I had lost confidence in their service and no longer wanted the truck. Claudio then told me that he called and talked to me yesterday, and I told him that I would get the truck on that morning! When I told him that he never called me back, that I believed that the truck had problems and that I was comming to get my money back, he said w"whatever" and hung the phone up in my face.

After a while, he call back with the excuse that,"I thought you were another charles that was supposed to pick up a truck yesterday". I then told him that I was still on  my way to get my money. When I arrived at their location guess what,.....the truck was still in the shop being repaired!!! I walked in and told Tony that I came for my money, and his response was that we have a signed contract. I told him that at that point, he had the contract, my money and the truck, that I had nothing at all. He then demanded that I sit down, and everything escalated from there. He threatned to call the cops several times, tried to totally ignore me and could have cared less that I was loosing money. Needless to say, I didn't get the money,....yet, and I was told by Tony that this is a Civil matter, indicating that restitution had to be made through the court system. I left and recieved an email later saying that the contract would be voided and that my refund check would be mailed to me.

It is now the 23rd, and I have not recieved a refund check, but I have recieved email corrispondance from Tony. He gave me another lame excuse that they could not confirm that my check had cleared the bank. This is a true example of a Dealership trying to take advantage of a consumer. I would never refer someone to this dealership, and have taken the time to post this in the hope that I can save someone the headache of dealing with them. If you do conduct business with Texas Truck Sales, I suggest that you have a good attorney if something goes wrong.