U.S. Auto Parts - I ordered a set of wiper arms for my 1988 Ford Bronco II

U.S. Auto Parts - I ordered a set of wiper arms for my 1988 Ford Bronco II

U.S. Auto Parts

U.S. Auto Parts 17150 S. Margay Avenue, Carson, CA 90746 I ordered a set of wiper arms for my 1988 Ford Bronco II. When the arms arrived, they were labeled as being suitable for my car but the arms would not fit over the splined shafts on the car. I measured the shafts with a dial micrometer and they measured about 0.790 inches in diameter.

The inside diameter of the splined sockets in the wiper arms measured 0.680 inches. In other words, the sockets were more than a tenth of an inch undersized. Visually comparing the new arms with the old arms showed this to be the case. When I attempted to return the parts, the customer abuse lady (Maria?) at U.S. Auto Parts put me on hold endlessly – despite the fact that, in another call, one of the company’s people told me that there was no-one else waiting for help at customer service. After more than 20 minutes of being put on hold, I decided to call my credit card company and challenge the charge. The credit card company (MBNA America – a great company to deal with!) got U.S. Auto Parts on the phone and the customer abuse representative refused to accept return of the parts – insisting that they were the correct ones for my car. Duh! Would I be wasting my time with all of this if the parts fit? Finally, she issued a return authorization number but refused to refund my shipping charges despite the fact that the “Terms and Conditions of Sale” on the back of their invoice clearly state “If you receive the wrong item, we will provide you with a mailing label to ship back the wrong part to us.” She stated that she did not acknowledge that they had shipped the wrong part but would issue the label if I sent them photographs showing that the part was wrong. Think about this.

They insist that I send them pictures showing that the shaft splines and arm sockets are mismatched by about 0.1 inches. Like that is going to show up in a photograph. U.S. Auto Parts simply wants to make it as inconvenient as possible for the customer to return wrong parts. Make sure that you understand that. If they send you the wrong parts, they will (1) insist that they are the right parts, and (2) do everything in their power to keep you from being able to obtain a refund – including willfully violating their own Terms and Conditions. U.S. Auto Parts obviously will do everything in its powers to refuse to accept returns of wrong parts. They put you on hold forever, they won’t take your calls, they won’t let you talk to supervisors, they won’t let you talk to the President of the company, and they don’t honor their own written terms and conditions. I strongly suggest that you avoid this company at all cost. Sincerely, James J. C NASA Mission Specialist Astronaut Candidate

James J. C Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer