Cashing in oil-change coupons proves difficult for some
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PORTLAND, Ore. - A coupon book is making the rounds in the Portland Metro area that is offering a good deal but some customers are warning people about them.
Several customers contacted KATU News saying it's been difficult to use the coupons they paid for.
It starts with a salesman knocking on your door, offering a pamphlet of coupons for anywhere from $60 to $80. In return you're supposed to get eight oil changes. But two local women say cashing in the coupons was almost impossible.
Both Kathy Spainhower of Oregon City and Chrissy Moe of Vancouver, say they've tried using the coupons they bought in the pamphlet at their local auto service shops to no avail.
"When we tried to make appointments, he wasn't even answering his phone," Spainhower said. "And when you leave voicemails, he wouldn't call you back."
Moe said: "The person who said he was the owner said, 'Oh no, we don't take those."
In Moe's case, she said the AAMCO shop in Vancouver told her the coupons are fraudulent. In Spainhower's case, she said she couldn't get the shop to make an oil change appointment sooner than a month out.
In addition, contacting the coupon company proved frustrating, too.
"We called multiple times," said Spainhower, "And each time you call you get a different person, because the person you talked to is no longer there or no longer available."
Moe said she left a message "and they did not return my call."
KATU News stopped by the Oregon City Auto Specialists to check with the owner, Garrett Inness, about Spainhower's claims. Inness said he did sign up to have the coupon company promote his business at no cost to him up front. But he was overwhelmed by the onslaught of people, like Spainhower, who tried to cash in all those oil changes.
Inness agreed on the spot to try to make it up to Spainhower and telephoned her.
"I apologize for that," he told her. "We've got it down to a science now where we are not a week out – we're a day or two out. If you still want to come in and get your car serviced or anything like that, we'd be more than happy to take care of you."
AAMCO wound up making good with Moe as well, once KATU stopped in and paid the shop a visit.
The shop claimed the coupon company sold the pamphlets without its permission.
The coupon company, Community Car Service, told KATU via email late Friday afternoon, that it is happy to replace the coupons or give refunds where appropriate.
Customers can call 877-342-0977 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Wow I am surprised at how difficult it is to use the coupons for an <a href="http://www.whittsautocare.net">oil change in Durham NC</a> . I think that it just has to do with the cashier. I had my oil changed and the process was completely smooth. I hope that this issue gets resolved.
So this is just like cashing in on the promise of lower gas prices by the republican if we let them sell All of America's
coal to china..????????
I know about this business - the guy who owns it, runs it out of a nondescript warehouse on Columbia Blvd. He hires primarily transients and young homeless men, and puts them up in a nearby warehouse, converted to a barracks. He sends them out in groups, on a regular "circuit" throughout Oregon and Washington. A lot of times they run afoul of the local "Green River" laws, because they don't get the local licenses or permits they need beforehand, and he's been known to just abandon his guys to get thrown in the local hoosegow. He's been doing this for about 15 years, under about 20 different business names (the Secretary of State has 4 different listings for "Community Car Service" - none of them current. Now to give the guy his due, he doesn't permit his workers to drink or use drugs, and if they hustle, apparently they can actually make some decent money, and I'm sure that some of them have used the chance to turn their lives around. Also, to his credit, he appears willing to stand behind his product - at least according to the story- however, I have also heard that some of the businesses he has sold coupons for - like the guy in the story - have been overwhelmed by the volume of "free" and "reduced cost" customers coming in. Kind of like the problems Groupon had been having.
Anytime someone comes to your door to sell you a 'great deal'...it is NOT. The only door to door sales I accept are kids selling candy or other stuff to support the LOCAL baseball/football/soccer/school band etc.
@oh4FS ......me too.
Wow.......if it isn't the one day heat wave we're having it's a coupon scandal. Another slow day, for the slow news writers at KATU
 @Rob C And yet here you are everyday ...
Some say even more sad.....
@cptmac11 who some?
Great business practices, sell a bunch of worthless paper and then tell people they don't take the coupons or they have to wait two months so they will just go away. The coupons are about as worthless as Facebook stock.Â
Just gotta love the dirtbag business owner that wouldn't take the ladies coupon until he found out he was going to be on the five o'clock news Lol. Â A piece of paper is worth about a penny, so I don't recommend paying more than a penny for any piece of paper, no matter what writing it has on it, unless it's legal currency.Â
I hate door to door solicitors. Go away.
@joe bloe Especially the pushy ones that cannot read my 4 no soliciting signs on my front door and at my doorbell button!
''To be on the safe side I never buy anything like this that is sold door to door no matter how slick they or it looks? If I want a oil change for example I just do some comparison shopping of reputable businesses?"
 @disenchanted1
Are you asking a question?
never buy in advance
wow katu must be real bored this has to be the worst reporting i have ever seen..wow that was a big bust there.you found 2 people out of about 400/500 people in o.c that have that card. Hey kathy if i was owner i would give your money back in full plus pay your gas so i would not have to deal with you. yes kathy you are what we call in the retail business a bad customer. oh and katu can you please investigate something more important instead trying to make something out of nothing and making a small business look bad because she could not wait her turn for her oil change.Here is one for you about looking into corrupted H O A or something good this story was useless..
 @reporob  First off I do not consider $60 to $80 nothing. That amount of money is very important to me and most other people. I simply call my dog to the door when sales people won't take no for an answer. One roar and lung and they about fall of the porch getting out of there. And I laugh, tell him he is a good boy and give him a treat...
@reporob Looks like run-on reporob is one of the coupon salesmen. Probably has to augment his income running scams after his repo business dwindles away because "bad customers" want what's promised them and some decent customer service.
 @Chase  @reporob calling me a scam artist? wow dude take your meds..where did it say i was a salesman for this company? Gee lets hope your still not driving
The reason people think that you are a salesman for this scam company is because you are so defensive of their practices. Â As for addressing someone as dude, that makes you about 10 years old, maybe you need to go and ask your mommy and daddy what they would do if they were taken advantage of by someone like you.Â
 @reporob You , my friend would NEVER make it in the small business world ! What happened to customer service ? I do business with people that want my business and not just my money. I can tell by your grammar, or should I say lack there of, you are a real scholar. I am sure KATU will take expert advice and learn from their mistakes, ( NOT ). What a Jerk. I think you are the one who needs to find something constructive to do.
 @springfvr lol are you the grammar police? could care less what you think.your a bandwagon customer at best and if you know anything about business you would know there are some bad customers in this world..and as far as me being a scholar i would say maybe you need to find something to do since your on a forum being a D bag about my grammar..hope this helps you...
I bought these exact coupons from a 60+ year old man who came to my door telling me what a great deal they were. Within 2 months, the shop that was supposed to honor them was out of business and a new on popped up in the same place. It is now Impact automotive on 31st and Powell. They do try to honor the oil changes, but will not honor the other discounts which were really the selling point, like 2 hours free labor on repairs.
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Be very wary about paying for anything in advance, ever.
 @Speedster I used these at a Meineke that wasn't really busy. They honored them without a problem, and I spent hundreds there anyway. They closed about a year later, so I assume they were an attempt to draw business. I got more than the face value of the lot from the few coupons I used.
 @Speedster Given that the new shop doesn't apparently have anything to do with the old shop except that it is in the same location that is quite a decent shop.Â
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No wonder the first shop went out of business. The only way I would give away 2 hrs of labor would be if they were buying at least 2 hrs of labor I would probably do it if they bought 5 hrs or more. Labor is where a shop makes its money.
 @WhyWhyWhy Absolutley, they are very nice fellows there and are building up their customer base by honoring the oil changes.
 @Speedster  @WhyWhyWhy yep they should lose money because you bought a coupon..
 @Speedster so why is that the shops fault? Did you call the company to see if any other shop would honor your coupon? Does not sound like it to me.
 @reporob It's the shops fault because there names are all over the coupons, even a picture of them and their former employees. And I bought it because that was the shop I wanted to take my car to, not another shop across town somewhere . The way they conveniently sold the coupons then went out of business 3 months later makes me think they knew what was going to happen and pocketed the quick money from selling the coupons.Â
 @reporob Your comments make me wonder if you work for this company because you sure a defensive about negative comments on this story.
 @shek069 Gee i comment on a story and now im the root of it..bored are we?
I used to work for this company and I used to also have a phamplet of the coupons myself and have NEVER had an issue!Â
 @MANDA Well aren't you special?
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