Better Business Bureau Serving Central Texas

01/02/08

Austin Motel: Reservation Wrangling-BEWARE!

by seeburg59 at Citysearch

Austin Motel, 1220 South Congress, Austin TX 78704

The Austin Motel advertises itself as a small operation deep in the heart of the commnnities Arts District.

"Small Operation" is an under statement. If you don't know someone on the inside or can't go to the desk in person forget booking reservations here for any major event. I learned the hard way recently when I was told for months that reservations for the "Lone Star Round Up April 4th and 5th 2008 would not be taken until Jan 1st 2008." I called after the stroke of midnight and was told I had to wait until 9 AM. I set my alarm and called at 8:58 AM using two different cellphones trying to get through. I redialed constantly on both. I was finally able to talk to someone at 9:50 AM and was told the motel was sold out. When I mentioned this to the the management (that the phone was busy constantly for nearly 50 minutes plus the misinformation about when to call) I was told that they have a small switchboard and other people had actually come in to the motel and made reservations. I personally believe rooms were saved for friends or entire wings were rented to one person who was holding them for others. I have stayed here in the past and it isn't the Ritz. You are better staying at a larger motel/hotel that can handle bookings and at least give you correct information when you call. Bottom line if you need a place to stay in Austin, forget the Austin Motel, you can't count on this place.

D.L.

• Pros: Near Entertainment District
• Cons: Misinformation from booking staff, old phone system, small rooms for price.

11/18/09

IT PAYS TO GET A SECOND ESTIMATE

by PASCOTT at Citysearch

THE STORY IN BRIEF: AAA

AAA AUGER, AUSTIN TEXAS WAS CALLED TO CHECK PLUMBING PROBLEM, ESTIMATE COST

NEXT VISIT - CAMERA, .ESTIMATE 60 THOUSAND. BALK, OFFER 48, BALK SEEK SECOND OPINION.

SAME FELLOWS, ”OFFER OF $37,000 --- PLUS CONFUSING DATA

OTHER PLUMBER APPALLED, EXPENSE , DESCRIPTION, COST

NEW MAN DIAGNOSED, SOLVED PROBLEM COST $500.

.

ALL WORKING NOW - NO PROBLEMS

ARE AAA AUGER REPS INCOMPETENT OR DISHONEST? OR THEY ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER.

TRUSTING P[EOPLE BEWARE

SO, REASONABLE CONCLUSION: --- INCOMPETENT OR DISHONEST? .

HAVE PAPERS AND WITNESSES TO SUPPORT REPORT.

• Pros: NONE I KNOW OF
• Cons: DISHONEST OR INCOMPETENT

10/29/09

do not use airone

by aironerippoff at Citysearch

I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on air conditioning systems in both my houses. Air One takes my money and I do not have air conditioning. This has been going on for ten years.

• Cons: lots of bills, no air conditioning

09/11/09

netspend!

by terry terrette at Citysearch

this company stinks

05/06/09

Unscrupulous Spammer Violates Every Internet Code

by SomaCat at Citysearch

Today I received my first direct email spam from a company selling solar collector windows.

1. Violation: The creep got my email address from the WhoIs on one of my public domains. All domain registrars prohibit scanning for email addresses and prohibit using the information for commercial purposes.

2. Violation: The creep sent UCE - Unsolicted Commercial Email to me. That is prohibited by U.S. law but it is obviously not enforced by our lame government.

3. Violation: There was no Opt-In confirmation, only a request to reply to the spam. Don't ever do that as it will only confirm you have a good email address.

4. I reported the spam to Spamcop and you can see the spam report, at least for a few weeks, here:

[Oops, the review police won't let me include links.]

5. The creep spammed every possible commercial bulletin board and blog with his junk. You can see one example of a spam report on Google here:

[Review police again. Sorry, do the Google yourself.]

6. I found most of the junk by using Google on the telephone number in the spam email: 210-240-8361

Please do not patronize this evil creep.

If you have any questions or comments you may post a comment on my review and I'll get back to you.

(This is my first review so I'm not sure how it works.)

Why must I give one star to this totally useless company? How about a "thumbs down" rating icon!

• Pros: There is NOTHING about this company to like.
• Cons: Would you trust someone who ignores every rule?

03/26/09

directv: unscrupulous business practices

by jpdinwimberley at Citysearch

directv advertises free installation and free hd dvr. they charged me $467 for installation and the dvr: then it wasn't the hi def--so they had to come back to correct it, & they charged me another $287; said i had to pay for a second dvr because they couldn't take the first one back. this month my bill said i owed $82, but when i went online to pay it, it was$206.90. and i haven't even rented any pay per veiws. when i call them i get people in india somewhere who tell me my bill should be "something like $70 per month" but can't tell me the exact amount. twice i was hung up on. when i complain about paying ^$800 to watch television, they offered me $5 off my monthly bill. when i asked about the "free installation for up to 4 rooms", i was told i didn't qualify because i only have 2 tv's not 4.

• Pros: i can't think of any
• Cons: no truth in advertising; bilked me out of over $900/ 3 mo

03/13/09

Thunder Contract Services

by herbert1 at Citysearch

Hired my friend to do a remodel on my home. Paid him whenever he asked for a draw. When he began making mistakes I told him that he needed to repair them. Upon finding that he had poured my slab at an angle he just disappeared and took some of my supplies with him. I would not recommend this individual to anyone and if one feels so inclined to hire him I certainly would not pay him until the work was finished!

• Pros: At this time there is little to mention
• Cons: Ran off with money and left my place unfinished

03/12/09

Best Painting and/or Restoration

by mamaK21 at Citysearch

I have a 4852 sq ft home in Austin, I've been taken by a previous painter and was referred to Stephen Guilbeau from a colleague of mine wife because he did restoration and painting on their home. I did not request restoration, only interior and exterior painting. I called Mr. Guilbeau and made an appt to walk through my property to see what it was going to cost to do both the interior and exterior. Mr. Guilbeau is the definition of a true gentleman and professional. I had some ideas I threw at him and his recommendations were unsurpassed. I received bids from two other paint companies to ensure Mr. Guilbeau pricing was not too pricy. About a week later I meet with Mr. Guilbeau to give him a deposit to start the job and he explained to me he takes two days to get the material together for all his jobs. Although I was sceptical, about giving someone I do not know that kind of money I spoke to the reputable references he gave me and I went on their word on his trustworthyness. Two days later he and his crew of four men with ladders, buckets, machines, etc show up at my house at around 8:30 that morning. I was so glad. He and his crew completely stripped one side of my home down to bare wood. When I say, it is the most talked about, admired home in my neighborhood. I'm telling you after almost 8 years of getting my home painted it continues to look like new paint today. Stephen Guilbeau isn't just a painter, he is very knowlegeable about all aspects of the profession. He is very pleasant, well mannered, maintains his professionalism at all times and he can be trusted. Not many around like him anymore. So if you are considering painting of any kind you may want to check out this guy at 512-803-6706

02/08/09

Dell Doesn't Stand Behind Their Products

by GRJacobs at Citysearch

Dell doesn't stand behind their products. I ordered an Inspiron notebook computer from Dell, received it on 2/7/09 and spent the next few days trying to get it to work. It was very slow and often could not access web pages. I spent 90 minutes talking on the phone to my ISP tech who tried to help me but could not determine the problem. I tried 3 times to connect to Dell support. They are in India. I got disconnected twice. After spending about an hour on the phone with them, they said they thought it was a software problem and I would have to pay to get it fixed. I paid nearly $1000 for this computer, it was a problem with software Dell installed (I did not attempt to install any software). When I complained they said they would have a "high level manager" call me in 48 hours or so. This computer would not run Internet, Mail, or Mcafee Security programs that Dell installed. And now they want me to pay to fix it. The computer is two days old! I am returning it to Dell and I will never buy another Dell product.

• Pros: None I can think of
• Cons: Extremely poor support

12/26/08

Dell Customer Care does not care

by wrogers2 at Citysearch

Dell sent four memory modules to me via mail. I did not order them. They arrived without an invoice or any reference numbers. I layed them on my desk thinking I would receive some kind of documention in the mail in a day or two. About two weeks later I received an invoice from Dell Finanical Corp. saying I owed them $114.00 for the memory modules I ordered. I called Dell Financial and told them I did not order the modules that were shipped to me. They said they could do nothing about the matter and for me to call Customer Care to retun the parts.

I called Customer Care and explained that I wanted to return parts to Dell that I DID NOT ORDER. They said I could not return the parts becasue Dell had a 21 day time rule to return anything. I explained to them that I had not had the parts for 21 days, but they said the 21 days started from the date of the invoice. I explained that I did not have an invoice because I DID NOT ORDER the parts. They said that did not matter. I told them that I did not know of their 21 day rule and they said it was in the terms and conditions of the sale. I said I did not get terms and conditions because I DID NOT ORDER the parts.

I esclated the issue through two levels of management in Customer Care and further esclated the issue online thru Dell. Dell keeps repeating the same rule, "there are no exceptions to the 21 day return rule". I have tried to get them to understand that there can be no 21 day rule when I DID NOT ORDER the parts. They said they did not care.

The other issue I have is that they charged the parts to my Dell Financial account without my approval. Dell Financial said they could not do anything about the matter. I have been a loyal Dell Customer, but this will end my relationship with the company.

Throughout this exchange with the people in Dell, no one has ever said they were sorry for their mistake in sending me the parts I did not order. Customer Care does NOT CARE.

• Pros: No pros for Dell Customer Care
• Cons: Customer Care not listing to the Customer and enforcing one rule to fit all situations when it does not fit.

12/07/08

PETLAND SELLS SICK PUPPES!

by vlogan08 at Citysearch

I bought a puppy from Petland last Saturday. Took her to the vet they recommended three days later. She is sick. Has digestive problems and giardia. That first "free" pet visit they guarantee cost me $68. When I went back to the store yesterday to ask for some resolution, the vet bills were snatched from my daughters hands and we were forced from the store (grandchildren and all) with yelling and profanity from about five of their employees. They called the police and lied to them - said we assaulted them!! When the store video tapes were played back, of course there was no assault, but we were issued no trespass citations so we cannot go back to the store. All this because we wanted Petland to live up to their contract! They don't want people knowing that their puppies are sick and now I find out that our puppy came from the Hunte Corporation. This company is the largest puppy broker in the United States and well known for purchasing puppy mill puppies. Now my puppy has severe yeast infections in both ears and a foreign body growing on her spine! Our vet bills continue to pile up and Petland won't even talk to us. PLEASE DON'T SHOP AT PETLAND!

• Pros: No pros here!
• Cons: They do not stand behind their contracts