Help recoup costs due to fraud and theft

Hi, my son Mick -who is a sweet, trusting, loving, thoughtful, empathetic and helpful 20 year old young man - has sustained much, MUCH loss …… especially in the last couple of years since his father’s passing, AND particularly in the last couple months.

His car, a gift from his grandmother after his father’s passing, was in need of much work this past winter. In December I had work done on his car at my local mechanic in town for overheating issues. Still needing wheel bearings replaced (and my own car needing work as well) we hired a local mechanic in town who was not affiliated with an established business, but rather a mechanic, who was known at the auto parts stores, and was used by locals in town….or so we were told. We were optimizing our dollar (trying) because much mechanical work needed to be done, and we knew there was an impending move in our future.

A very ‘nice’, helpful, assertive, middle-aged man who went out of his way and above and beyond to help get the job done stepped in and offered to help.

He did the repair he was hired for - or so we thought -but then we were told Mick’s car had something else wrong with it. We believed him. Going to purchase the parts we were told that were needed to fix the issue, he worked on the car some more. He then proceeded to inform us there were even more things needing repaired then originally thought. Oil leaking, oil filter housing that needed ordered, other parts that needed ordered, spark plugs, more oil, coils, sensors…… it went on and on. We were under the impression him repairing one thing was leading to other discovered issues also needing repaired. In reality, he would work on Mick’s car for hours, not completing it, coming back the next day (sometimes not showing when he had promised) and dragging this out for two weeks and he was NOT fixing the car, but rather intentionally causing more problems. He originally quoted a price for labor, and it was paid in payments over the course of two weeks. This all also delayed our departure from our home we were moving out of as Mick’s car was in parts, stuck in the driveway.

Two weeks later, and when all said and done, I pulled the plug on this ordeal.

Hiring another company to tow it three towns over to a different mechanic, I told him we no longer wanted him touching Mick’s car. When it was towed - oil leaking out all over the driveway - silicone fell out of the engine onto the ground. The young guy from the towing company told us what it was and informed us that shifty, unscrupulous mechanics will use it just long enough to fix a car so you can drive it down the road before knowing there’s a problem or that the car was indeed not repaired. Mick’s car, it turns out, was filled with silicone.

Upon visiting the two local auto parts stores, and doing some investigative work, it was found out this shady mechanic was returning parts that we purchased to get the cash for them. It was also revealed, this man does this often to unsuspecting people in town to support his drug addiction. We got hustled and scammed.

So, car gets repaired by a different mechanic, and seemingly is good to go.

Well…. It turns out the original mechanic did more harm than originally thought. Two hours away at his grandmother’s house….fluids still leaking….. another $500 of repairs was sought out. It’s to the point the car is too damaged from it all to continue to put money into it. My son is now without a car and over $3500 - including plates and insurance that were due for renewal just last week that were paid - gone. Wasted and thrown away.

To make matters worse, all while this was going on, Mick’s SE Racing BMX bikes, which had been being kept at a friends house since his father’s death, have been stolen we just found out.

$2,500 worth of bikes- two of Mick’s bikes and his father’s bike - gone. It was a hobby and passion he shared with his dad….. and very special to Mick. These bikes are not common. They’ve been kept at a friends, because at the time there was no good solution of where they could be put at a time when his dad’s house was cleared out and everyone was in shock.

Mick is devastated, he has loved his Chevy Cruz - a car he got at a time when things were so bleak -that afforded him independence and the ability to get himself around.

Thank you for all the well wishes and positive thoughts, they have always been well received and appreciated by all of us. Anything is appreciated to help to recoup the losses sustained and to put towards a new car. Thank you

Please share and pass along.