GREENSBORO, N.C. — Like many of us, Shatara Johnson relies on her car to get her to and from work. One day the car started to sputter a bit, so Johnson had a mechanic look at it.
“(He) told me it needed a new transmission,” Johnson said.
Johnson was in a bind, but she was able to gather up about $600 to give to the mechanic so he could start to make the repairs. While the car was being fixed Johnson had to find a different way to get to and from work.
“I don’t have a car, I walk to work or take the bus,” Johnson said.
About four weeks after dropping the car off Johnson started to realize she may have a problem. When she called the mechanic, he always had a reason for not repairing the car. He also stopped returning her text messages asking for updates.
“I trusted him, I took a chance,” Johnson said. “He blocked me.”
Not exactly sure what else she could do to try and get the issues resolved Johnson contacted WFMY News 2 for assistance. Our Call for Action team went to work first trying to locate and communicate with the mechanic. The process was slow but eventually, he agreed to refund Johnson $400 of the $600 she paid.
“I was ecstatic you know; I was happy because I knew if (you) did not contact him he would not have given it to me at all,” Johnson said.
Unfortunately, he never did pay Johnson back the remaining $200 but at least we were able to help her get most of the money back.
“Thank you so much,” Johnson said.
Before paying someone to fix your car you should always check them and their work out first. Try to pay with a credit card to have some protection if they don’t finish the job. Most places won’t ask you to pay until the work is done, but if they do ask for money upfront only give them a portion.