Just aware of a few tricks how someone can manipulate financials to really contribute to the overvaluation of a company. Learned a lot about contract law, the civil legal process, business bankruptcy, Qui Tam lawsuits when you find federal fraud... I think that covers most of it. Lol
Learning experiences are not cheap!!
After about 16 months a huge Learning lesson for myself has just ended.
Not trying to compare my situation to yours, just the whole "lesson learned " hit home.
2015 F150 2.7 ecoboost.
Comes into my shop Nov. 23 2022. Customer states 3 days prior they had the oil changed at a Grease Monkey quick lube about 5280 ft from my shop (eph Grease Monkey I have no reason to protect the guilty). When he picked it up it had no/low oil pressure warning, he asked Grease Monkey about it say it wasn't that way when he drove in. They stated it was fine and must be an electrical issue. He made an appointment at the local dealer, but they were 5 days out. 3 days later........ (about 28 miles driven).....
engine starts making bad noises, and he is just a few yards from my shop driving by so he pulls in........ (lucky me)
We do some investigation/diag and find the oil change was not performed correctly. Ford has a SSM ( step below TSB) that states if an oil change on a 2.7/3.0 ecoboost is not done correctly, engine damage will occur
(Specifics can be made, will just double this post length, so unless asked will hold off)
We let the customer know, and give him the documentation from Ford. He takes that to the Grease Monkey and we /I receive an email from the manager of the Grease Monkey stating " repair Mr ******* vehicle and we will pay for the repairs "
Due to the "supply chain" issues of 2022/2023. It takes about 4 months to get parts.
Now there are two twists to the job that make it go even further South, those involved FOMOCO and the dealer not Grease Monkey so we will leave that just saying the job just got worse and worse through no fault of ours.
We get the truck done and submit the bill (entire engine replacement with new turbos) to the manager of Grease Monkey and he basically says "go **** yourself". (Mind you he is an 18 year old kid). After a few days of digging I get a hold of the district manager and after a few phone calls he says the same thing.
At this point we get a lawyer.
After 10 months it ends like this.
Grease Monkey admits 100% they ****** up. But their reasoning for not having to pay is because, 1: the manager didn't have authority to make the statement he did in the email.
How in the **** am I supposed to know that?
2: because of #1, the corporate heads that could approve the repairs never had the opportunity to review / approve the repairs
Due to that the settlement we received was 2/3rds reimbursement, BUT because I didn't have anyone (not that the manager would have counted anyway) from Grease Monkey sign a liability wavier that stated we could collect attorney fees if required, 2/3rds of the settlement went to my lawyer.
In the end I received about 1/6th of the repair, and my shop lost about $15,000.
People wonder why I hate people, this is why.
Customer is hoping to pick up the truck Friday (having sat for a year we are doing some services to get it back on the road for him). He has been without his truck for 16 months.
Cheaper than the alternative, usually...
