I was waiting at his shop last Friday (the 14th or January) for about 2 hours, when I was talking to my girlfriend. She decided she would call from one of her phones (she has a personal phone and one for work). She looked up the phone number that was listed online for his shop (same as the one I was using). She called Tom and got through on the second ring. She had him on speaker, so I was able to listen to their entire conversation-especially when he said which auto parts store he was going to. I then tried to call Tom, which wasn't even 30 seconds later. His phone rang and went to voicemail. I left his shop and headed to the auto parts store to confront him. I may be 100% wrong; maybe I'm CRaZy, but I felt at this point, he was completely avoiding me.
I got to that auto parts store at 4:20 pm and waited for him inside. I asked a guy at the counter if Tom had been in to pick up his parts. The guy said Tom didn't have any parts ordered that he knew of, but he's have to look. I told him he ddin't have to look. At this poiunt, my girlfriend drove to his shop and waited across the street. Around 4:40, I got a call from her, telling me a black SUV pulled into his parking lot. I gave her a discription of what I could remember his truck looked like and she said it was definitely him, as he just inlocked the door and went inside. I started to head back (4:43 pm), but I was a good 15 minutes away. He turned off his lights and "open" sign so my GF drove over and confronted him. She knocked on his door and told him who she was and that I had been trying to get in contact with him. This time, I was on speaker phone with her and I heard him tell her in a VERY snyde voice, "I have to get going, he can call me." It was at this time I pulled in and blocked his truck from leaving. He went back inside, she came over by me. I had heard everything and went to enter his shop...but the door was locked. I knocked on his door. He answered and tried to be all nice.
Tom: "Hey man, I tried to call, but...."
I interrupted him and said, "I've called you NINE times today. You never ONCE answered the phone".
Tom: "my phone needd to charge and was in my truck."
Me; "That's BullS_t, because you answered her call on the second ring and I tried to call you, not even 30 seconds later."
Tom: "Well, i...
Me: "In fact, I haven't heard from you in...now 4 weeks. I told you on Monday I was comiung in TODAY to pick up my car...and don't give me some line about how busy you've been, You were purposely avoiding me. I heard the entire conversation with her. I want my car back...that's all."
Things de-escalated from there. I don't think he liked the fact I cornered him because he stared calling me names and that I owed him $$$. I said, "Good, how much do I owe you?" Of course, he had no answer for that. At this point, he picked up a crowbar and ordered me out of his shop. My GF was recording the whole incdent and I informed him I was calling the police. WIthin 3 minutes they had showed up. The guy (Tom) refused to give me my car-even though I had CASH and wanted to pay for whatever he had done on my car. The shop owner then started yelling at the police and things got worse. Luckily, I was outside and we (my gf and I) were showing the other police officers the video of him, my phone log and text messaging. We could hear him screaming at the other officers inside...
The shop owner said he would give me my car the following morning, but wouldn't let me go in, take pictures of my car, -OR- lock up my car / take the keys. I said I woudn't leave until I was able to take my car or lock it up, so he couldn't damage it. The police were trying to resolve the situation peacefully, but that wasn't going to happen. In fact, there was one officer there who said to me, this was the FIRST time he had to respond to a situation where a disgruntled custmer WANTED to pay for the services and the shop owner refused to accept payment...and he was a cop for 20 years.
Eventually, I was allowed to go into his shop. As I was walking past the front counter, I took MY keys and headed over tot he car. I took a video and took several pictures. Then I rolled up my window, locked the doors and closed the hood. This REALLY angered the shop owner, Tom because he said, "That F___er doesn't have the right to do that.". There was a female officer who said back to him, "What...he can't have the keys to his own car and lock the door on his own car?".
I knew Tom was pissed. I didn't even look at him as I was walked past him to exit his shop; when he started calling me a Effen Pri_k and a Fag_ot. I stopped for a moment and thought about standing my ground and demanding I get my car then and now...but I opted to walk to the front door. I then said in reply, "Are you asking me about that for yourself, or for.... (then using my fingers for air quotation marks)....'a friend'." His face went completely red and I think that set him off even more. Tom started calling me more names and it got so bad, I heard the lady cop tell him to shut up and to stop talking.
The following day was no better. We agree'd, I would return on Saturday morning at 8 am to pay and get my car. My buddy, Ray went with me and we managed to park around the corner from this guy's shop at 7:50. The first officer got there shortly after me. At 7:55 I was asked by another officer to go over to the shop. We drove into his lot and I went in to pay my bill. It was amazing to me, because the shop owner and the one cop were already yelling at one another. So, not even 5 minutes and this guy, Tom was alredy under the one cop's skin and the other cop wasn't very happy with him either.
Anyway, I managed to get my car back, I was only charged around $400. I paid it in cash, which was STILL an ordeal. The shop owner was yelling at me because I wrote the date on the bill next to my name. Then after telling the officers they couldn't go into the back of the shop, he wanted them to push my car outside. The officer who was most irritated was like,
Irritated Cop: "First you say 'nobody can go into the shop area because of his insurance rules, but then you want me to go back into your shop?"
Tom: "Well, you can go outside and come in the garage door?"
Irritated Cop: "No, you pushed the car to the garage door, you can finish it by pushing the car outside."
Tom: "I might hurt my back, so..."
Irritated Cop: "BullS_t!!! You pushed it 30 feet already, you're going to take your @__ back there and push it another 5 feet out the G__D__ door, or then you and I are going to have another problem!"
Amazingly, the car was pushed outside, nobody's back was injured and I got my car loaded onto a trailer. I then drove my buddy home...
...who couldn't believe what was going on. He was as dumbfounded as I was.
Honestly, I think this shop owner has some sort of issues going on at home or in his personal life, because he was completely irrational. He would say one thing and immediately change around what he said. Like, "you cannot come into the shop area", but in the next breath say, "I want you two to come back into my shop and push a car outside."
I can imagine, anyone reading this has GOT to be thinking, there is something I am not telling, or something else must have happened prior to this. Believe me, I would like to know too. I have no idea what caused him to avoid me or why I needed to go to these extremes to get my car back!
Mind you, I dropped off my car at his shop on September 30th, 2021. Last Friday was 15 weeks and one day that he had my car. I had informed Tom, I only had access to my dead fathers truck until the end of December...which I managed to get my family to allow me to use it until the end of January. I was/am paying the insurance on 2 vehicles, getting 13 mpg's (at over $3/gallon) in a 2011 Pickup Truck, instead of driving my own car, paying insurance on just it and getting at least 2X better gas mileage.
