Tire repair fraud at NTB Danvers, MA
Two 50ish women walked into the National Tire and Battery center at 151 Andover St, Danvers, Massachusetts around 5 PM on Friday, July 3rd. (District Mgr - who was the supervisor at the counter that day?)

Car - 2010 Highlander. Right rear tire has had a slow leak for the past couple of weeks and the owner had been putting air in when the pressure sensor activated. They explain the problem. NTB counter person says it'll take a little while but they'll look at it.

After a little while he tells the two women (sisters) that there is a "bubble" on the inside wall of the tire and the tire cannot be fixed, and should not be driven upon. He offers to sell them four new tires for $650. The non-Highlander owner calls me and relates the story. I tell her to have them put the spare on the right rear and I'll look at the suspect tire, but do not buy new tires.

Mr. Counter Supervisor tells her that they can't mount the spare because it isn't the same size as the others, so he re-mounts the "bubble" tire and sends them on their way. No charge.....no paperwork. Just two witnesses to his one.

They drive the car to to my place. I remove the tire and place the spare onto the right rear. The spare is also a Dunlop of the same size as the others.

Inspecting the "bubble" tire, I see no asymmetry on the inside tire wall, no "bubble." I do find a small nail embedded in a central groove of the tire. I verified an air leak there by dripping water onto the nail.

This is blatant fraud by this counter person at NTB. Had one of the two women not called me they may have been sold four tires for $650, tires that they did not need.

Stay away from NTB in Danvers.

You will have better results posting this on their Facebook page, Yelp or Google where zillions of people will read it.

Yeah, social media shaming is all the rage.

But I would do it after I notified the company (both local and national offices) first. If no decent response, then flame on!

Yeah, give the company a chance to correct the problem internally first.

The internet can put many good people out of work because of one jerk...

We have found this strategy used locally in Southern NH. My wife goes in and they tell her she needs a complete matching set and will not do a repair. I tell her to walk, and we go down the street for an easy plug application.

Some of these guys are trained to create drama. The internal air filter in my Tacoma gets sa little dirty

They always show me a filter with rodent soilings and nuts, tell me it is Infested. I tell them to put it back and I will replace next time. Drive home and pull the filter. It is located in housing behind the glove box. I find a mildly dirty filter that I blow out and return to service looking brand new. Don't know where they get the Infested one but must keep it around for the next succor to pay 49.00 for a 12.00 filter.

a note to BBB goes a long way

I have never seen the BBB do anything.

This episode was so blatant that I didn't feel like waiting for a response by the NTB District manager, though, in hindsight, that may have been appropriate.

I'm not on Facebook, but I copied this post and Emailed it to the car owner so that she can post it there.

Thank you for the responses.

BBB may be worth a shot. I had actually contacted the BBB about a medical bill that was billed incorrectly. The medical office was not fixing the issue and was sending collection notices. When they found out about the BBB report the bill was suddenly $0.00 and they were asking me to tell the BBB that it was resolved.

I don't think the BBB is intended to do anything except keep records of conflicts and resolutions. People can refer to these to decide whether they want to do business with the company. It's been undermined by social media.

The "bubble" is probably where the pieces of the tire carcass overlap.
Very common, because it is a radial construction.
Shame on tire boy

Re: the BBB. I dropped them last year. I had been a member for many years but their time had come and gone. The internet does what the BBB did, in less time and all for free! They've already split and divided into 2 camps here in CA. They will go the way of the Phone Book very soon.

There was a nail in the tire, clown. Nothing asymmetrical visible on the inner tire wall. No bubble.

In fact, the BBB doesn't even keep the records if the company "joins" the BBB...
Worthless on its face due to the bias inherent in the system.

Clown?

Did you just call our current COTM member a name?

Perhaps you misunderstood me.
Radial tires often have a dent or bubble in them, where the pieces of the carcass overlap.
My comment about tire boy was directd at the guy at the tire store.
Clear?

cant make money on a $5. plug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI

I made the same mistake once until I came to my senses and realized that all the tires had this bump. May have been an innocent (although stupid) mistake by an under-trained employee.

My sincere apology. Obviously my mistake.

I owe you:

All good..second ones on me!

Abel plugs my tires...bumps or not.

"Never assume evil where incompetence explains it simply."

You guys are still allowed to plug tires? Here the tire has to come off the rim and get a patch on the inside. That's $$

Last month my niece took her 2008 Civic SI to the dealer for an oil change.
They rotated the tires also and came out to the waiting room to tell her the rear brakes on her car were unsafe and needed to be replaced.
They said one caliper was seized and the other side had metal on metal, backing plate to rotor.
They said at least 550.00 and they could save her some money by turning the rotors instead of replacing them.
She called me from the waiting room and told me.
I asked if the car pulled to one side or acted strange or any grinding noises when she stepped on the brakes.
She said No.
told her to have them write up the issues with a quote and bring the car to me the next morning.
They refused to write it up and the Order Writer changed attitude immediately.

I took the rear brakes apart the following morning..
Pads worn heavily.. Yes, but both the same amount no metal on metal though.. No seized caliper.... I put 50.00 worth of pads in it and it is fine..