Boycott Firestone

"The Snowman" (the-snowman) 04/02/2019 at 19:51 • Filed to: None

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I bought some tires from tirerack.com and had them delivered to my local Firestone shop in SLC. Tires showed up Friday so I dropped the wheels after work yesterday, got a call this morning saying they closed all the st ore s in Utah and if I wanted my stuff back I had to be there by 5 tonight to get it. Also they aren’t refunding my labor that I paid to have the tires mounted. Hopefully tire rack will take care of me since it was their recommended installer who went tits up over night. Anyway took them to big O and they mounted and balla nced the m real quick. The boat should feel way more sporty on Indy 500s than it did on the nine year old all seasons it had when I bought it and night and day from the snow tires that are on it now.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 20:31

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Can’t really boycott something that is out of business. Lol

Also wow. Must have been some serious “bad management” as in something illegal going on for that shut down to happen

The Snowman > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/02/2019 at 20:35

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Yeah, just the stores are out of business. They still sell the tires and I assume have stores in other states...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 20:37

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Wow  that’s messed up, I guess be thankful you got your tires back.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 20:42

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Nope. All 13 locations were owned by Bridgestone Retail Operations. They closed due to a master lease expiring, which means they had plenty of advance notice. This is just Firestone being their usual shady, criminal, fraudulent selves.

Also means that because they aren’t franchises, you can go after Bridgestone for your money back.

https://fox13now.com/2019/04/02/firestone-closes-13-of-14-locations-in-utah/

edit: oh, and yes, Bridgestone Retail Operations does deliberately engage in outright fraud with the Failstone shops. You shouldn’t take any car there ever for any reason. Around here their favorite game is elder abuse. Charge a senior $2 000 for a brake job on their Buick (while performing zero work) and then when they come back for their next oil change claim the brakes are no good and that’ll be $2000 (and do zero work again.)
Call them out on it with proof and they then lie and claim they’re “just a franchise” (it’s not a franchise system) and “the prices are set by Firestone” (not the ones they charged) and so on. 

AestheticsInMotion > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 20:56

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How did you pay for the tire mounting ? If it was a credit card, you may be able to call the card issuer and get the cost covered

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > AestheticsInMotion 04/02/2019 at 21:06

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Oh no. This is a cut-and-dry chargeback, fraud by seller.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 21:18

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My Civic came with Firestone tires from the factory. By the time I bought it, they had almost 80,000 km on them. Definitely the scariest tires I have ever driven on. After an unscheduled lane change when turning a corner, I promptly ordered new tires. Why by Firestones when other tires have better reviews for the same or lower price?

The Snowman > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 04/02/2019 at 21:30

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I paid with folding money so pretty sure it will take more than $70 worth of my time to get it back from Firestone, Tirerack called me before I picked up my stuff and made it seem like they will take care of me so I will call them tomorrow.

The Snowman > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/02/2019 at 21:33

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I like the Indy 500s and they were the cheapest tire available in a 235/50/18 

for Michigan > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/02/2019 at 21:41

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The Indy 500s actually have really good reviews on TireRack and I’ve been happy with mine for the ~1000 I’ve had them so far. I’m also fairly certain they’re identical to the Bridgestone tire s Mighty Card Mods use on all their stuff.

404 - User No Longer Available > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/02/2019 at 22:00

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The Indy 500s are actually rebranded Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003s. They’re super grippy and darn good value for the price.

Source: I have them on my Sol.

Also the Indy 500 name was used in two very different tires, other being the Indy 500 Wide Oval. Those ones had garbage reviews.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 22:02

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If Firestone charged you, you call the number on the back of your credit card, and then ask for chargebacks.

They’ll ask you a few quick questions, then initiate the chargeback. It is VERY important to do chargebacks and to do them AS chargebacks, because a high enough number of chargebacks (either absolute number or percentage) WILL trigger the processor’s major fraud department to get involved.

You want to scare the ever-loving fuck out of a business? You don’t threaten to get the lawyers. You call your credit card company. If you initiate chargeback, they don’t get paid. And they don’t come after you. THEY GO AFTER FIRESTONE. With an ironclad arbitration process that is EXTREMELY expensive to fight. Most companies will immediately just acknowledge chargebacks and plead out error as a result.

Seriously. This shit scares the fuck out of every business because if they want to fight a $25 chargeback and you tell your credit card company “uh, no, here is the email from TireRack and here is the news story about it” when they say the vendor is disputing? (And you can email it.)
You just cost Firestone / Bridgestone $15 00.
That’s how much it costs on the spot to try and fight you. $500+ processor arbitration charge and legal costs.
And i f they rack up too many chargebacks or complaints ? They can get blacklisted. PCI and processor facilities have the legal authority to blacklist them from accepting any credit cards, force them to undergo extremely expensive audits, and the list goes on.

Fucking with PCI is suicidal because it’s a death sentence for any business taking credit cards. If you get blacklisted for chargebacks, that’s IT. Your processor is required to report to EVERYONE that you were kicked out for chargebacks. That automatically triggers global blacklisting; any processor that accepts your business is subject to immediate revocation and blacklisting themselves . Any aggregator that accepts your transactions can have their licenses immediately and permanently revoked. If you end up on TMF or MATCH, you are now out of business. You’re on the list for 5 years a nd you are PERMANENTLY labeled high-risk. TMF/MATCH high-risk fees are extremely high, even if you get off the list.

The Snowman > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 04/02/2019 at 22:14

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I work for a very large bank I understand the process but that doesn't work when you paid cash. I have a receipt but we'll see how it goes...

DipodomysDeserti > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 04/02/2019 at 22:23

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Uh, bro, the guy paid with cash. Maybe he could get the Federal Reserve to issue a chargeback.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > 404 - User No Longer Available 04/02/2019 at 22:27

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I guess it's been a while since I have looked at anything from Firestone. And after hearing this, it'll likely be a while before I do again! :P

just-a-scratch > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 22:27

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Counterpoint: I purchased a set of tires and alignment at the local Firestone and was treated well.

That doesn’t really say much for the Firestone outlet you are dealing with.

The Snowman > just-a-scratch 04/02/2019 at 22:38

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Yeah these stores were all corporate owned and they gave the employees zero days notice. I will never buy a Firestone/Bridgestone product again unless it’s a vintage tire from Coker since there aren’t any other real options for old school tires.

66P1800inpieces > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 23:12

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Vredestein, Pirelli, and some other brands make good stuff for vintage European cars. That being said, any company that takes your money without doing the work can go screw. I hear this type of thing happens pretty often with home remodelers /contractors. They take your 10k deposit and walk away, close shop, reopen with new name.

66P1800inpieces > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 04/02/2019 at 23:17

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Unless the shop knew (or should have known) they were closing, its probably not fraud, but the The Snowman probably became an  unsecured creditor.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > 66P1800inpieces 04/02/2019 at 23:19

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One, they did know they were closing. They were closing due to a master lease agreement they knew about MONTHS ago. So they were collecting funds for appointments they knew they would not be able to keep.

Two, there is no bankruptcy. Firestone is owned by Bridgestone Retail Operations. That’s who would be legally liable. Not the individual location.

66P1800inpieces > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 04/02/2019 at 23:21

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Good points.  I’m back on board for fraud by deception.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > The Snowman 04/02/2019 at 23:21

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I’m sure the State Attorney General and potentially your city prosecutor would be quite interested.

pip bip - choose Corrour > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 03:21

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zero days notice is a dick move

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 03:22

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Firestone (and Bridgestone) might as well be Satan. The way they treat their employees and what they pay really should be criminal. Not to mention customers.

Source: I worked at one for a couple months years ago. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/03/2019 at 07:13

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Why compare 50k mile used tires to new tires?

Tapas > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 09:04

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At first glance, I thought “Man, that’s a mighty spacer....you must not like turning.” lol

The Snowman > 404 - User No Longer Available 04/03/2019 at 10:22

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Yeah I had a set of these on the wife’s cooper s and we liked them a lot. I need to decide on a locking diff for it and then it should be about perfect. Acceleration in a foot of snow is pretty slow with a one legg er.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 14:11

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S porty is a relative term when talking about a Panther, right? I put 18" FR500s w/245/50 sneakers on my parade float which def was an improvement over the factory 225/60- 17 skinnies, but the body lean is just as dramatic. I’d never get any repeat business from Uber.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 15:47

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I’ve had good work done at our local firestone - BUT - it sure wasn’t timely. I made an appointment to have tires (that I had shipped to them through tirebuyer.com) mounted/balanced onto my car. 40 minutes after my appointment time I went to the counter and said - is my car going in soon? and I was informed that the appointment only puts you in line. They don’t actually have any intention of pulling your car in any where near the appointment time.

So after complaining about the wait time the car went in about an hour and 15 minutes after my “appointment” and they had the nerve to pop the hood and start checking fluids and the air filter for up-sells. I went back to the counter and said the car is here for tires - why are they under my hood? “just a standard quick inspection when cars come in” Obviously I refused any other services, especially because all of the other crap they were discussing I would have done at home myself.

So yeah, TL:DR - i’m also not supporting my local firestone anymore.

CobraJoe > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 15:55

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I’m already boycotting firestone.

Took a Mark VIII in for an alignment, they charged me for an alignment, then basically did nothing because “McPherson struts aren’t adjustable”.

The Lincoln Mark VIII does not have a McPherson strut suspension. It’s a dual A-arm setup. I ended up in a shouting match with the tech because he didn’t believe me.

Haven’t been there since.  

The Snowman > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 04/03/2019 at 17:44

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I got some cheap KSL(Mormon Craigslist) take offs fr om an explorer and attacked the hub bore with a router to get them to fit the bigger panther hubs. I don’t expect miata handling but I hope its way better than ten year old factory rubber.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 17:46

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Those 5 spokes were Explorer rims?

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > The Snowman 04/03/2019 at 18:12

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I’ve got Indy 500s on my Mustang, best tire for the money IMO

The Snowman > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 04/03/2019 at 19:49

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According to the man on the internet. I thought they looked pretty good for a hundred...

CBJ Slapstick > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/04/2019 at 02:00

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Look Looking up some of the tires looks like most of the firestone tires max out at a tread warranty around 65 k miles. If they made it to 80k they were overused by 15k miles and anything would feel like an upgrade. With mines I was offered free rotations for my family and I, as well as air pressure checks and alignments. It may cost $20 more but they really put in the work to make sure I get the most bang for my buck.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > CBJ Slapstick 04/04/2019 at 14:09

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k m, not miles.

Since the Firestones, I've generally gone with Michellin for all seasons, Goodyear Nordics for winter tires, but recently got some Nordman winter tires. Definitely better than the Nordics.