ComplaintsforSmitty's Lawn & Garden Equipment

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We helped our 13 year old son purchase a commercial grade lawn mower from Smitty's Lawn and Garden Equipment on April 15, 2022. We paid $1,367.34 for the mower. The mower broke within 1 week of use. We retuned the mower to the business and were told that it cannot be refunded, is not covered under warranty, and will cost $800 to fix.

  Business response

  05/13/2022

  Hello,
  This letter is in response to the Better Business Bureau complaint by Dr. *** ************ ** *********.
  
  Dr. ************ came into Smitty’s Lawn & Garden Equipment with his son on 4/15/22 and purchased a Honda ********** which is a 21 inch Commercial Mower.
  
  Both Dr. ************ and his son came back in within one day of purchasing the mower saying it didn’t seem to be going as fast as it should be, we took their Honda directly to one of our technicians and we adjusted the drive cable for them immediately and that was warrantable through Honda so there was no charge to them. His son tried out the mower while here at Smitty’s and his son remarked it was working much better.
  
  Dr. ************ and his son came back again about two weeks later looking for a Stand-On mower as he was doing so good with the mower he got a few weeks earlier. Due to supply shortages, we did not have the one they were looking for but we advised them that we would call them when the one they were looking for came in. While vising with them we asked how he was liking the Honda he had gotten a few weeks earlier and we were told it was working great, and they were very happy with it.
  
  Then on May 5th Dr. ************ brought the mower back saying that while his son was using the Honda it started rattling so violently that parts were coming loose and coming off the mower. They reported he was trying to finish the yard he was working on, and the blade snapped apart and impacted the front of the deck. When they brought the Honda into us we checked in the mower. Working under the belief, based on what we were being told by the ************** that it may in fact be a manufacturers defect, while also trying to provide good customer service, we did not collect our standard deposit fee. This deposit is a requirement on any piece of equipment that we take in to work on here at Smitty’s to diagnose what is going on with the unit.
  
  We are currently running about 3 weeks to get any piece of equipment worked on, but we were able to get this into one of our technicians to be looked at and were able to diagnose their Honda by May 10th. We also took photos and submitted them to Honda with a Warranty request to get the required repairs covered under their Warranty policy. Honda reviewed the diagnosis with photos and came to the conclusion based on the damage seen in the photos there was obvious impact with an object to cause the damage diagnosed. Some of the damage needing to be repaired on this mower is a bent crank shaft. Only one thing can cause a crank shaft to be bent and that is impact/hitting something. We do not know when, or how, it came into contact with something we can only speak to the damage that has happened to this mower, and what we submitted to Honda. Because impact damage is not covered under the Honda Warranty Policy it was declined by Honda. We then reached out to Dr. ************, advised of our findings, and that the repairs were declined per Honda, and what the repairs would then cost. We also provided them with the Honda Customer Relations number if they had additional questions on their Warranty coverage. We then have had several conversations with Dr. ************ regarding our findings, Honda’s ruling on coverage, and the options for next steps to either get the mower fixed or to decline any additional repairs. Dr. ************ said he had spoken to Honda and they too advised him the Warranty Claim was denied. He then said he felt that we (Smitty’s) should be the one calling to ask Honda to give him his money back for the mower.  
  
  Included with this letter is the current Open Order/Invoice for the Honda that Dr. ************ brought into us to get fixed along with the photos submitted to Honda for the Warranty Claim.
  
  Currently the Honda is still here at our shop. Honda is still denying the warranty claim, and we were still having conversations with Dr. ************ on next steps when we received this Better Business Bureau Complaint. We were not aware we were at an impasse, on this and completely understand the frustration in getting a new piece of equipment, only having it for a month, and having to face the possibility of having to pay for damages done to the mower close to the total cost of the unit. At this point the decision to fix this or not is entirely up to the ************’s, and also understand if they would like to pursue this further with Honda.  
  
  Please let me know if you need anything else from me to assist in this matter, and thank you in advance for the help in getting this resolved.
  
  ****** *****
  Office Manager
  
  Smitty’s Lawn & Garden Equipment
  **** ** ****** ** ******* *** ***** ****** ************ **** ************ ******* ********************
  
  

  Customer response

  05/16/2022

  My original complaint was related to a 3 week old mower that needed a $800 repair at Smitty's Lawn and Garden and they denied warranty support through Honda. I found it hard to believe that hitting a rock could create that level of damage on a commercial grade mower. My son was the operator and told me nothing of significance was hit. It was my assumption that something was seriously wrong with this unit. We had many Honda mowers through the years with high levels of wear and never imagined a problem like this would be a possibility. 
  
  Not being an expert of lawn equipment, I was told by Honda how this can happen. They received a diagnostic assessment from Honda. Also, I went back to my son and he disclosed that a rock was hit. Having that understanding, I went into Smitty's Lawn and Garden today and shared this with the owner. Also, I told him that I would communicate with BBB to please drop the claim and that I agree with Smitty's Lawn and Garden's provided statement.
  
  Thank you for your time and feel free to follow-up with any questions.
  **** ************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩