If not for the “purchase price reimbursement guarantee,” John Syverson would never have paid $1,978 for an extended service plan for his 2008 Mazda CX-9.
The agreement, signed April 30, 2008, with the Roto auto dealership in Arlington Heights, had several criteria.
Syverson had to own the car for six years. During that time, he could not get any benefits from the service plan, nor could he cancel it.
After the warranty expired, he had exactly 30 days to request, in writing, his $1,978 refund.
“Let’s be honest, if this had been me, I would never have remembered to pull this out six years later,” Syverson said. “But my wife is just really good with these details.”
So on April 18, the Hawthorn Woods resident went to Roto Subaru Mazda with a written request. An employee at the dealership signed the request, adding that the $1,978 was “due (the) week of 7/18/2014 as long as no benefits (were) paid out.”
In early August, Syverson returned to the dealership to ask for the refund.
He was told Roto would not pay.
Frustrated and confused, Syverson went back to the dealership again Aug. 20 to speak to the general manager.
The manager “told me that even though it is still Roto, he purchased the dealership in 2010, and that he is not going to honor this guarantee,” Syverson said.
Upset, Syverson emailed “What’s Your Problem?”
“I’m just frustrated,” he said. “Here I did everything in good faith. There might be a legal technicality that gets them off, but, boy, it just doesn’t seem fair.”
The Problem Solver called Roto on Thursday and asked to speak to the general manager.
A man got on the phone and said he knew about Syverson’s case.
“In 2010, the company he bought (the car) from changed hands,” the man said. “The new owners didn’t assume any of the liabilities of the previous owner. That’s really all there is.”
The Problem Solver asked for the man’s name, but he declined to give it.
The Problem Solver then asked to speak to someone at Roto Subaru Mazda who could be quoted in the column.
“You’re talking to the owner right now,” the man said. “I don’t want my name in there.”
After the Problem Solver reiterated that a story about Syverson’s experience at Roto would run Tuesday, the conversation ended.
On Monday afternoon, the Problem Solver left a message for Michael Santi, who is listed as Roto Mazda Subaru Inc.’s president on the Illinois secretary of state’s website.
Santi called back and initially said he did not know if he had spoken to the Problem Solver last week. After several minutes, he then said he did remember the conversation but steadfastly maintained that repaying Syverson his $1,978 was the responsibility of the dealership’s previous owner.
He said that the employee who signed Syverson’s written request for the money in April no longer works for the company and that the paperwork in question means nothing.
“Unless it has my signature on it, it’s not going anywhere,” Santi said.
Syverson said Monday that he’s not surprised the dealership wouldn’t bend.
“I received the same speech (from Santi) so I understand,” he said.
He still doesn’t understand why Roto won’t pay.
“If this was truly a liability the other company had, they would have had to notify us,” Syverson said. “We would have been a creditor. That never happened.”
Syverson said he just took his oldest son to college over the weekend, and he could use the $1,978. Though he could take the dealership to small claims court, Syverson said he hasn’t decided if he will.
“At the end of the day, I feel (Roto’s owner) knows it’s not worth it to me to take it that far. He’s banking on it,” Syverson said. “He feels pretty comfortable in his position. I don’t know if he feels just, but at least he feels he’s not going to pay it.”
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