Five On Your Side Helps Local Women Out Of Car Repair Crisis

When a Raleigh woman had a keyless entry installed in her van and later had problems, she called Five On Your Side to resolve the situation.

Theresa Reaugh said she bought the keyless entry and remote start from Best Buy in Raleigh.The store installed the system for $300 in December 2002.

The day after the installation, the Reaugh family left for a vacation to Florida.

Just a few miles into their trip, Reaugh said the check-engine light came on and the car suddenly died.

"It was scary just being on the beltline in the middle of the night. We pulled over to the side, but we were on an exit. All the cars [were] going by. It was pretty scary," she said.

The Reaughs had the van towed to a dealership and were forced to rent a van for their trip.

When they returned, the mechanic told them the starter installed at Best Buy shorted out engine parts.

Reaugh paid the $884 repair bill and called Best Buy.

The dealership mechanic documented his repairs, so Reaugh used his records to prove her case to Best Buy.

"At first they were like, 'OK, well that's no problem. We have insurance that covers that kind of thing, so just come in and fill out an insurance claim,'" said Reaugh.

Then, she said she never heard back from Best Buy.

"They were giving us the run around," Reaugh said.

Then she decided to call the local Best Buy corporate office and Best Buy's insurance provider.

"They said we needed to call Best Buy back and make sure they felt they were at fault. And then we didn't hear anything at all," Reaugh said.

Reaugh decided to call Five On Your Side.

Best Buy spokeswoman Kim Lochner told Five On Your Side that Reaugh's situation was an "isolated incident."

The insurance company soon sent Reaugh a check for $1,493 to cover the cost of repairs and the rental van.

Best Buy also credited Reaugh's charge account $90 for a new disconnected remote start.

Reaugh said she was happy, but did not understand why it took so long.

"I just really couldn't believe, I mean, if they have insurance to take care of this stuff, why make people jump through hoops to get what's supposed to happen, happen?" she said.

Reporter:

Monica Laliberte

Five On Your Side Producer:

Lori Lair

Photographer:

Greg Clark