Blacklisted by Dealership

[yellowboy]

I'm not a lawyer but people have no reasonable expectation of privacy in/around an auto shop. A bathroom, bedroom or hospital is different. Yes , the dealer/owner can make rules on what they do not want, but breaking those rules is not illegal, they can just ask you to leave and if you do not you are then trespassing. As long as you are not recording AUDIO (illegal in some states) the only reason they could have a problem is they are shysters and operate that way all the time. However, if FCA allows that and does not intervene on your behalf SHAME ON THEM.

 

[Duane Pipes]

FCA followed up this afternoon:

She put me on hold, contacted the right person in service, and added 3-way calling. Service dept made the appt for next week. Going in the right direction now.

Will take the dash cam and other stuff out for peace of mind. Don't want to burn bridges. Going to show some cooperation but I'm def keeping my backbone.

ALSO, FCA was genuine and she said I'm not going to bring up anything or make you look bad which I appreciated. Thanks fellas

 

[gofishn]

There is absolutely no way I would go back to that Service dept, for anything.

 

[slickracer]

He's right...

 

[Glenn54]

I hope this all works out for you. I have read every post in this thread but it seems to me when you showed them the video of the mechanic or whoever going thru your console, they should have told you they'd address that issue with the employee. If he didn't have a business reason to be searching your console, he should have been fired. This dealer is the one that should be blacklisted, not you. I don't think I would go back there unless it was an extreme inconvenience to go to another dealer.

 

[SimmZ]

Just an advise about dealership in general; when I bring any of my vehicle there for warranty or paid services, I always requires to be standing right next to any mechanics that ever touch my vehicle. They can't legally refuse you to watch the mechanics. The only thing they may requires to enter service area is to wear protection equipment just like the mechanics (steel cap boots and eye protection), so I always wear my steel cap boots just in case but they never cared about.

 

[Kukailimoku]

Around ten years ago, a TV station or network (don’t recall which) did an undercover investigation into unsanitary conditions in the Food Lion grocery chain’s meat section.

Long legal battle where Food Lion won a lawsuit against the undercover team and station/network for false entry.

There were counter lawsuits on the documented health and safety violations, but the take away was that clandestine recording in a private property is illegal. A business pretty much controls their own facilities.

I might have gone to the regional rep on that. The manufacturers do not want that kind of bad press, and would likely intervene on your behalf.

 

[Lucy Girl]

No lawyer here for sure but this is like folks putting cameras in strange places and getting in trouble. I hope it all works out for you. Lesson learned for me.

 

[tap4154]

I hear you. I'm not a lawyer but I don't see how it's illegal. There are no explicit signs stating no recording allowed. The space they work in isn't a secure area. And there is not expectation of privacy at the drive-in bay or in the shop. They were wrong.

But they are right, it's private property. You can't record them without their consent and then post it publicly. If it was just some person working on your truck on the street you could do it, because they have no expectation of privacy on the street. That said, if I was a dealer I would be concerned about those mechanics trash-talking the truck and going through the center console. As others said, you really should have just gone to the manager with the video and not posted it publicly. You could have described what occurred in the video here, but without their permission posting it on YouTube could get you in trouble. In fact I'd pull it down if I were you.

 

[Kukailimoku]

Funny....

On one hand the bigger pockets with the more lawyers can be expected to win.

On the otger hand, how is that private business "private" when they engage in public / common area activities?

Isn't if something engaging in public commerce it becomes subjected to all kinds of no-longer-private???

When I rented out my other house, there ALL kinds of government regulations telling ME how I couldn't not rent to somebody based upon all kinds of traits of that person. No one gave a darn that my house was private property, I wasn't allowed to discriminate potential renters based upon my own criteria for my own private property. Because by engaging in public commerce I lost most of my "rights" as to my private property-ness.

Similarly - one would think - once the stealership began taking money from the public it has to lose some of its private say-so to the overarching public good. (Not my personal philosophy, I'm just stating what society holds true, as forced upon me as a landlord)

Furthermore, the dudes truck is private property!!! So it's a case of private property on private property!

I say a compromise is that the truck is allowed to video, but just not outside of the confines of the truck. To wit: the truck can video within itself and it's own exterior but it cannot video the surrounding shop.

Additionally, it is the responsibility of the shop to control the physics of the universe such that light and soundwaves of the shop do not bleed over into the truck; if the recording inside he truck accidentally and incidentally happens to pick up sound waves and lightwaves (e.g. spokenswords and video) from the shop then that video is useable by the truck owner same as if some fruit from a neighbor's tree fell over the fence into his yard. It's his fruit now.

Case closed.

You are welcome.

 

[gapi]

They did you a favor.

 

[nikwho]

I just read this entire thread start to finish. Two things immediately came to mind.

A.) There is ZERO chance that I would take ANY vehicle that I owned into that service dept. that was in any way linked to my name. You're on the mechanic's **** list. You caught them misbehaving and they won't appreciate it. Even if at a small level, and passive aggressively, I would fear retaliation!

2.) I would think that you could hang a small rear view mirror hanger that stated something to the effect of "Warning, closed circuit video recording/surveillance in progress". If they don't specifically address it at that point, I would expect that your posting it in a conspicuous location and them not addressing it would prevent any legal recourse that they may have.

 

[glhefkin]

I had a service event with my 2019 1500 5.7L a few weeks ago. I've purchased a service package to cover the three year lease term. In reviewing the service report after leaving the dealer I read a note saying they couldn't locate the wheel lock. Consequently, no tire rotation happened. Sounds like they maybe opened the two glove compartments, the two center console compartments, and looked in the door bins. They didn't find it because I'd left it in the driver side floor bin behind the seat. It bugged me that they didn't call me on the cell # written all over the work order, but then I didn't go over the report with the service rep before leaving. In your case I wager they weren't rummaging to thieve, just looking for the wheel lock. Of course, tire rotation would have to be one of the things they were supposed to do.

 

[j517]

I'm not an attorney but if you are in a public place you do not have an expectation of privacy u can record. Here in CA in many cities you can not smoke in public property, but the loophole you is that you can sit in your vehicle and smoke to your heart's content hence making your vehicle your section of private property.

Hey I give you props for recording and posting it since I had stuff stolen from my vehicle in the past and the dealership manned up for my missing items.

Heck this piece of pupu dealership had a tech steal my truck and took it for a joy drive since they didnt want me to sue and file a complaint with the state they gave me a brand new truck with 0 miles

The stealership was hunting beach but those guys are a bunch of scammers

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[j517]

A few weeks ago I posted a YouTube video of a service advisor and a mechanic talking trash about my truck. The video is from a front and rear facing dash cam. There is no video recording inside the truck. The footage is basically of them being unprofessional and the mechanic rummaging through the center console (trying to steal).

Last Friday I brought my 19 RAM to the service dept. The service manager greets me and is professional but right after that moment is where my problem began. He explains if I am recording anything, then I need to stop. I assured him nothing was recording, the service manager began berating me saying:

I am on private property and recording or any kind is not allowed. If I am recording anything on dealership property, all footage will be confiscated, deleted, and the camera will be dismantled. He said I am breaking the law and no one in the service department is willing to work on my truck after I posted the YouTube video.

FCA customer care called this morning and explained the dealership won’t work on my truck and I need to find another place to fix the tpms system. She also explained the dealership has their legal team looking into this video incident. In other words, I’ve been blacklisted by the dealership where I purchased my 19 RAM 2 months ago. They do not want me going to the dealership whatsoever.

Long post. Just beware this dealership and FCA customer care can deal with customers anyway they wish, specifically me. Meanwhile, the tpms system warnings are going off all day every day + I’ll have to deal with their “legal team” in the near future. I have a dash cam in case of an accident not for surveillance of this dealership. If their service people were professional, I wouldn’t have a YouTube video in the first place.

Hey props for ya what stealership was it

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[tap4154]

I'm not an attorney but if you are in a public place you do not have an expectation of privacy u can record. Here in CA in many cities you can not smoke in public property, but the loophole you is that you can sit in your vehicle and smoke to your heart's content hence making your vehicle your section of private property.

Hey I give you props for recording and posting it since I had stuff stolen from my vehicle in the past and the dealership manned up for my missing items.

Heck this piece of pupu dealership had a tech steal my truck and took it for a joy drive since they didnt want me to sue and file a complaint with the state they gave me a brand new truck with 0 miles

The stealership was hunting beach but those guys are a bunch of scammers

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

That's where I bought my truck and I'll never take it there again. Just a bunch of crooks, and the service department is even worse. it's actually a very high-volume dealer, and they have an attitude that they think they can get away with anything. The dealer in Costa Mesa has been fairly good to deal with. That's what I've been taking it for any warranty work, even though they did screw up once too.

 

[Seth Richards]

That's where I bought my truck and I'll never take it there again. Just a bunch of crooks, and the service department is even worse. it's actually a very high-volume dealer, and they have an attitude that they think they can get away with anything. The dealer in Costa Mesa has been fairly good to deal with. That's what I've been taking it for any warranty work, even though they did screw up once too.

Thats the impression I got from Elk Grove Dodge. I did not enjoy dealing with them at all. I live only a couple minutes from them too unfortunately. I ended up buying someplace else about 35-45 min away because of how they tried to do business with me. I dont know about their service department though. Havent experienced that. And since I have the first year maintence free from the dealiership I bought the truck from I wont be finding out about Elk Groves service dept for a while.

 

[Warren Warburton]

BEWARE OF THIS SORT OF THING. In some states like here in Florida, if you video or record a person without their permission you can be charged with a felony.

 

[Nystagmus]

A dealership is not a “public” place. It is privately owned or corporate owned business. It’s not a court house or police department.

Yes, they do business with the public...but the can have their own rules.

 

[Thorsax]

First off, I know you probably can't say which dealership it IS the bad one so which one is it NOT the bad one!? Rick Hendrick or Hoover?
As for the recording on "private" property, I don't think they have much of a case. A) The camera was NOT hidden! That means no ill intent on your part. B) The public is allowed access to where you were at. You did not trespass or break the law to get the recording. Plus in some states your home as well as your vehicle are considered YOUR personal space! So technically they were in "your" space when they were recorded. It sounds like FCA is trying to avoid some majorly bad publicity as they realize that this could reflect bad not just on your Charleston dealer but ALL RAM dealers nationwide! I would get the current work done and NEVER go back to Hendrick or Hoover again! And you KNOW 100% that they are lying when they say they don't have cameras on that property. You can probably walk outside and spot 3 or 4 without much problems! That would mean they lied once again!
As for posting on YouTube, they can easily track/trace that back. You're better off creating a fake or alternate Facebook account without your real name or any real pictures of yourself. Or try a public posting site like YELP for leaving customer reviews! As long as you were a customer, you can leave an honest account of your experience and they can't do a damned thing about it!