Radiator.com site claims "LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEED! If you see a lower price anywhere else, click here to give us a call and we will beat their price by 10%!"
While searching for a radiator for my 99 Kia Sportage I found a radiatorwith the same specs as the one radiator.com was selling for $136 on two different sites (shepherdautoparts.com and genesisautoparts.com) for $86. I decided to try getting the 10% better price at radiator.com by calling them.
The first contact person I spoke to was surprised I had found another radiator for a lower price, but looked it up and agreed they should be able to beat the price as their site guaranteed. She contacted their local warehouse to verify and put me on hold. When she got back on the line, she apologized, but said that the local warehouse had said it could not supply the radiator for that price and that this was the first time she had this happen. She gave me the number to the local warehouse to call and discuss the matter.
I contacted the local warehouse and their office manager explained that they were a franchise operation and that the corporate office had made the deal with the website, but they couldn't honor that price. What they recommended I do is contact the website number back and explain I had spoken with the local warehouse and they couldn't beat the price, but that I wanted the price match guarantee and they should try from another warehouse.
The next day I called radiator.com back and explained all of that to the rep. I explained I had found a lower price and I wanted them to honor their price match guarantee. She put me on hold to check on some things and when she came back said that they couldn't honor the price match guarantee. I asked to speak to a manager and she put me through to Anthony.
Anthony explained, by way of example, that they couldn't honor it because he didn't know what vendor was supplying the other stores with their lower priced radiators. He said it would be like going to the grocery store for rice krispies and purchasing either the brand name or generic versions. The generic version would cost less but wouldn't be the same thing (I didn't have the heart to tell him it was the same thing and that the difference in cost was due to packaging and advertising).in any event, he stated that if I found out from the other sellers what vendor/manufacturer made the radiators they were selling for less, then he could try to match it up with one of their warehouses. I called the other stores and got the vendor information, which I then called Anthony back with. He said he didn't carry that brand, it was inferior and that he wouldn't honor their lowest price guarantee. The best he said he could do was to match the price of the other store.
To my untrained eye, I believe this to be fraud or deceptive advertising. The site does not have any disclaimers that their price match guarantee is subject to their discretion or to being able to match manufacturers. It simply says, "if you find a lower price anywhere else, well beat it by 10%." The radiators I found matched the specs for my make and model vehicle and cost less.
I have filed a complaint with the BBB (which when I told Anthony that's what I would be doing he just laughed and said he was on a first name basis with them) and with the FTC (which Anthony didn't seem as confident about, but didn't object or change his tune).
I am posting here to usacomplaints.com because I want checked here before contacting radiator.com and they had no complaints here. I want other people checking them out in advance to know of potential problems with trying to get them to honor their promises.
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