On September 19, while vacationing in Saratoga, WY, I called Neumans RV and Truck Repair, 1423 E. Daley, Rawlins, WY, and spoke with Tom Neuman. I requested that he come to my location and repair the broken front stabilizer jack on my 5th wheel RV. He agreed to do so and when I asked how much this would cost, he told me that he charged $1.50 per mile service charge and $96.00 per hour for labor. He went on to say that it was 40 miles from Rawlins to Saratoga one way, making the mileage fee $120.00. Believing that the labor charge would begin once the technician arrived at my campsite and end when he left, I agreed to the charges.
When the technician, Joe, arrived the following morning he spent 30 minutes providing a temporary fix to the problem, then asked if I had a piece of paper upon which he would prepare me a bill. (He said he had no invoice forms with him.) I did so and was presented with a bill for $381.60. When I questioned such a large amount Joe said it was $120.00 mileage fee plus $240.00 labor (2 hours @ $96.00 per hour) plus $21.60 tax. I pointed out that hed only been there for 30 minutes and he responded that the labor charge began when he left his place of business and ended when he returned. He continued by telling me it took one hour to drive from Rawlins to Saratoga each way. Believing, at the time, that I had no other alternative I paid with a credit card, then called and spoke with Mr. Neuman. I expressed my displeasure about the fact that he had not explained the labor fee and left me believing it would begin when the technician arrived and began working. Mr. Newman responded, Thats the way things are done around here [the Rawlins area], then hung up on me.
I believe that Mr. Neuman, knowing I was from out of town, took advantage of my predicament and deliberately exploited me. These exorbitant charges absolutely were not made clear to me when I requested his service and had they been, I would have chosen a different alternative.
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