Steve Smith, owner of Stocker's Motorcycles responded to a request I made on a third party website regading parts I needed for my motorcycle. After receiveing his reply I spoke directly with Mr. Smith on the telephone regarding my exact needs.
I explained to Mr. Smith that I had a 1992 Suzuki GSX1100F Katana that I had laid down on the left side. We discussed the parts I needed to repair the bike as well as colors. He explained that he had the exact same bike, color and year that I had. I asked him if the bike had any damage. I was told that it was to be a retail piece until one of his employees had filled the crankcase with gasoline. He said the engine had a bent crank therefore it was being partted out.
I asked what type of condition the fairings were in as these were parts I was deperately seeking. He said on a scale of one to 10 they were an 8. He also added that the bike had never been down. That lie was uncovered the next day when I had spoken with one of his employees regarding more parts and I was informed that the bike had been down on the right side. The string of lies starts to surface.
Six days after placing the order for the parts they were delivered to my front door via US Mail. Much to my dismay the parts looked as though they were packaged in household trash. Old newspapers, broken down boxes and old styrofoam packing material apparently from a stereo were used in the packing process. Very unprofessional.
The parts themselves were so filthy that one couldn't even touch them without needing a bath. They were coated in oil. Remember these parts were off of a bike Mr. Smith had intended on retailing. These parts were described as an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. More lies, these parts are at best a 3.
The real kicker is that the parts were not even the correct parts for my motorcycle. Remember I have a 1992 Suzuki GSX1100F Katana. He pulled parts from what hew claims to be a 1991 model. Not really the exact same bike I have as he had earlier stated. More over his bike was a 49 state model while mine was a California model. Therefore the fairings are not useable on my motorcycle. Mt bike has more venting due to cooling fans and such.
I called the next day after receiving the parts to explain the problem. Mr. Smith at this point says no problem, if they are not the right parts I'll take them back. Just send them back. I decided not to trust the US Mail and took them back personally. I drove 4 and a half hours from my home to return these parts only to be told by Mr. Smith that there would be no refund.
He claims that they are the right parts I am just unhappy with the condition and color. Well yes I am unhappy with the condition and color. That is only a small part of the problem. I am unhappy with $475 worth of non-useable parts. I really wanted to resolve the problem than and there. So I offered a 10% re-stocking fee even though Mr. Smith had sold me the wrong parts. I really didn't want to drive over 4 hours for nothing. He refused still claiming that the parts were in fact correct.
I contacted an authorized Suzuki dealer from and explained the situation to them. They explained to me and Mr. Smith that in fact the parts would not work as my bike was a California only bike. He still refused to refund the money and left to go play golf. Real professional. He was informed by me that I would just cancel the whole transaction with my credit card company. To which his response was that he couldn't be responsible for the parts if I left them there.
While I was cancelling the charge with my credit card issuer he called his shop and instructed his employee to offer me a 30% re-stocking fee. 30% is this guy out of his mind! His mistake should cost me 30%? I informed the clerk that Mr. Smith need not worry about any re-stocking fees. I was getting all of my money from the credit card company. To which I have yet to hear anything further. I hope all goes well with that.
Basically the lesson here is do your homework on any company you intend to do business with. Check consumer sights like this one, do whatever it takes. Some people are just out to screw others. This is what happened to me. Remember Stocker's Motorcycles is a rip-off.
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