Sunday, January 6, 2013

Is General Radiator Trying to Censor Trucker Reviews?

truckersreport.com

We need to get the word out. General Radiator is a bad company with a bad product that you will want to stay away from. Read the following posted in truckersreport.com Link to their site follows: 
If you’ve ever had to replace the radiator on your truck, you’ve probably heard of a company called General Radiator. They’re an aftermarket radiator manufacturer and you’ve seen their ads everywhere claiming “Our Prices Are Lower Than Any Competitor PERIOD,” “Superior Quality,” and “Dependable, Realistic Warranties That Count!” It’s a big business serving big trucks, and it seems to me that they have a big reputation problem.
The Better Business Bureau, which has them listed as National Porges Radiator Corp, has received 27 complaints in the past 3 years and rates them an F, the lowest possible rating.
General Radiator’s Google page has 3 reviews, all of them negative.
And on the TruckersReport forum, 7 members have reported problems with General Radiator products and customer service.
If you read the reviews, it looks like the issue that customers are most upset about is their customer service. After all, this is the trucking industry and experienced drivers know that everything eventually breaks, usually at the worst possible time. When it does, you want the manufacturer to stand by their product and make it right. But, based on my analysis of the reviews of General Radiator’s products, it is my opinion that the majority of reviews show that General Radiator is not honoring the warranties on their products and is upsetting customers with lengthy runarounds and big repair bills.
It appears to me that General Radiator is paying attention to their customers, but not in the way that you might think. Last week I received an email from their lawyer demanding that the negative posts be removed because the “unfounded attacks” are damaging their “peerless reputation.” He went on to threaten that if I didn’t remove the reviews, the company would “have no alternative but to pursue all legal remedies available to it in order to protect its business and its reputation.”
TruckersReport was founded out of the frustration that comes from seeing companies and politicians taking advantage of truck drivers day after day. The goal has always been to give drivers a place to share information, warn each other about the bad guys, and hopefully make things better. I believe that our members have a right to talk about General Radiator, and surrendering to legal threats is a betrayal of our community principles.
This puts me in a tough spot. TruckersReport is an independent website, it isn’t owned by a corporation with a team of lawyers on standby. Paying for the legal defense of TruckersReport comes out of my own pocket. I’m not asking for your money; you have better things to spend it on and this isn’t a charity. But if you care about what this site stands for then tell another driver about what’s happening, mention it on twitter, facebook, or your mother’s knitting circle. The attention you bring to this story will make a difference.
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/how-general-radiator-is-trying-to-censor-trucker-reviews/


6 comments:

  1. It's an empty threat. In order to prove defamation or libel the plaintiff has to prove the negative claims are unfounded AND that they were posted with malicious intent to damage the plaintiff. They're counting on you not having a team of attorneys and being able to scare you with theirs. Invite them to pursue all the legal action they want.

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  2. Hey Dan, thanks for republishing my article! I really appreciate the support.

    Kevin, I agree, going public with the post on TruckersReport was partly to call their bluff.

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    1. You're more than welcome Samuel. You have a great website and I'll be glad to help promote it!

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  3. Ruddiest humans on earth

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  4. General Radiator (aka National Porges Radiator Corp.) Is one of the worst companies to deal with ever (don't simply take my word for it, check out the link to Better Business Bureau reviews for this company). They have sent me a wrong radiator (which conveniently for them also happened to be a cheaper one). Instead of owning up to the mistake and fixing it, they (in a very rude manner) have tried to make me keep it by saying it will work. After arguing with them for hours (they refused to understand that their opinion on whether this radiator "will work for me" or not is irrelevant, since it's simply not the part I ordered/ paid for), they convinced me to pay for another radiator (the one I originally ordered), while promising to refund the full amount once they receive the other radiator.

    Almost a month and a half later, and after calling multiple times along every single step, they only refunded me part of the amount. The company (I dealt with John and Jim) constantly did not honor the agreed upon terms, and flat out lied. If you have not place an order with them yet, do yourself a favor and go order somewhere else!

    See BBB link below.
    http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/radiators-automotive/national-porges-radiator-in-chicago-il-70000400/complaints#breakdown

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