Brenda McNaughten was on her way to work when she was rear-ended. She walked away from the crash without a scratch, but her car was a different story.
"It was all crushed in the back. All crushed in," she said.
Her auto insurance provider wanted her to take the car to Caliber Collision, but she had another shop in mind: Dynamic Auto Collision Repair.
She's known the owner, Larry Dyson, for years.
"I knew my car would come back in excellent condition," she explained.
McNaughten said her insurance sent Dyson a check for more than $5,500 and it was cashed a few days after.
"Well, he told me it would be ready in a couple weeks. It wasn't," she said.
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Over the last year, McNaughten said she's gone up to the shop dozens of times but her car still wasn't ready. She said excuses ranged from the owner not having money for the parts to workers quitting on him.
Unlike McNaughten, Edwin Jackson had a contract with Dynamic Auto, but he said it didn't do him any good.
"This man is so good at lying to you," said Jackson.
He signed it his contract on Jan. 26, 2016, but two years later, his truck is still in Larry Dyson's shop.
"He's just a punk, just a punk that lies, cheats and steals," Jackson said.
The two consumers have tried getting refunds, but said the owner claimed he didn't have the money. McNaughten even bought an anniversary card earlier this year and taped it to the door.
"I put a dead rose on it and scotch taped it on his glass door," she said. "Dude, I have not forgot that you have my car."
McNaughten called the NBC 5 Responds team and we reached out to Larry Dyson. He told NBC 5's Samantha Chatman that he's been in the business for 21 years and that most don't last over five.
He attributes the demise of his business to "financial disasters, divorce," being a "single dad, and "corporate giants taking most of the insurance work."
He said, "I wish i could turn back time. Samantha, the best answer I have for that is I wish I would have sold about eight years ago."
Dyson said it'll take him about a month to pay Jackson back, but he said Brenda McNaughten's car would be ready on Feb. 7.
That day came and it wasn't ready then. But a week later, McNaughten's car was finally repaired and ready for pickup.
"I wasn't getting anywhere with him. I contacted y'all and y'all were on it," she said. "I greatly appreciate that. I don't think I would have got it back if it wasn't for y'all."
McNaughten said she's happy to finally have her car back but is now trying to get Larry Dyson to pay her back for her rental car expenses.
She said she refuses to wait another year and is prepared to go the legal route if necessary.
When doing business with any company, here are Samantha Chatman's Solutions:
• Check the reviews online. Dynamic Auto Collision Repair has an "F" with the BBB and one star on Yelp.
• Also, make sure you have a signed contract, whether it's a friend or even a relative! A signed contract doesn't always guarantee a successful outcome, but at the very least, you'll have some form of proof if the deal goes south.
• Always make sure that contract has a deadline.
• If you need NBC 5 Responds' help, click here.
