Very sad - pride in business transactions and customer service has almost totally gone away. I hope you paid with a credit card so that you can dispute the charge. Under most credit card agreements and under the
Fair Credit Billing Act, you can dispute the bill if the item delivered was not what was ordered. In your case I think you have a winning claim!
In 22 years in the Air Force, we would get this complaint all the time. As the base JAG, here is the advice I always gave (direct from one of my handouts):
To dispute a billing error on your credit card, you must:
Write to the credit card issuer at the address for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending your payments (the address for billing inquiries is often found on the back of your most recent monthly statement); include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error.
Send your letter so that it reaches the credit card issuer within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you.
Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of what the credit card issuer received. Include copies (not originals) of sales slips or other documents that support your position. * In your case, send copies of photos of the defective rusty fender as well as proof that the fender was "advertised as a clean, rust free." Keep a copy of your dispute letter.
It is important to send the letter to the correct company. In the case of Visa and MasterCard, you should send it to the bank that issued the card.
Under the
Fair Credit Billing Act, the credit card issuer must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days after receiving it, unless the problem has already been resolved. And the credit card issuer must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter.
I hope this helps.
David