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I’ve been writing a lot recently about folks who’ve lost money to scams, con artists and crooks. Today I am happy to report that there are honest folks doing business out there who are willing to make it right when something goes wrong.

Awhile back, I got an email from Sandy Repak, of Nanticoke, who in 2012 purchased a home with two sets of windows that had been installed in 2004 and 2007 by Appleby Systems, Inc. The windows had cost about $6,000 and came with a 55-year transferable warranty, which the seller provided to Repak after she moved into the home.

The problem arose when Repak noticed that one small window had moisture trapped between the panes. When she called Appleby Systems to have the window repaired, she was told the previous homeowner had failed to transfer the warranty, for which there is a $100 fee. Repak explained that the previous owner had passed away, which was why the house was sold, and that she would be happy to pay the $100 fee.

“I was told I could not do that,” Repak wrote. “I asked why, and they said it had to be transferred within 30 days of purchasing the home. I would think they would want to stand by their products, but obviously they don’t.”

But they did, once I contacted Patti Shinn at the Appleby Systems office in York. Shinn immediately called Repak, got the warranty transferred and arranged to have the window repaired.

About a month ago, Repak wrote to me again, this time with a different problem.

In late 2014 and early 2015 she had purchased two gift certificates – $25 and $50 – from Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois, for a friend, Terry Lenig, of Milton, who had been diagnosed with cancer.

“In a very short period of time, (he) passed away and did not have the chance to use them,” she wrote. “He had a Corvette and had purchased from this company for years.”

Repak said she had contacted Mid America Motorworks about obtaining a refund, to no avail.

“I am not sure if there is anything you could do,” she wrote, “but I know you are magical because you solved my window problem for me, which I am so grateful for.”

I got in touch with Mid America Motorworks and spoke to Nick Rueter, a sales specialist who could not have been nicer. He jumped right on Repak’s case and got back to me within hours.

Turns out Lenig, who had owned a 1981 Corvette, did get a chance to spend the $25 gift certificate. On March 9, 2015, he ordered himself a T-shirt, colorfully embossed with Corvette’s official Crossed Flag Nose Emblem. Rueter even sent me a screen shot of the $27.98 order. Sadly, Lenig never got to enjoy the $50 gift certificate, which Repak had purchased in May, 2015. He passed away a few months later, on August 16.

On Dec. 8, after learning of Lenig’s death from Repak, American Motorworks refunded $50 to her credit card, and Rueter sent me another screen shot to prove the refund had been processed.

I left Repak a voice mail with the news. She called back and said she had checked her January credit card statement.

“There is a credit on my statement for 50 bucks and I missed it,” she said. “I must have had a blonde moment, or my age is starting to show. I am really sorry. How embarrassing on my part. Although again, your magic did it.”

I appreciate the compliment, but the credit goes to the folks at Appleby Systems and American Motorworks, who had the decency and good business sense to do the right thing by their customer.

Come to think of it, after months of writing about scams, crooks and con artists, that does feel a lot like magic.

Consumer Watchdog Christine Young
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Young-Christine-cmyk.jpg.optimal.jpgConsumer Watchdog Christine Young

By Christine Young

For Times Leader