This is a scam that crosses state lines. Normally these crooks operate out of the Crosby, Pearland, and the Houston area. They were in Florida, then California for a while. As of now, the criminals are in the Seattle Washington area trolling the internet looking for the next victims. Whatever you do do not go to CRAIGSLIST to get auto bodywork or repairs done. This is where they place ads and cheat people out of their money. They really have very limited knowledge of cars in general and you will have to pay more to correct their work than just simply using a real body shop. I was in a wreck and needed some work done. I took about 5 estimates for the work to get done and Rick was the cheapest. I did some looking and his contact information on the internet led to an auto body shop off of Highway 6 named Rick’s Auto Collision Center located on [redacted] is the cell he uses. It seemed reputable and had good reviews on various sites. How could I lose right? I called him and gave him my info, I told him I would have to have the car towed and wanted to verify the address for the tow truck. So I stated the Hwy 6 address and he said no, I asked why and he said this was his friend’s place. This should have been a huge red flag. Rick said that it will have to be towed to his home in Crosby, NOT Houston because that is where he is working now. I’ve learned since that he uses this business location along with the false reviews and major websites (Google maps, and Yelp) to mislead and trick customers into thinking he is a reputable and reliable business. I have an itemized detail full repair list of all the parts that will need to be replaced. He led me to believe that he did the repairs himself, but this simply is not true he outsourced my body repair work just as he does most of his projects. He outsourced it to a man named Caesar Marin I found this out later on. Caesar claimed he was paid less than 10 percent of what Rick charged me and that Rick and his wife have been pulling this scam for a long time. He did not make all the repairs needed and the ones that were made were sloppy and horrible. Caesar said he asked Rick if the repairs needed to be perfect and Rick told him “No just get it done.” Because of this, you can tell the car was in a wreck. Now before he would let me get my car back, he upped the price by 33% of the original quote. He claimed that it was because the parts were expensive, but if this was the case why did you quote me a different price? I was desperate to get my car so I paid otherwise I could not get my car back. The work was not up to par but I needed my car because he had kept it for so long. Within a few weeks, the car started to fall apart and the paint that Caesar painted started to come off. The panels, lines, and gaps did not match up. I called Rick about a week later and let him know this was not acceptable! He kept making excuses, like he’s out of town, next he was on vacation, a vacation I paid for in full due to the money he scammed from me. Then he asked for more money. I told him I won’t pay a dime more. After this, he began ignoring calls and now won’t answer or text back. Tons of other people who Rick and his wife have ripped off are in different states. People are mad. If you come in contact with this man, please contact the FBI and the other proper authorities. It’s a federal crime what he is doing. He and his wife are criminals who take advantage of unsuspecting victims. They will drive your car around without permission. It’s simple fraud. How can you call your self a car repair business if you know nothing about repairs while outsourcing the work to uncertified people?
