Done with Tesla

[sublimejackman]

My 2016 S is by far the best car I have ever owned. It will probably always be that way. But I will not purchase a product from a company (any company) with such a cavalier attitude towards their customers. It the same sort of disregard as the nerf-the-charge-rate-and-tell-the-customers-nothing debacle of several years ago was. I thought they'd improved that; apparently I was premature in that assessment.

I'm with you on the Model S, best car I ever owned. I bought a new 2017 Model S back in the day. However, in 2020, covid ground my business to a halt for almost 7 months and I was forced to get rid of it; it was heart breaking. Picked up a Model 3 for a few years but it just wasn't the same. Last year, I finally felt comfortable spending the cash to buy a low mileage used 2017 Model S with the HW3 upgrade. So happy to have it! That all being said, I will never interact with another Tesla employee or service center again (other than a warranty battery replacement), if I can't repair it myself or take it to a thrid party to fix it, I'll sell it for parts. It's cash already spent.

Also, the door handle is usually pretty easy to fix or replace. I've had it stuck a few times and fixed it. If you're handy, maybe check out some YouTube videos on it?

 

[Pruitt]

Also, the door handle is usually pretty easy to fix or replace. I've had it stuck a few times and fixed it. If you're handy, maybe check out some YouTube videos on it?

Never considered it. I'll certainly look into it. Thanks!

 

[ewoodrick]

Lots of good responses folks. Thanks very much!

To address a few of the comments...

• The problem isn't providing my card information for the work; it's providing it over a cell phone network. Those are not particularly secure. There was no indication I could input it through my Tesla account via my computer. No one mentioned that possibility. If they had, I would have done that.
  
  It is NOT the same regardless of whether I input the card or the tech scans the card. If I do it and the information somehow gets out, it becomes a difficult question as to where the leak occurred. Somewhere between me and Tesla, or after Tesla received the info? If Tesla scanned it, then ipso facto it was after Tesla obtained the info. Much easier to determine responsibility (maybe why Telsa won't allow their techs to scan the cards).
  
  
• Had it been acceptable, I certainly would have paid the tech in cash. Not allowed. He told me my only option was to put my card info into Tesla's system via the app.
  

The cellphone network is a LOT more secure that you evidently give it credit.

People who work on the cellphone network are relatively well paid.

But I assume that you do pay for things are retail, grocery stores, and restaurants.

This is really ironic, since you are often talking minimum wage people who sometime would do anything to get ahead.
These are places where credit card skimmers are notorious and probably where your previous fraud initiated!

Tesla isn't going to make their employees obvious targets of thieves by making them carry cash and change around.


You create a picture of security in your mind, you must feel that it is secure. But reality is that it isn't.

In the credit card world of today, for the cards that offer protection, their protection is quite sophisticated. I often get notices asking me to confirm a purchase that may be suspect. If I say no, their security teams are on it in a flash.


And in this case, you could have entered your Credit Card into your Tesla account on a hard-wired computer and resolved all of the issues. I dare say that everyone else on this forum with a Tesla has done so. No obvious problems so far!

 

[Pruitt]

I dare say that everyone else on this forum with a Tesla has done so. No obvious problems so far!

Really? Everyone else? Did you poll all Tesla owners on this forum, or are you making a baseless assumption? And how do you know no one has had any problems? Another poll, or another assumption? Sorry if I seem a bit strident, there - I don't have much patience for ridiculous assertions.

Some folks refuse to see the problem, and they keep deflecting the conversation away from the real issue.

I'll put it in simpler words.

Tesla said they would take payment without me using the app (at that point, the reason I did not want to became irrelevant to the issue). When the repairman showed up he (and his boss) refused to honor what Tesla told me (even though I showed him the text messages in the app that confirmed it). I was instead told I had to enter payment information into the app or he wouldn't do the work.

I was given no option but to provide payment information through the app or the technician would leave. I wouldn't, so he did.

By the way, nothing in the app, or in my Tesla on-line account, says I can input my card data for repairs through anything but the app. The "payment method" selection in the on-line account says nothing about being able to use the payment method entered there for repairs scheduled through the app.

The cellphone network is a LOT more secure that you evidently give it credit.

I'm well aware that cell phones are secure. Just like anything else though, they are not perfect.

Given past events, I'm more cautious than most. If you actually take the time to read my earlier posts, you'll see why I'm more comfortable with the merchant (any merchant) scanning or entering the card data than I am with me doing it through a cellphone (Even WHEN minimum wage people do it, because they work for the merchant, which means in turn the merchant can't muddy the responsibility by claiming I did something wrong that resulted in the data theft). Think that doesn't happen? From first-hand experience I can tell you that the credit card processor and issuer first assign guilt for a fraudulent charge to the card holder. The card holder has to provide reasonable evidence that they did not make the charge. Having the merchant scan the card makes it much easier to do that.

I know any criticism of Tesla puffs up the fanbois. But look at the REAL issue here (if you can).

 

[holmesm1]

I was working at the Pentagon (in Arlington, VA), arguably among the most secure buildings in the world. I went to the food court Popeye's Fried Chicken and got lunch. Within an hour, I got a phone call from my CC provider asking if I had just made a purchase in North Carolina. I had not, and so told them. The fradulent charges never made it to my account. Don't know if a skimmer was involved, but if one could be installed there, one could be installed pretty much anywhere. Bottom line, don't know, don't care, how, or where it happened, the fraud protection worked. I still use credit cards, but monitor my accounts and statements.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

I'm a firm believer in the power of the customer and it generally bothers me how much we as customers put up with - remember when Netflix hiked their rates and lost a large portion of their customer base? That's how a market-driven society is supposed to work. So I salute you for taking this stand

Having said that though, I also think it's a bit of an overreaction to just never do business with Tesla again

As noted earlier Capital One has virtual credit cards and you can make a virtual card either for just one purchase, or if you prefer as many transactions as there are, but just for just one vendor. You can also cancel them at any time

I have done this and respectfully suggest you give it a go. I think it would solve all your problems

One other point: I should reread your post about the fraudulent transactions on your trip, but it was probably not a cell phone transaction that caused the problem - either a skimmer on the reader, or pass the card to the waitstaff and they take it, clone it then bring it back with the paperwork

 

[rlsd]

Have you ever charged your car at a supercharger without a payment method set up on your Tesla account?

 

[ewoodrick]

Really? Everyone else? Did you poll all Tesla owners on this forum, or are you making a baseless assumption? And how do you know no one has had any problems? Another poll, or another assumption? Sorry if I seem a bit strident, there - I don't have much patience for ridiculous assertions.

Some folks refuse to see the problem, and they keep deflecting the conversation away from the real issue.

I'll put it in simpler words.

Tesla said they would take payment without me using the app (at that point, the reason I did not want to became irrelevant to the issue). When the repairman showed up he (and his boss) refused to honor what Tesla told me (even though I showed him the text messages in the app that confirmed it). I was instead told I had to enter payment information into the app or he wouldn't do the work.

I was given no option but to provide payment information through the app or the technician would leave. I wouldn't, so he did.

By the way, nothing in the app, or in my Tesla on-line account, says I can input my card data for repairs through anything but the app. The "payment method" selection in the on-line account says nothing about being able to use the payment method entered there for repairs scheduled through the app.



I'm well aware that cell phones are secure. Just like anything else though, they are not perfect.

Given past events, I'm more cautious than most. If you actually take the time to read my earlier posts, you'll see why I'm more comfortable with the merchant (any merchant) scanning or entering the card data than I am with me doing it through a cellphone (Even WHEN minimum wage people do it, because they work for the merchant, which means in turn the merchant can't muddy the responsibility by claiming I did something wrong that resulted in the data theft). Think that doesn't happen? From first-hand experience I can tell you that the credit card processor and issuer first assign guilt for a fraudulent charge to the card holder. The card holder has to provide reasonable evidence that they did not make the charge. Having the merchant scan the card makes it much easier to do that.

I know any criticism of Tesla puffs up the fanbois. But look at the REAL issue here (if you can).

It's relatively easy for me to determine that essentially everyone has a credit card on their account. That's because the number of folks with Lifetime charging is relatively low, and therefore you'll need one to Supercharge.

Your "Given past events" hold little water with me. I dare say that many of the folks on the forum have had instances of someone attempting to fraud a credit card. It's happened to me a few times over the years.

Evidently you had a lousy credit card company, although your statements make it sound a LOT more like a bank debit card, which are indeed as dangerous as you can get. If I feel that I have a fraudulent charge, I log on, indicate that I believe that it is a fraudulent charge, and I'll maybe get a phone call, not to blame me, but to get more information and assure that I don't have any other fraudulent charges. They handle it and that's it, money not impacted.

It really sounds as if you had a bank debit card, since you said that your money was messed up for a period.
With a bank debit card, you are indeed responsible for significant amounts of fraud situations.


And again, the retail merchant is where most of the fraud is at. It's NOT from reputable online sellers.

 

[mswlogo]

Did you pay cash for your Tesla?
What planet are you living on?
You should go back to a fossil fuel tech to go with your credit card less life style.

There are plenty of reasons to dump Tesla this has to be the dumbest.

I would trust the app more than the check out at the service center. Any computer can be compromised.

Creating a virtual credit card for every transaction will get pretty old. How are you going to create that virtual card? Presumably on a computer.

cash is insecure. ATM’s can be compromised. You can get mugged for cash. You have no record of transactions with cash. You have less proof it was paid. You can refute a charge after the fact. Try doing that with cash.