The Better Business Bureau of Myrtle Beach wants to warn consumers about a traveling auto mechanic who's been the subject of several complaints.
BBB President Kathy Graham said Michael Davis, who owns After Hours Mobile Auto Repair Service, has charged consumers for services he never completed.
One such consumer is Carolyn Rogers whose 1988 Chevrolet truck needed repairs. In early June, she found Davis's business and contact information in a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages.
"I'm flipping through ... and I say 'oh my gosh, this is great.' This guy has 15% off parts and labor," Rogers said.
Rogers said she called Davis who showed up the same afternoon and began taking parts out of the truck. Rogers said Davis showed up with "an older woman" who he said he was "helping out."
Rogers paid Davis $180 and turned over the truck's key. Davis told Rogers he'd be back later that afternoon to repair the truck, but she says he never returned.
"That was the end of that. He never came back. Well, I'm waiting today for this guy to come back," Rogers said.
Rogers said her truck won't run and said despite repeated calls to Davis, she hasn't received her money back or her keys.
"I can't go to work. I can't help other people. I can't even go to the grocery store anymore."
Rogers isn't alone in her frustration and she shares a story similar to one told by Melissa Thompson.
Thompson, a single mother, called Davis in early June after her air conditioning stopped working in her minivan.
"He (Davis) took the compressor out of the car and took my car key and said that he would be back."
Like Rogers, Thompson said she never heard back from Davis and was without a car for two weeks.
"I gave him $497, then I gave him another $30 on top of that, so it came out to like $520," Thompson said.
In mid-June, Thompson hired another mechanic and had to shell out an additional $700 to have her air conditioner repaired.
Thompson is suing Davis, but says she would drop the suit if he would simply return her money and keys.
"That's it. That's all I want back ... (and) no more business with him."
In May, Myrtle Beach police charged Michael John Davis with seven counts of forgery.
According to police reports and warrants, Davis was doing auto work for a 72-year-old man in Horry County. The reports say Davis and another man stole the 72-year-old's checkbook and fraudently cashed more than $14,000 in forged checks.
Davis was arrested and remains on home detention, according to officials at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
As for Rogers, she still has no car to get to work or the store and she says she plans to sue Davis if she can find the money for the filing fees.
"They murdered my life for over a month. They're liars, they're cheaters, they're thieves, and it just hurts. I don't want anymore else to go through what I went through."
This reporter offered Davis a chance to respond to this article, but he declined comment.
