A Jersey City woman who dropped off her minivan for maintenance work in August says she was told this week by management at a Jersey City Ford dealership that they have no idea where her vehicle is located.
"They said 'There is nothing I can tell you. I don't know where it's at," said Robin Harmon, 38, of Jersey City. She dropped off her 2004 Ford Freestar for maintenance at Jersey City Ford Lincoln Mercury on Route 440 on Aug. 14, 2015, a police report. "I was thinking, 'How do you lose a car?' "
Calls to the dealership seeking comment yesterday were not returned and this morning an employee said the service manager is not available.
Harmon told police that in September the dealership called her and said the car needed more work and she authorized it, according to a police report filed after officers responded to the dealership on Monday on a call of a merchant/customer dispute.
She also said that in September she and her brother, Gregory White, went to the dealership and were told "They were still trying to find it." She said a dealership employee told them " 'It was sitting right there.' "
Harmon, who works for a security company, said "My brother went down there (on Monday) and they said 'Go ahead and just call the police because we have no idea what happened to it."
Harmon said she contacted the dealership numerous times, beginning in September, to check on the status of her vehicle.
The police report said the dealership service director told officers the minivan was not on the dealership lot. He said records show it was ready to be picked up on Aug. 27 and that someone picked it up -- "but no records are kept of who picks up the vehicle as long as there is a zero balance owed for the maintenance," the report says.
Harmon then filed a stolen vehicle report. Without her vehicle, Harmon said she had been taking buses, and doing a lot of walking.
According to the Better Business Bureau of New Jersey, 60 complaints have been lodged against Jersey City Ford Lincoln Mercury over the past three years. The complaints include repairs taking too long, bait and switches -- and at least one report of a car going missing after it was dropped off there.
According to a complaint with the BBB, a car was dropped off on Dec. 21 and the customer reported to the BBB that the dealership reported it stolen in mid-January when employees couldn't locate the car and "they can't even find the keys."
White, Harmon's sister, said his sister has picked up paperwork for a potential lawsuit against the dealership.
"It's ridiculous," White said. "They can't even believe they can't find the van."
This article originally appeared on NJ.
