By Mike Rush
St. Louis (KSDK) - For a lot of us, it's a daily ritual. We check our e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter accounts for bargains on those popular deal-of-the-day websites.
But a St. Louis man says he's been taken to the cleaners with some car cleaning vouchers he bought. Browse, click, buy, print. Simple steps to '"an excellent deal" according to Jason Kujath.
Or so he thought. Kujath and his wife have used deal-of-the-day websites before.
"You get to try out new restaurants and get a discount and it works out good for us," said Kujath.
So when Jason saw an ad on RealDealSTL.com for complete auto detailing for $95, he bought two; one for his wife and one for himself.
That was in June. More than six months later, his truck hadn't been touched, even though he called several times to try to get the company to come out.
The detailing company, STL Mobile Detailing, has also advertised on other websites including Groupon, Living Social and Urban Dealight.
Its Facebook page shows pictures of fancy cars, but also unflattering comments from unsatisfied customers also complaining about not getting a call back.
Jason says although realdealstl.com seemed helpful at first, they too stopped responding.
"I feel RealDeal being the one in the middle should at least be trying to help me either get the service done that I purchased or get my money refunded in some way," said Jason.
After Jason contacted 5 on Your Side, NewsChannel 5's Mike Rush called both companies and knocked on doors over the course of several days.
An internet search turned up a couple of addresses for STL Mobile Detailing, one not far from the brewery at a residence. Nobody answered.
One of the founders of RealDealSTL.com did eventually call Mike Rush back with this message.
Tim Brunette with RealDealSTL.com said he was aware of the problem. He said he knew first hand that STL Mobile Detailing was not responsive to e-mails or phone calls.
After repeated tries, 5 on Your Side connected with STL Mobile Detailing. The owner promised us he will at least partially refund Kujath, who says he'll now only buy from businesses he recognizes.
"Sometimes if the deal is that good, maybe it's not going to work out," said Jason.
Five on Your Side has been trying for weeks to get resolution for Kujath. On the day the story was advertised to air, the owner of RealDealSTL.com met with the customer. Tim Brunette refunded Kujath's money and gave him credit toward future purchases on the website.
Although STL Mobile Detailing promised a refund, Kujath says they have not come through.
The BBB recommends before you buy from a daily deal website, check the business ratings with the BBB. STL Mobile Detailing has an "F" rating.
KSDK