New Member. Purchased tires over a month ago through the Michelin Advantage Program. The price seemed good as quoted but if you use this program be careful.
I did my homework. Got the price for the tires from FMCA. I was told to contact the local dealer to order (FMCA gave me the name of the dealer) and at that time I also got the price for mounting, balancing and valve stems. The total was $1608.75, which is what I expected to be charged.
The tires came in and they were installed. We were given no paperwork at the dealer. The man I had dealt with was not there but they said the invoice would be e-mailed. The next day I received an invoice from FMCA in the amount of $1783.34, not the $1608.75 I was quoted. We were even charged a bogus $54 disposal fee - we took the old tires with us.
I called immediately and tried to get it corrected. I have been getting the run around ever since. I was told by Michelin and FMCA (who had issued the invoice) that, even though the figures were incorrect, no credit could be given. I was told to file a grievance with my credit card company, give Michelin another authorization and when the credit card company charged them back, they would then issue a credit and put through a new charge for the correct amount.
The credit card company, of course, will not do this as I received the tires. After multiple calls (this has been going on for almost 6 weeks now) I have still gotten nowhere. FMCA told me they were working on issuing a credit but after multiple calls, nothing has been done.
So just be careful. In giving Michelin authorization, you are basically giving them a blank check. They, or the dealer, can charge any amount they want to your card and you will have no recourse. It may not be the savings you think it is. In my case, I could have purchased the tires down the street from me at a total cost of $1678.20. I thought I was getting a $70 savings through FMCA but it wound up costing me $105. more.
Good luck to anyone else using this program. I hope you have a better experience than I did.
