
Louis Denory, a retiree in Brooklyn, New York, was proud of his 2019 Ford Flex. He’d saved for years to buy one, and regularly celebrated his newfound freedom by driving it everywhere he could. However, he was involved in an accident in April 2023 that required extensive repairs, putting his life on hold.
He took it to a locally owned shop, State to State Automotive, where GEICO paid over $6,000 to repair the shop. He expected the repairs to take some time, but he never expected almost two years to pass with no progress.
Denory’s driven by the shop several times, where he sees his damaged Flex parked and collecting dust. After a while, though, it started collecting more than dust thanks to where the shop employees parked it.
The city’s sent him over $2,000 in parking tickets for illegal parking near the shop, even though he’s not the one who moved it.
“I just don’t know who to turn to anymore,” he told CBS tearfully. “I just want my car. Where’s my car? I think about that car. And I said, ‘I’m going to fight for that car. Because the man upstairs gave it to me, and I’m going to fight for it.’”
The shop’s owner then had the balls to ask for storage fees
When Denroy showed up at the site with reporters and cameras, the shop’s owner was masked and refused to identify himself. He did, however, approach Denroy about storage fees, not expecting him to be mic’d up.
“I’m not paying no storage,” he said from afar. “I don’t care what you’re saying.”
According to court documents, the lot’s owner has been trying to get State to State off of their property for three months. Four more Better Business Bureau complaints say this isn’t the shop’s first time holding people’s property for months, despite cashing checks from insurance companies.
Another customer told reporters she’d been waiting for her car for the past nine months, with no word on when – or if – she’ll get her car back.
The law is on their side, thankfully
After reporters aired Denroy’s story, things gained traction. Denroy returned to the site and found his car had been moved close to the exit, so he gave it a quick jumpstart and drove it home.
Reporters confirmed an ongoing investigation is going on by the Department of Motor Vehicles into the business’s shady practices, too.
Additionally, a judge ordered the company to pay for Denroy’s parking tickets, since they were responsible for the vehicle at the time it was cited.