AUSTIN, Texas —
The sudden closing of an auto body repair shop in North Austin has left some customers wondering what happened to their cars.
The KVUE Defenders first told you about customer concerns with Hail Specialists Auto Body and Collision in May. Issues like months-long delays, allegations of escalating repair costs, and excessive storage fees. Since then, several more customers have reached out to the Defenders.
Some of them, like Sefria Ricks, don’t expect to see their cars again.
"I never received my car back," Ricks said.
Erica Michaud doesn’t have her vehicle anymore.
"I personally never saw my truck again,” Michaud said.
Christal Byrns wants answers.
"Why can't you give us the car?" Byrns said.
So do Joe Vastano and Marie Lee.
"We have no idea how we're going to get it back,” Vastano said.
“They said they're gonna keep it and so they kept it,” Lee said.
The last time the five laid eyes on their trucks and cars was right before Hail Specialists Auto Body and Collision in North Austin started working on them.
When it was still in business.
Back in May, we showed you how customers like Ernesto and Cheryl Ojeda accused Hail Specialists of driving up repair costs and taking months to complete repairs. They reached out to the KVUE Defenders for help.
“On October 9th when you dropped off the car, did they give you any indication that it would take six months?" Investigative reporter Jenni Lee asked.
"No. No ma'am," Cheryl and Ernesto Ojeda said.
KVUE Defenders also discovered several lawsuits filed by customers and insurance companies against Hail Specialists, some claiming the shop is holding vehicles hostage for thousands of dollars in excessive storage fees.
In August, Hail Specialists was closed; the front gate chained and locked, leaving customers beyond frustrated.
"Well, it really gets my blood boiling. It gets you so angry that you lose sleep over it,” Vastano said.
Vastano told us his nightmare started after his wife took her vehicle to Hail Specialists in February. Hail pounded the Honda HRV in September 2023 when severe thunderstorms caused $600 million worth of hail damage in Travis and Williamson counties. It was the costliest hail storm ever for the Austin area.
Sophie Vastano shared text messages between she and shop staffers. She said she reached out eight times in a five-week period to try to get updates.
"They had multiple excuses throughout the time. Sometimes it was illness, sometimes it was staffing issues, sometimes it was parts,” Sophie Vastano said.
The Vastanos called it "gross unprofessionalism" in their complaint to the Texas Attorney General's Office. They also claim repair costs kept going up.
"It's completely ludicrous," Joe Vastano said.
First, they said Hail Specialists estimated repairs would be $5,262.18. Then $9,688.79 a month later to cover the cost of painting. It’s work the Vastanos said the employees messed up.
When the shop wanted $1,199.15 to replace a windshield the Vastanos said wasn't damaged during the hailstorm, their insurance company refused to pay anymore.
In a letter to the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Farm Bureau stated it is not "responsible for rates above the market rate, nor are we responsible for a shop that charges excessive rates or chooses repairs that lead to excessive costs."
"In order to get your car back, you're going to have to pay this outrageous bill,” Joe Vastano said.
Seven months later, the Vastanos still don't have their car. They don't even know where it is.
"We thought it was only us," Joe Vastano said.
The couple soon discovered others with similar stories.
Marie Lee said Hail Specialists also kept her car when she couldn’t afford the thousands of dollars Hail Specialists claimed she owed in storage fees. Fees Lee says she knew nothing about.
"The story didn't match up because they said they have my car apart. The charges [were] for moving the car every day in and out of the building,” Lee said.
Lee couldn't afford an attorney to pursue the matter.
Neither could Sefria Ricks.
"They said as long as my vehicle was in, they were going to charge me $300 a day,” Ricks said.
Ricks also said Hail Specialists kept her car when she couldn't pay the thousands the shop said she owed in storage fees. Fees that racked up as her car was being repaired. Ricks said her insurance refused to pay and totaled her car instead.
"It went from getting an estimate of repairs, thinking that they were going to fix it and then it went like two days later that my car was being totaled because the amount was way more than what my car was worth,” Ricks said.
Erica Michaud said that’s what happened to her as well.
"So, they wanted $300 a day for 52 days plus all the other fees. So, they wanted my insurance to then pay $20,000 after they already got 18,000 for fixing my vehicle,” Michaud said.
She hasn’t seen her car since February 2023.
KVUE Defenders called, texted and emailed Hail Specialists owner, Michael Chanata, about these customers' cars but received no response from Chanata.
But a crisis communications consultant Chanata hired confirmed that Hail Specialists did close and said Chanata wanted to pass along the message, "Congratulations to KVUE for destroying a business that fought every day to protect Austin residents from unscrupulous insurance companies trying to cheaply and improperly fix damaged cars."
The consultant also said customers' cars will be delivered once balances are paid and if not, they’ll be sent to a third-party storage facility.
Christal Byrns said she's had no luck getting information about her son's car.
“Since they've closed, I mean, they're not answering their phones," Christal Byrns said.
She said Hail Specialists has had it since March.
After repair costs increased from $12,000 to more than $14,300, Byrns said their insurance refused to pay anymore. Hail Specialists told her there was an outstanding balance of more than $5000.
"They wanted more money from the insurance, but the insurance couldn't do it because, for one, they wouldn't provide more pictures and why, a good reason, why they needed more money for the work,” Byrns said.
Even customers who got their vehicles back said, after their experiences, they're not surprised that Hail Specialists closed.
Angela Arnold owns her own business.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I treated even one customer the way that I was treated, much less having multiple people like this,” Arnold said.
Robert Kraft also owns his own business.
"I've been in the service industry my entire life and that's by far the worst service I've ever received," Kraft said.
John Ramirez said he ended up paying about $4,500 out of his own pocket to get his car back, two months after taking it in.
“Their original estimate started out at $10,000. That was from Hail Specialists. That's exactly what the insurance ended up paying out. And the last hour they tacked on the other $4000. And the insurance company said, no, we're not paying that,” Ramirez said.
Despite what they went through, these customers wanted to share their stories to warn others.
“It was devastating,” Ricks said.
"It was a traumatic experience,” Michaud said.
Austin police tell us they are looking into criminal complaints of “auto theft” against Hail Specialists filed by customers.
But they also said one of the challenges investigators face is that the claims stem from civil matters.
According to an Austin police report dated Oct. 10, 2023, an investigator with the National Insurance Crime Bureau was looking into Hail Specialists for its excessive storage fees. The email from the NICB investigator to Austin police stated, “I am investigating this shop for potentially billing for services not rendered and hoping to eventually get some law enforcement interest from APD or TDI depending on the results of my investigation.”
KVUE reached out to the National Insurance Crime Bureau several times but have not received a response.
KVUE also reached out to the Texas Department of Insurance, but a spokesperson said he couldn’t confirm an investigation, and they generally don’t comment on them.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection received at least 17 complaints from customers and insurance companies about Hail Specialists.
KVUE reached out to the Texas Attorney General's office for comment. We received no response. Meanwhile, some of those civil lawsuits against Hail Specialists are still pending.