Rock Auto Review

I attempted to place an order on the RockAuto.com website this past weekend that resulted in problems that the company was unwilling to admit to or reimburse me for. After selecting the part I wanted to buy, I came to the page requesting my address and billing information. I filled out all the info and clicked the "Place Order" button. I was immediately returned to the same screen with a message saying that something was incorrect, to fix it, and click on the "Place Order" button again. Unsure what was wrong, I tried about 4 times before I gave up. The order was never placed, but 4x the charges were reserved in my bank account, cleaning it out, making the money inaccessible, and causing another payment I had made elsewhere to bounce, resulting in $40 of fees. I had to get a fax from RockAuto sent to the bank telling them they could release the funds so that the money was available again. The funds would have been released 5 business days later if I didn't get the fax request.

Basically, RockAuto.com is authorizing the card too early in their checkout system, or not recognizing that the website is dealing with the same order after the fixes they request are made and the "Place Order" button is clicked again. Their customer service, including the manager, blamed the problem on the bank, said the system was set up for my protection, and would not even consider a discount on a new purchase to help cover the $40 in fees that I accrued because of their problematic website.

I spoke to my bank and a website designer/IT tech about what RockAuto told me and they both agreed that the problem was on RockAuto's end.

In the end, I never was able to purchase the product and the company was unwilling to admit that there was a problem with their website or work to keep me as a customer. In fact, the manager pretty much stonewalled me. I'm very disappointed in their customer service and hope that they fix the issues with their website for future customers.