Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Smart Start Canada's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Smart Start Canada

  192 - 2301 Premier Way Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2K8

• 

  Smart Start Canada

  17518 105 Ave Edmonton, AB T5N 2P5

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/11/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company has a monopoly, they don’t do what they say. They have changed settings on the device without informing the customer. Their customer service is less than helpful with excessive wait times on hold and at their facilities. They promise credits on the account for their errors and do not deliver, their device has caused premature wear on the battery of my car. They have denied my request for refund multiple times. Yet if I miss an appointment or am late they charge every time. They are unprofessional and unpleasant to speak with: it says in their own mission statement that they are not to make life more difficult with their devices. However we live in Canada and it doesn’t work very well in the winter time not accepting my sample and sounding my horn and lights when this happens. I feel this is unfair and they need to be held accountable just like I am. They have multiple accounts for me and are very disorganized requiring me to please be patient while they figure it out spending anywhere from 20- 160 minutes on hold. The supervisor never calls back like they promise. At the end of the day it’s about fairness and customer transparency. They fail at both

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/08/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm writing in to inform you about the gross negligence that has occurred while having a Smart Start device installed on one of my vehicles at ********* in St Constant. I would also like to express my grievance at the lack of communication from Smart Start to discuss this issue. After requesting to speak to a supervisor on 2 occasions by myself and a colleague, we finally get a call back from someone that is not a supervisor, only to be given this email address.
  
  
  The first issue occurred on the 17th of April, when my driver ******** ****** ***** went with the vehicle ************************** to have the device installed. The appointment was at 8am, and they said it would take around 45 minutes to complete. Upon arrival, Mr ***** was told that they were working on another vehicle, and he would have to wait. After completion of the vehicle ahead, no one was capable of moving the vehicle out of the service bay further adding to the wait, until the owner of the vehicle returned to pick it up. This whole process took almost 7 hours, making the day a write-off for any work Mr ***** could accomplish. Why the garage didn't call beforehand to inform of delays/double booking only proved to be a fore runner to the gross negligence and incompetence shown for the installation process.
  
  Now we get to the installation of the device.
  
  The device was not secured and was installed using speaker cable instead of automotive cable. While speaker cable may prove to have fewer issues at low amperage applications(10 amps or less), the fact that they used the "twist and tape" method resulting in a loose connection could have caused an electrical surge resulting in a fire in the cab. Furthermore, the cable to the starter switch was cut(main truck harness) and the "twist and tape" method was used once again, causing a no start issue on the 13th of July. Upon investigation, on the 15th of July(date of the videos) I found the cause of the is to be the connection at the starter switch. The device was then completely removed from the vehicle for safety reasons. In all my years as a qualified automotive technician and fleet owner, I have never seen an electrical accessory installed so poorly by an "approved garage". I fail to understand why the original wiring was cut, when the device is temporary. A patch harness should have been used, as this was an accessory installation, not a modification to the vehicle.
  
  After the device was returned, Mr ***** had tried to take another appointment to install a device again(obviously at another garage for fear of his safety). Now he faces the issue of a delayed appointment date because the device was removed due to a safety hazard. What was the alternative? Pay for a tow to bring it back to *********, who couldn't install it properly in the first place?

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2023

  The participant and Mr. ****** were contacted by Smart Start Customer Service to resolve this complaint and provide them with explanation.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/08/2023

  
  
  Complaint: 20435074
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was told to return to the 3rd party service center they that had sent us to. The appointment was made through Smart Start.They approved this service center as one of their agents. 

  Who in their right mind would return to a service center that literally put our lives and the lives of other road users in danger??

  I have repeatedly asked to speak with a supervisor as this a major safety issue. All I received back is an email from a customer service agent(after almost 2 weeks) who either had a complete lack of understanding or a complete disregard for safety. After this one email for Smart Start, no more replies. 

  Their motto is"YOUR SATISFACTION WITH SMART START IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY" yet in my experience this is far from the reality. Users of Smart Start are paying customers an should be treated as so. 

  As Smart Start are dragging their feet with this matter, I will have no choice but to initiate legal action in order to recover the loses for damage to my vehicle and more importantly to set a precedent to help protect my fellow Canadians from a company that doesn't care about Canadian lives. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:27/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Smart start canada is charging me for the stuff i was paying the insurance for and then they told that insurance doesnt cover the this portion but i when i got insurance at that time i was told that it cover lost theft and accidents aswell but now when i called them again today make appointment to get new device installed in my new car they told they gonna charge me again for removing device from old vehicle which is not acceptable and specially in time its hard to pay these amounts whenever i call there are new rules everytime and i dont see the point when they ask us to get insurance but then they never wanna cover anything

• Initial Complaint

  Date:20/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Almost Froze To Death Because Restarting Vehicle After a Faulty Failed Blow wouldn’t allow for a start and resulted in a violation?
  Failed Rolling Tests- Failed to Take
  Failed To Take a Breath Sample
  Missed Smart Idle Deadline Failed to allow breath sample
  Constant 12v draw killing batteries x4 in two vehicles and x1 in another
  Terrible customer service/ follow up on
  Bogus infractions
  Hardship with amount of appointments and unlock codes in regards to faulty violations
  Changes in unlock code durations making impractical to continue carrying on day to day work routines= failed payments, and refusal by myself to continue business as it appears the trend is to extort the customer of sgi making it impossible to finish the program 3x over
  Contributed into the program at least 3x over per month for two years just to ensure adequate performance in program due to the amount of the malfunctions the blowbox has
  Failed reimbursement of void malfunctions
  Haven’t paid rent in 2 years
  Been working 24/7 and still not getting ahead of program
  Need a full evaluation of profile, all blow boxes and testimate to legitimate violations
  Refunds for all poor violations
  Loss of wages for immobilization of transportation to and from work in remote work areas to afford the formulated audacious ludicrous fees associated within the duration of my program
  Petty customer service reps at smart start and the “game” it is to them. Providing false hope,
  Defamation of Character
  Extorting
  Exploiting
  GOUGING
  COMMUNIST
  Get a job

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/06/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I got my ignition lock in January since then my brand new rouge’s 2023 has had all types of issues. I took my car into Brasso Nissan because my car was undrivable they found destroyed wiring fuse box distorted and after 3 days in the mechanic they charged me 554 to fix the damage due to the ignition installed in my car. I have a brand new car that has so much damage that I’m now having to take it back for more service. They ruined my electronic panel because they didn’t know what to do. I have photos of the damage but smart start won’t except them claiming my new 2022 was like that at purchase in December prior to the ignition lock being installed. My car will never be the same and will always have problems due to the broken system

  Business Response

  Date: 15/06/2023

  Smart
  Start has spoken to the client and reviewed the client’s statements. Smart
  Start has provided a solution that the client is satisfied with. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:23/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  From the moment I had this device put into a vehicle I have been having problems with this device. I went out of town and it wouldn't connect to the system properly because of the area I was in. I was in Port Alice so I had a countdown started and was required to go change handset because the one I had was faulty. Not only did I have to pay for violations due to the faulty device I had to pay for the travel to go to the shop, and violations that was to no fault of my own. I was told I would ve refunded for these and still have yet to see any repayment. So on top of paying the monthly fee I had to pay for a new handset, violations caused from a faulty device? Mt boss is beyond fed up with these constant infractions I have gone to my MLA to get answers and asked when I will be refunded and no answers. How is someone supposed to successfully complete this program with so many issues? I'm going to go broke just trying to get my license back!

  Business Response

  Date: 24/02/2023

  Smart
  Start has contacted this client and explained the situation in further detail.
  The client was very understanding once the details were provided.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The hand set provided by smart start to take my breath sample stopped working. I had to get my car towed, at my expense to the local technician. The tech diagnosed the system computer was at fault and needed to swap it out for another. The tech suggested as it was 100% a smartstart issue i should ask for a refund. I was denied. Does not make any sense to me or the technician

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have an ignition interlock installed in my truck. Most recently on January 13, 2023 I had my monthly calibration appointment for 11:00am. My truck was snow covered and ice on windshield. I blew into the device with no issues, as there was still ice on the windshield I ran the vents on full and constantly used the washer fluid to attempt to remove ice. The location for my monthly calibration is 1.8kms and 3 minutes from my home. As I entered the parking lot of the location the device required me to do another two test which showed a violation. I spoke to the technician and one of the operators at their call Centre and they both said it showed violation as alcohol detected and that it was from an external source from the truck from the vents blowing full and from the vapors from the truck. I was charged a fee of $96.05 for violation reset. The tech said that this does occur from time to time. I’m asking for a refund of $96.05 and as this was no fault of mine as I had no alcohol in my system and due to an external source from the truck that this violation be removed from my file. I completed an incident report and submitted to them with no response.
  
  Additionally, I have requested on many occasions to have the unit installed correctly as the handheld unit is hanging loosely down to the for. I’ve had to place the handheld unit on the passenger floor for safety while driving not to be in the way at all for me to drive. This also resulted in a missed test as it wasn’t heard while driving on rough country roads. The location states that they can’t safely hang handheld device correctly I paid extra due to special install on truck.
  This occurred on October 4, 2022 which resulted in a reset charge of $96.05 and violation which should also be removed from my file. There is no accountability by this company or the shops, they simply want to continue to charge fee(s) that are not warranted or willing to respond or fix issues.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  on the fith of feb. my wife and i were at bingo at 4 oclock i went to start my car and the red light came on another 65 dollors for something that is not my fault,its steeling ,you understand that its steeling,you shoud all be ashamed

  Business Response

  Date: 17/02/2023

  Smart
  Start has contacted this client and explained the situation in further detail.
  The client was very understanding once the details were provided.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a Smart Start Canada breathalyzer in my vehicle. The handset wasn't working properly and I got a violation, through no fault of my own. I called smart start and they confirmed the problem and agreed to give lockout codes for free as I work out of province and rely on my truck for work. When I got home to Victoria to have the device calibrated and the error in the handset corrected, I was assured all would be fine. I was surprised to see a violation reset fee and an unlock code fee. It was their device that wasn't working and they charged me.
  
  Now, I am back at work in Alberta, and won't be back home until March 3rd, and I have encountered the same issue. I have a violation code again because the handset is not working correctly. I have called smart start to speak to a manager on the issue. They refuse to let me speak to a manager to get these problems resolved. I just want to get this sorted out.
  
  Regards,
  **** *****