Have you been pitched tires in central and southern Utah? Even a legislator has a story.

Interstate 15 in central and southern Utah can be a long way from someone’s home — and not the place that someone wants a flat tire. 

So if someone approaches you at a gas station and says you are in danger of a blowout or something worse, what do you do? An article on The Salt Lake Tribune’s website and in the newspaper Sunday reported on two motorists who went ahead and paid for what workers and a tire shop told them they needed to have. The Utah Division of Consumer Protection is now seeking to fine the shop. The shop’s lawyer has said it plans to contest the fine and the allegations in state court. 

A tire shop in Beaver was fined over similar allegations in 2015. 

We asked readers to submit stories about the experiences they had with tire shops on I-15 through central and southern Utah. We asked for good and bad experiences. As of Monday night, we received only the latter. 

Some motorists paid three or four figures. Others opted to ignore the advice or the salesmanship and drive on. 

One of those who shared a story was state Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo. He said in May of this year, he was towing a boat behind a pickup truck and stopped at the Flying J in Beaver. It’s next door to the tire shop fined in 2015, Goober’s Service. It’s now doing business as Sporty’s To Go. 

Bramble’s story is the first we are sharing. Other readers told of experiences they had at tire shops elsewhere on I-15 in central and southern Utah:

Curt Bramble, Provo

“An employee of the truck stop tried to tell me that I needed new tires, that my brakes were bad and needed to be replaced, that I needed to have my trailer axles aligned, and that I should get my truck tires checked, rotated, and aligned.

“Unfortunately for the employee, my trailer had new tires, I had just had the brakes serviced, I had the axles aligned at the end of the season last year, and my truck tires had only about 5,000 miles on them. I asked him to put his concerns in writing and was told that it was against company policy to write down all that he said needed to be done or the cost, but that “Safety has no cost” was his pitch. We declined his attempt to sell his services, but thought “what would an unsuspecting traveler without mechanical knowledge” be stuck with?

“I did not file a complaint, but when I brought up the threat of a complaint, the employee immediately went back to the garage and refused to speak with me further. I did not advise the employee that I was a state senator and that I chaired the Business & Labor Committee that the Utah Division of Consumer Protection reports to.”

Yamil P. Castillo, Salt Lake City

“I was coming back from a soccer tournament from Las Vegas. On our way home, we ran into stormy weather. We stopped for gas. An employee of the gas station came to fill it up. Then we were told that my tires were in bad shape.

“My concern was to take my family home safe. My wife and three kids were with me. It cost me more than $1,000.”

Dan Pannunzio, Sandy

“I pulled my RV in the truck parking across the street from the tire shop for a lunch stop. One “mechanic” greeted me and told me I had a bulge in a rear tire on the travel trailer. I was amazed he could see a bulge from that far away.

“I took it upon myself to look (I have experience in tire manufacturing.) and found nothing. No bulges. Nothing. We had our lunch and left.”

Sena Taylor Hauer, Moab

“I was a single woman traveling from Moab to Las Vegas. When I got gas, I was surprised to be approached out of the blue by a mechanic who said he “just happened to notice” that my tires looked problematic and that I would be at risk if I continued driving on them.

“I was alarmed and scared, and called my husband who had just recently maintained the car. We decided I should keep driving, due to the time and expense of having something fixed there. We figured I could make it to Vegas. Later, we found that there was nothing wrong with the car, and decided it was a scam.” 

Jared Wilks, Orem

“About 15 years ago, a service mechanic approached me and said he noticed something wrong on my vehicle (some obscure part was failing) and it would probably not make it to our home in Orem. I don’t remember which part it was, but I said no thanks.

“Several days later another friend told me the same thing happened and regarding the same obscure part. I asked my mechanic who said it was a scam and I had dodged it.”

Mike Jerman, Peoria, Ariz. 

“As I was exiting the convenience store and walking to my car, a guy came up to me and said that my front driver’s side tire was “capping.” He said the tire could rupture at any time. He suggested that I drive my car to his tire shop on the other side of the parking lot and he would swap out the “bad” tire with the spare tire.

“Even though I was suspicious, I took his advice figuring that I had nothing to lose since he offered to do it for free. He then lifted the car up and said, “Oh no! Your other front tire is capped, too, but you’ve only got one spare tire! Wow, I guess you better buy two new tires.” At that point, I knew it was a scam and told him to lower the car. Then I drove off. Two days later, I went to a tire store in Draper, and they told me there was nothing wrong with either tire.”

Natalia Rementilla, Brigham City

“In November of 2015, I got a flat tire on the way down to Cedar City. I went to the business that was at the gas station where I stopped. The man working replaced my flat with my spare tire and told me that my flat tire had things broken on the inside that makes it spin. He also told me that I wouldn’t make it to Cedar City on the freeway with my spare.

“I went to Cedar anyways. I just drove a little slower than the speed limit. I had a warranty with Big O Tires. The next day I went to Big O, and told them what happened. The worker there told me my tire wasn’t broken at all, it just needed to be pumped up. I tried to explain to him about the spinny things, but he just looked at me all confused. So I guess the other guy along I-15 tried to rip me off.”

• None of those who answered our questionnaire said he or she filed complaints with a government agency, though some gave the businesses poor reviews online.

• If you believe a business defrauded you, keep all receipts and other records. 

• You can file a complaint with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection or, in many cases, with the Federal Trade Commission.

• If you paid by credit card, you can file a fraud complaint with your credit card company.