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Evans Halshaw - Servicing Scam
I have just had my wifes little Citroen "serviced" by Evans Halshaw, York. They suggested that the brake fluid should be replaced, at about £35. As the car works hard, and its quite important to us that it works well, I agreed. Later on (after paying for this fluid change) I was looking through the Service document, mainly because we had purchased a Service plan at the same time and I was curious about what we were getting for the money we had just shelled out (for 3 years worth of servicing).
EH claim their Essential Servicing is in accordance with the manufacturers schedule, and there in black and white was "Replace the brake fluid every two years".
The Service plan they sold me was a 12500 mile annual service. The cars Maintenance and Warranty guide tells me that the periodicity of servicing for a 1.4 diesel is 20,500/2years.
The car is now 4 years old and has a mileage in line with that ie about 40,000. I therefore went back to EH Citroen, York and had a chat with a very nice Servicing manager who told me that I was wrong and that the plan was correct and the brake fluid change was an additional item not included in the service.
Out came my little book and I showed him the pages where it stated quite clearly 20500/2years and replace the brake fluid every 2 years. Despite this he continued to tell me that I was wrong and he would prove it by checking the Citroen website. Guess what? It turns out I was right and both the service plan sold to me was wrong and the brake fluid should have been replaced as part of the service. Needless to say, they have now agreed to refund the brake fluid charge and have corrected the service plan (sadly its a more expensive option, but as they will now have significantly more to do in each service, I think I'm still on the good side).
What concerns me, though, is just how many people they have charged for work that, by all rights, should be included in the service they are supposedly carrying out. I hope that most people do check they are getting what they are paying for. Had I not agreed to this "additional" item, then the car would have gone through its life not being properly serviced, despite EHs claim they were servicing the car correctly. I reckon this is called mis-selling, which the banks have found to their cost, is not a good idea!
EH claim their Essential Servicing is in accordance with the manufacturers schedule, and there in black and white was "Replace the brake fluid every two years".
The Service plan they sold me was a 12500 mile annual service. The cars Maintenance and Warranty guide tells me that the periodicity of servicing for a 1.4 diesel is 20,500/2years.
The car is now 4 years old and has a mileage in line with that ie about 40,000. I therefore went back to EH Citroen, York and had a chat with a very nice Servicing manager who told me that I was wrong and that the plan was correct and the brake fluid change was an additional item not included in the service.
Out came my little book and I showed him the pages where it stated quite clearly 20500/2years and replace the brake fluid every 2 years. Despite this he continued to tell me that I was wrong and he would prove it by checking the Citroen website. Guess what? It turns out I was right and both the service plan sold to me was wrong and the brake fluid should have been replaced as part of the service. Needless to say, they have now agreed to refund the brake fluid charge and have corrected the service plan (sadly its a more expensive option, but as they will now have significantly more to do in each service, I think I'm still on the good side).
What concerns me, though, is just how many people they have charged for work that, by all rights, should be included in the service they are supposedly carrying out. I hope that most people do check they are getting what they are paying for. Had I not agreed to this "additional" item, then the car would have gone through its life not being properly serviced, despite EHs claim they were servicing the car correctly. I reckon this is called mis-selling, which the banks have found to their cost, is not a good idea!
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Comments
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Evans Halshaw name is mud already with this forum full of horror stories about them. Glad you got it (almost) sorted.0
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The automotive industry (namely: car dealerships) have a terrible habit of assuming everyone who walks through the door is an idiot and whatever they say is right.
You rarely get a straight answer to a question I find... (Except with my local toyota dealer who bend over backwards for you.. wish I never sold mine now!)0 -
I reckon this is called mis-selling, which the banks have found to their cost, is not a good idea!
But banking is a highly regulated industry where you need a licence too operate, and with compensation schemes and an independent ombudsman.
Since a car is often the second largest purchase many people make after their home (where solicitors, who are also licensed, regulated and insured, protect your interests); it would be nice if there was some better protection for consumers, but unfortunately there isn't. So we just have to educate ourselves of forums like this, pass on our good and bad experiences and hopefully learn from them.We need the earth for food, water, and shelter.
The earth needs us for nothing.
The earth does not belong to us.
We belong to the Earth0 -
I hope they aren't a Citroen fanchise you've been taking it to. I'd be concerned they knew so little about the car!
Well done getting anything at all out of them though!What if there was no such thing as a rhetorical question?0 -
Fluids are NOT covered by any scheme - it is a 'consumable' like battery, tyres, brakes, etc etc - so the charge would be correct, but not the time taken to drain and replace.0
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Haven't got the book in front of me but Kia include changing brake fluid in the third and fifth pre paid service from what I remember.
http://www.kia.co.uk/owners/aftersales/care/picanto-rio-care.aspxI'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.0 -
The automotive industry (namely: car dealerships) have a terrible habit of assuming everyone who walks through the door is an idiot
^^^ This
Problem is most people simply cannot be bothered to learn anything about their car, hence the crooks get away with ripping them off.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
Arnold Clark service plan covers all consumable items listed as part of routine service. It doesn't cover brake pads etc.Fluids are NOT covered by any scheme - it is a 'consumable' like battery, tyres, brakes, etc etc - so the charge would be correct, but not the time taken to drain and replace.0
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