False Service History from a licensed dealer

timboss81

Hello, im just wondering where i stand on this matter. I bought a second hand car from a licensed well known car brand dealership last year and by chance today ive checked the service history. The service looks like it has been doctored as the dates dont add up, they are stamped by the dealership but not signed. I went on the Gov site to check the MOTs and also the MOT mileage doesnt match the service history recorded in the book. Even worse the 3rd entry in the book is the wrong date (previous to the 2nd entry). I am concerned that this will affect myself from selling the car on and that the dealership has fabricated the document therefore committing an offence. Anybody have any experience of anything similiar, thanks

tacpot12

No experience of this situation, but curious as to whether the stamps in the book are from the dealer you purchased the car from. If the dealer has falsified the service records, then they have committed a criminal offence, however getting the police to act on such crimes is apparently difficult. I would be easier to seek redress for your loss in the civil courts.

It would be worth calling the Service Department at the dealership and asking if they can print off or email you a copy of all the work they have done on the car (give them the reg number). Hopefully the Service Department won't recall that this is a car that the dealership has sold and will just send you the details from their computer, or let you pick it up at Service Reception. (They should redact the customer name, and you should ask them to do this if raise any data protection issues). If they refuse, make a note of the date/time and reason they give you for refusing to release the data.


Do be aware that some garages are not very careful about completing the service record. The out of sequence stamps/dates may have occurred because of carelessness. It is rare to see the service books signed these days, the dealers stamp is generally accepted as being valid if dated.

timboss81

Hi Thanks for the quick response. It is from a different dealership location to the one i bought it from. It just looks very suspicious, same hand writing/colour, inconsistent dates. The 3rd entry with the incorrect date is way off the MOT recorded mileage. I have already emailed the dealership so waiting to hear back to see what they say, hopefully they can update the service history so i can and know that every is ok. The reason why i have said about the signatures is the 4-6 entries are all signed and dated and look ok, its the first 3 that do not

forgotmyname

3rd was stamped before the 2nd? Someone accidently stamped the box below the 1st instead of the box to the right?

Plenty of reasons for mileage discrepancies, switched between miles and km, or just guessed the mileage because they were too lazy to go back and check?

timboss81

No, the third entry had a date earlier than the second entry and they are on different pages (it looks like they did all three at the same time) but a higher mileage. Also the services were recorded every 4-5 months and at 5000 ish milestones, that seems abit odd.

AndyMc.....

timboss81 wrote: »

No, the third entry had a date earlier than the second entry and they are on different pages (it looks like they did all three at the same time) but a higher mileage. Also the services were recorded every 4-5 months and at 5000 ish milestones, that seems abit odd.

Maybe it's something you should have looked at before buying.

forgotmyname

When i bought my car it had been serviced 4 months prior, i still got them to do a service on it and also change the timing belt which was not due for another 30 - 40k miles.

So short service intervals are not uncommon. I did get a puzzled look though when i asked for it to be done, but when i asked the price they had no issue with doing it and actually gave me a great price.

hora

So your car doesn't have a service history but one that was created after the event. You paid a higher price in good faith as without a history it would be worth substantially less. I would be contacting them NOT speaking to a salesman there and not being fobbed off.

It's misrepresented. They can argue it happened before they got hold of the car but you bought the car from them in good faith paying the book price?

hora

Is it a brand from the same manufacturer dealer I.e a Ford from a Ford dealer etc? If so call head office customer services. Start there, if they fob you off explain it's not acceptable and you'll take legal action. Keep at it

timboss81

Thanks i was unaware of the shorter timescale, so thanks for the info and thanks for everyone’s input it’s appreciated.

hora

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Maybe it's something you should have looked at before buying.

People still trust main dealers.