Servicing Stop

Coco987

Booked for a service yesterday. Prepaid for this as offered a discount. Initially all was going well at first, driver called to confirm pick up the day before and arrived on time the following morning. No troubles there.
The concerns started once I received a call from a London number (02083703612) to advise me on further work needed to be done on my car. This is my first car, it passed it's MOT 4 months ago and they quoted over £700 as a starting price to fix all the "issues". A few of these quotes were just to take the components apart to diagnose the issues so in reality the price could have reached over £1000 all said and done.
The "gentleman" I spoke to on the phone turned from fairly pleasant to incredibly rude, arrogant and patronising as soon as I told him I didn't want to go through with the additional work. He turned into a pushy 80's car salesman trying to do a hard sell. This outdated technique rings alarm bells with me and makes me run a mile but I couldn't help but think of vulnerable old ladies who would fall for this bullying. Telling me that the car was unsafe to drive, auxiliary belt was going to snap any minute, spark plugs gone, etc. He even tried to threaten me with holding the car hostage at the garage as if I don't get the work done as it will be too unsafe for the driver to return the car!!! His personality literally switched as soon as I said I wouldn't get the work done. I wish I had remembered to get his name... He also said he will contact me back and never did. At the end of the conversation, he quickly tried to say I need to pay for the £29 oil replacement (which should be included). He said my car needs specialist engine oil. I said I'm not paying £29 just use the regular oil. He said that's not suitable for my engine and will damage it. I just refused to pay for it. Don't even think about calling this call centre back as they will never answer. I did get through to the main office number however (0344 225 3303) and the person I spoke to was helpful and polite.
This is the first time I have booked a service and I have learned a big lesson! This was the cheapest quote I could find and now I know why! This is the way they reel you in and then try to scare/bully/threaten the customer into paying for unnecessary additional work at triple the price. By reading the other reviews, (don't forget to look at the genuine Google reviews) EXACTLY the same scamming methods have been used across the board. Same additional work quoted, threats to keep the car in the garage, extra charge for "specialist oil", overly aggressive sales technique. I came home from work that day, scared that my car wouldn't have been returned.
I'm genuinely worried about what they have done to my car now. I have yet to check it myself but after Christmas I will take it to a reputable company (after doing my research!) and have it checked again.
Avoid like the plague.

JJ_Egan

See Post Two .