Fixter - A spectacular horror story

lukegormally

This is hopefully a useful warning to anyone out there. Normally I am very careful with apps and websites that promise the world. These guys had good reviews and seemed legit, plus I would have got a nice bit of cashback from TopCashBack if I had ended up paying for anything. But strap in if you're reading this. I promise this actually happened but I am reserving the rights to one day turn it into a sitcom or short form YouTube channel 😂

Absolute chaos.

1. Took my van to a different location to the one I had booked for
2. Sent two people who dont speak english to my house to collect it, who didnt understand when I asked them for ID or a booking confirmation
3. Told me the MOT had failed, when it had actually passed
4. Told me that I wouldnt charged but that they still had to pay the garage
5. Refused to pay the garage
6. Owner of the garage turned up outside my house asking for payment

I was halfway through writing this review of an absolutely chaotic situation when amazingly it got worse. Fixter told me on the phone that they "would still have to pay the garage but wont be charging me". What actually happened was Fixter cancelled it on their system and then refused to pay the Mechanic for the work done. They put the cancellation through AFTER the mechanic had completed the work. I have screenshots to show the MOT was filed before they put it on their system. And the mechanic turned up at my house, asking me for payment. I honestly feel like I’m in some sort of weird fever dream.

This whole experience was a good reminder that half the time, apps and websites that act as third parties aren’t actually offering anything that you can’t do yourself. And doing it yourself is free. I wont be using Fixter again. In the end, I rang a local mechanic, with an actual address and google reviews, and got it booked in. In stark contrast to Fixter, this mechanic was very clear with me that they could service the vehicle but they outsourced the MOTs. Even offering to book the MOT in with their provider, for no additional charge. Pretty simple really. Nice, honest and transparent. And it took me 5 minutes.

In fact, Fixster told me that the van would only be taken to the garage I was given the name of at booking, in the event that it needed any servicing. Which essentially would mean driving a vehicle with no MOT, on public roads. That’s illegal. The only exception being for when you are driving to a scheduled MOT. I imagine there is an exemption for mechanics that allows for this but again, that’s my vehicle potentially being driven several times without my knowledge or approval. As before, if I had been told this was going to happen. I tried a couple of times prior to the scheduled pick up time to find out a more specific time for the pick up. When you go on the site you follow the customer service FAQ's and hit the contact button. All it does is tell you "someone will be in touch soon". No live chat. There is a phone number but you'd have thought it pretty standard to offer a live chat, or at least a timeline for when you should be able to expect a response.

MOT centre was a random yard with a few vinyl banners outside of it. I only found it by checking street view of the location from my vehicle tracker. No google reviews, no listing I could find on companies house, no website. Just a random yard 30 mins drive from the garage I thought I had booked with.

The people who collected the van had no ID, didn’t speak English and took a while to understand what I was asking for when I asked them to verify who they were. There was no condition check on the van or any pictures or videos taken by the people who collected it. I have my own. But had I not done that I’d have a very hard time proving the drivers did the damage. Or that it was caused while out for MOT.

So much has gone wrong here. It’s kind of baffling. It's taken nearly a whole day to resolve a whole load of nonsense.

flaneurs_lobster

Honestly, I can't be arsed going and looking but what exactly is meant to be the advantage of using this site as opposed to just making an appointment with your usual mechanic/MOT place?

Cheaper presumably?

My blokes will even pick it up and deliver it back for an extra tenner (not that I bother).

born_again

Any garage that relies on a 3rd party for work. Clearly is one to avoid. As any good one will not need to use a booking co to gain work.

Bigwheels1111

This year I need a service, not and timing belt water pump etc replacement.

Service via Peugeot main dealer as got a great price.

Mot, friend at works friend who owns a garage, just want an honest MOT.

Timing belt job, off to Blackpool Peugeot main dealer as is £500 - £600 cheaper than Peugeot in my area, plus see family.

BlueonBlue

You may have a MOT only centre in your area or nearby that just does MOT,s …no repairs .

You use them .

paul_c123

Some of the above comments seem to miss the point of Fixter. It is a service which wraps up collection, garage work and delivery. Yes some garages do this, most don't though. For some people, this type of service would be a godsend.

If it worked properly.

chrisw

It's rather difficult to follow but if they'd already carried out some work and it passed the MOT, why did your local garage also want to do an MOT?

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6667976/fixter-a-spectacular-horror-story

Why would it be driving without a MOT unless your MOT was out of date.

In that case the same would apply to your local garage if they were servicing your car without a current MOT and taking it to a separate MOT centre.