Have you been scammed like me on servicing?

[stusingo]

Thought I would post this to warn people about what I think is a servicing scam by my local dealer.
The 50k interim service is due on our 2002 307SW and in preparing to book the car in I noticed in the service book that it says the interim checks should be carried out free of charge. I remembered when I had the 30k interim check carried out that I was charged for this and on investigation was told by the dealer that this was for an additional "safety check".
When I explained that I was not offered this at the time they said that they carry out this additional, and importantly 'chargeable' check, "unless the customer specifically says that they do not want it". I argued that unless it is made clear to you at the time what is being carried out then how are you supposed to agree or disagree to the additional check, but they have refused to admit that they are in the wrong. They have clearly carried out extra work without my knowledge to enable them to charge instead of just performing the free checks that I required.
So for anyone that is due to have the interim service done soon, please check your service book and please make sure that you are not scammed like I have been. I only hope that this is unique to this dealer and not a country wide problem.

[Angel205]

That doesnt sound good !!! tut tut x

[frank]

there right, if you want the free inter check you should ask for the free service.

[stusingo]

How can you say they are right?! The Service book does not list a 30,000 mile service, it lists a 30,000 mile 'Intermediate Visit' which is a level check and which it clearly states is free.
So if you book your car in for the 30,000 mile visit this is what should be performed, and it should be made clear if anything else is performed then it will be chargeable.
But to state that it is performed unless the customer says they do not want it is ridiculous. It is clearly a way of making money, nothing else.

[frank]

well take it up with peugeot customer care then. and you will get the same answer. it is your responsibility to make sure that the garage knows what they are doing to your car when you leave it with them. do you sign the froms when you drop your car off? if so its says clearly that is what you are authorising them to do!!

[Admin]

Frank works in a Peugeot dealer so I guess he's merely stating Peugeot dealer policy that if you arrive for a "free" 30,000 check, unless you state that this is what you are in for they will actually do a different job.

It sounds dodgey to me. It's not unreasonable to assume that when you arrive for a free check that it should be free, At the very least the garage should say that there is an "optional" safety check. To simply carry it out unannounced is morally wrong.

[stusingo]

104ZS, thanks for your comments, that is exactly my view on the subject. The Peugeot dealers know that these checks should be carried out free but deliberately say that the ball is in your court to say if you do not want them to carry out extra chargeable work. My point is that I was not offered these extra checks, they were just performed and at no point was this explained to me.

Frank, I did take it up with Peugeot customer care and they told me to contact the dealer, but I will be reporting back to them the dealers response.

If nothing else at least I hope I have brought it to other peoples attention so that they are aware and hopefully will not happen to them.

[Admin]

Dealer policy or not, things that make dealership look like they are scamming customers are bad for the customer and for Peugeot. Their dealer network struggles at the bottom of all the customer satisfaction surveys and this sort of thing doesn't help.

It may be the wording in the small print but it doesn't wash with the consumer who may well buy a Renault next time.

I've sent you a pm stusingo

[frank]

to be quite honest i wouldnt even bother taking it in for a free inter service cause its a waste of time, all a free one entails is a lights and levels check, thats it. no morre. takes you 5 mins at home to perform it!!

[504V6Ti]

The day a Dealer, whether Peugeot or not, delivers anything free, I'll have hairy teeth!

I believe that a (Peugeot) Dealer will only perform a (5 min?) level check if a customer asks the "interim free visit". There is no scam, I'm sure the Dealer will only check your oil level and that's about it. I doubt they will check your brake pads, disc depth, cooling fluid level, windscreen fluid level, wipers efficiency, tyre pressure, tyre wear and so on for free! It's time, therefore it's money...

You should not make the mistake of confusing a "free optional check" with a service, whether completed at interim mileage or not. The moment you mention the word "service" to a Dealer, he sees £ signs, whereas if you mention "free check", he smiles at you (and quietly laughs internally).

To the risk of sounding arrogant (but then again, I'm French and used to it!) the words free + honest + car dealer are not usually found together, but here, no, there is no scam! You booked your car for a service, you got it and were charged for it. You simply never asked for a free levels check, you assumed that's what they did. Sorry, but it's your mistake.

Personally, I first encountered these would-be "free service" back in 1998 with my 1st 406. it sounded too vague so I asked the Dealer and was explained what Franck just said. 1st time I booked my car for the interim visit, I was charged and did not expect any free service.

[Angel205]

504v6ti said:

The day a Dealer, whether Peugeot or not, delivers anything free, I'll have hairy teeth!

I believe that a (Peugeot) Dealer will only perform a (5 min?) level check if a customer asks the "interim free visit". There is no scam, I'm sure the Dealer will only check your oil level and that's about it. I doubt they will check your brake pads, disc depth, cooling fluid level, windscreen fluid level, wipers efficiency, tyre pressure, tyre wear and so on for free! It's time, therefore it's money...

You should not make the mistake of confusing a "free optional check" with a service, whether completed at interim mileage or not. The moment you mention the word "service" to a Dealer, he sees £ signs, whereas if you mention "free check", he smiles at you (and quietly laughs internally).

To the risk of sounding arrogant (but then again, I'm French and used to it!) the words free + honest + car dealer are not usually found together, but here, no, there is no scam! You booked your car for a service, you got it and were charged for it. You simply never asked for a free levels check, you assumed that's what they did. Sorry, but it's your mistake.

Personally, I first encountered these would-be "free service" back in 1998 with my 1st 406. it sounded too vague so I asked the Dealer and was explained what Franck just said. 1st time I booked my car for the interim visit, I was charged and did not expect any free service.

Way to go there - i couldnt of said that better myself.
Tryin to think of something to say but you have covered it all.
Well done, saves me a job

[frank]

thank you 504v6ti, why does every body think that everybody who works at a main dealer is an idiot?? some of us are actually good at there jobs, and know what you should and shouldnt do. stusingo, if you had been a bit more aware( ie read the service book) when you looked at your service book the first time you had an inter service done you would of known that was a free service if you wanted that, but as i said its a great waste of your of time and fuel getting to your dealer just to have your levels checked. now i know that i wouldnt argue about payying £37 to have a proper mini service doing if it was my kids in the car everyday. so what you got to argue about?

[Piston Broke]

I used to spanner for Camdens, and their unofficial motto was "Rape and Pillage" Straight up.

Remember, the average punter knows sod all about the cars they bring in and often spout utter driver - think about it...if they knew so much, they wouldn't be paying someone else to do it in the first place...

[stusingo]

Thanks for all your comments on this. Just to update, I have now had the 50k free interim check / service (call it what you will) performed by the dealer who also agreed to perform the 'safety check' free of charge. But if they were correct in what they did at the 30k check first time, then why did they agree to carry out a chargeable mini service free of charge? Is this an admission that what they did was wrong? I hope so.
Frank, I understand your comment that I should have checked my service book more carefully, but this still doesn't forgive the dealer for carrying out work that wasn't clarified to me first.
If I go into McDonalds and ask for a Big Mac they ask me is that a Big Mac meal or just a Big Mac on it's own, i.e. they clarify with me first before serving the food. That is all I expected.
But I suppose it shows how bad Peugeot dealers have got when McDonalds customer service is better!!!

[christi]

I needed a spare key for my 806. I bought all the parts from the parts counter and assembled it myself, but to actually make it work the dealer has to code it to the ECU using diag2000 which obviously only they have.
I was expected to be fleeced for this, but they gave me a bill for less than 20 quid saying "well it only took 15 minutes, so that's all we'll charge". Hats off to Waters of Hatfield for that one.

I wasn't so pleased with their quote of 1200 quid for a new clutch, but to be fair to them it is just what the book says. I did it myself in the end but was an absolute nightmare of a job.