Bodywork Repair - Fraud? And work Not Done Properly
Discussion
In September 2020 my vehicle had some accident repairs carried out at a 'manufacturer approved' bodyshop. This was arranged via a claims management company (Auxillis).
Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:48
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:49
shopper150 said:
In September 2020 my vehicle had some accident repairs carried out at a 'manufacturer approved' bodyshop. This was arranged via a claims management company (Auxillis).
Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Have you asked Auxalis?Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:48
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:49
GasEngineer said:
shopper150 said:
In September 2020 my vehicle had some accident repairs carried out at a 'manufacturer approved' bodyshop. This was arranged via a claims management company (Auxillis).
Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Have you asked Auxalis?Everything appeared to go smoothly, other than when I went to collect the car, I noticed they hadn't fixed some badges to the wing and there was also a very small chip on a panel that they had missed. I had to wait around 3-4 hours whilst this was sorted. Slightly annoying, but not the end of the world.
Fast forward until this week, I took the vehicle in for a service at an authorised dealer, and they informed me that the headlight washer jets weren't connected and quoted around £500 for this to be resolved. I declined the work with a view of contacting the bodyshop.
I've left messages with the bodyshop over the last couple of days with promises of call backs, but no one has called me so far.
I decided to contact Auxillis, who said that i should try and resolve this with the bodyshop and if I can't reach an agreement, I could escalate this to their rectifications team. I asked if they could send me a copy of the invoice from the bodyshop so that I could ascertain that parts were changed etc.
It turns out that the total bodyshop bill was circa £20k. I was somewhat surprised by this. On looking over some of the items included, it's evident that they have charged for items that they did not replace. For example. they've charged for badges on both the left and right wings, and they only changed the left as that is where the damage was. They also charged for both front tyres, yet they only changed one. I'm certain of this as the report from the service this week shows the right hand tyre is more worn than the left tyres (where the accident damage was).
There are a lot of other items on the invoice (which has been made out in my name, even though this is the first time i've seen it and it's been paid by Auxillis) and I don't know what they are as I'm not a car expert!
Is it common place for bodyshops to bill for parts etc that they don't actually fit?
Given the number of issues, I am not concerned that there may be other issues with the way they've done the work. Can anyone suggest how I should handle this issue to get a resolution?
I should also mention that the bodyshop is quite far, two hour drive each way.
Many thanks.
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:48
Edited by shopper150 on Friday 14th May 15:49
shopper150 said:
GasEngineer said:
Have you asked Auxalis?
I spoke with them about the washer jets, they advised me to try and resolve the issue with the bodyshop and come back to them if I'm not happy. I haven't yet advised them about the items that have been billed for, but not supplied.
paintman said:
shopper150 said:
GasEngineer said:
Have you asked Auxalis?
I spoke with them about the washer jets, they advised me to try and resolve the issue with the bodyshop and come back to them if I'm not happy. I haven't yet advised them about the items that have been billed for, but not supplied.
I wanted to understand whether this type of over billing is common place by body shops with insurance claims.
I think this happens more often than not.
A number of years ago my wife pranged the front end of my Saab - body shop charged for a new bumper, prep and paint etc but when the car came back I could see the very poor repair they’d made to the original. Raised it with the insurer and it was dealt with
Years later I came to remove it for some maintenance only to see they’d still used the original bumper but had done a decent job this time!
A number of years ago my wife pranged the front end of my Saab - body shop charged for a new bumper, prep and paint etc but when the car came back I could see the very poor repair they’d made to the original. Raised it with the insurer and it was dealt with
Years later I came to remove it for some maintenance only to see they’d still used the original bumper but had done a decent job this time!
I run a non-insurance approved bodyshop and sometime last year repaired a T5 for the owner of the unit next door.
The damage was a complete replacement wing mirror caused by a passing truck. The owner decided to go through insurance and an accident management company got involved.
I ordered the mirror one day, it was painted and fitted the next. I drove his van 50ft from his unit to mine to fit the mirror. The bill from memory was around £460. Simple in and out job.
A few weeks late the owner came round showing me an invoice he apparently made out and signed off, amongst some random items I can remember they charged out:
4 days vehicle storage @ £28.00/day
£500.00 prestige vehicle recovery
£480 hire car charges
Full valet
Road test
Wheel alignment!
Their bill was just under £1700 in total, the owner came round to see if I really made this much on a simple job! The best of it is they only pay me 80% of my bill as they ‘have provided the work’ even though the customer came directly to me.
Most insurance companies I deal with want to see invoices for parts, they will only pay out for parts which have invoices and have been authorised by an engineer
The damage was a complete replacement wing mirror caused by a passing truck. The owner decided to go through insurance and an accident management company got involved.
I ordered the mirror one day, it was painted and fitted the next. I drove his van 50ft from his unit to mine to fit the mirror. The bill from memory was around £460. Simple in and out job.
A few weeks late the owner came round showing me an invoice he apparently made out and signed off, amongst some random items I can remember they charged out:
4 days vehicle storage @ £28.00/day
£500.00 prestige vehicle recovery
£480 hire car charges
Full valet
Road test
Wheel alignment!
Their bill was just under £1700 in total, the owner came round to see if I really made this much on a simple job! The best of it is they only pay me 80% of my bill as they ‘have provided the work’ even though the customer came directly to me.
Most insurance companies I deal with want to see invoices for parts, they will only pay out for parts which have invoices and have been authorised by an engineer
Edited by Ladvr6 on Friday 14th May 19:12
Pretty common IMO. When my wife’s 1 Series had some damage last year the body shop charged for a new wing and a new badge but had fitted neither. I complained about the quality of the paintwork (refused to take the car away) and they had it for another week and fitted the new wing and the badge and corrected the paintwork.
Most people probably don’t check/care/notice tbh so they will just charge what they want.
Most people probably don’t check/care/notice tbh so they will just charge what they want.
shopper150 said:
To be fair, this is the body shops fault. As bad as their reputation was/is, my claim went through very smoothly.
What car was this?Because a £20k bill would write probably 80% of cars off
Probably just the usual claim's management company scam they are alll rip off agents
I've experienced this in the past. Very very light rear ending. Bodyshop (main dealer recommended one...) billed the insurance company for a new rear bumper + paint etc, but it was completely obvious that they had just used a hot air gun on the bumper where it had creased a bit & pulled it back straight.
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