Garages/Dealers not actually doing work paid for?

[J4CKO]

Seen a few comments in threads recently and had a few conversations where folk have said they have sent a car in for work which has then been paid for but not actually done ?

Is it a thing, Any examples ?

That would be potentially a fraud conviction if true would it not ?

[Om]

I am certain it happens but I suspect that unnecessary work done is far more common - brakes - discs/pads, spark plugs, tyres etc where you see proof of the finished work, but generally people just take the garage's word that it is due/needed at that time.

[KTMsm]

I'm a car dealer, I've bought cars with receipts for work that clearly hasn't been carried out because it involved supply and fitting of aftermarket parts that simply weren't fitted

The most blatant one I can remember involved in RX7 with receipts for aftermarket Intercooler, bigger injectors etc

I could see they weren't fitted, which obviously made me think it hadn't had the engine rebuild and porting that was claimed either

The previous owner had spent over £8,000 with one of the well known specialists - that had since been taken over

Clearly the new owners knew nothing about it - as they supplied the receipts !

It is far more usual for work that doesn't need to be done, to be carried out, as that's harder to prove

[steveo3002]

seen plenty of filters and brake fluid changes being charged for and not done , premium paint protection sealants not applied etc

[blueg33]

mentioned on PH before

I sent our Seat Cupra to the dealer because the bonnet wouldnt open and asked them to fix it.

They said they couldn't get it open either and would have to go to Seat to get advice. In the meantime they said they had topped up the coolant, brake fluid, washer fluid and oil and they had looked at the air filter that needed changing. They tried to charge me for the fluid top up's!

[vikingaero]

There's always been stories of underhand garages not doing work. If you are a non-car non-PH person and want an oil and filter change, how are you going to know if the garage has done the work if you don't bother to find out where the filter is or if the oil is golden from the dipstick?

There have been trading standards and consumer programmes who have marked engine parts to see if they have been changed.

[ChocolateFrog]

J4CKO said:

Seen a few comments in threads recently and had a few conversations where folk have said they have sent a car in for work which has then been paid for but not actually done ?

Is it a thing, Any examples ?

That would be potentially a fraud conviction if true would it not ?

Happens all the time. Picked up a 20 year old Insight about 6 years ago. The pollen filter had been paid for a number of times, never once actually changed.

[Lo-Fi]

blueg33 said:

mentioned on PH before

I sent our Seat Cupra to the dealer because the bonnet wouldnt open and asked them to fix it.

They said they couldn't get it open either and would have to go to Seat to get advice. In the meantime they said they had topped up the coolant, brake fluid, washer fluid and oil and they had looked at the air filter that needed changing. They tried to charge me for the fluid top up's!

You can't leave it there! What was your response?

[Bonefish Blues]

ChocolateFrog said:

J4CKO said:

Seen a few comments in threads recently and had a few conversations where folk have said they have sent a car in for work which has then been paid for but not actually done ?

Is it a thing, Any examples ?

That would be potentially a fraud conviction if true would it not ?

Happens all the time. Picked up a 20 year old Insight about 6 years ago. The pollen filter had been paid for a number of times, never once actually changed.

+ lots for pollen filters - I bet these are the single least-changed yet charged-for items.

[Danm1les]

When I worked at a Honda main dealer, a CRV needed a timing belt and pump doing as part of the agreement of sale, the work wasn't done and the manager stamped and signed the book. Happens all over the place sadly.

[blueg33]

Lo-Fi said:

blueg33 said:

mentioned on PH before

I sent our Seat Cupra to the dealer because the bonnet wouldnt open and asked them to fix it.

They said they couldn't get it open either and would have to go to Seat to get advice. In the meantime they said they had topped up the coolant, brake fluid, washer fluid and oil and they had looked at the air filter that needed changing. They tried to charge me for the fluid top up's!

You can't leave it there! What was your response?

I asked the manager to explain how they managed to change the fluid

he said it must have been a mistake and that there wouldn't be a charge.

I told him that it looked like they were trying to rip me off and that I wouldn't use his dealership again, or the Audi dealership in the same group that I used to service my A6. I remain true to my word. And I tell friends the story if they are thinking of using that group.

[Byker28i]

Happens with specialists too. I used someone to service my car for years, that went downhill when the owner left to pursue other things, and I went elsewhere after terrible work, new paintwork heavily scratched etc.

Turns out there was a lot of work paid for that wasn't done, work done poorly that had to be corrected, a big expense. When I sued they shutdown the company and phoenixed as a new one.

Then there was that exhaust... that company phoenixed also when I won in court so they never had to pay

[meeky37]

Bit of a thread revival, but just googling after suspecting this on my own car (a Seat Leon Cupra 2019) that went to a “specialist” yesterday.

From my dash cam I have the following timeline.

12:13 car picked up from road

12:15 MoT starts

Whole MoT is recorded (bonnet goes up during but no fluids are added)

12:58 MoT finishes (no remedial work required) and car is moved to a different ramp.

13:01 camera cuts off (ignition/12v off)

This is the window 35 minutes that the Brake Fluid and Coolant Change can be completed in. The car is not turned on for OBD or to run engine during this period.

13:36 camera recording again car is parked up.

17:23 I retrieve the car after paying ≈£250 and the car is in the exact spot they left it, the van in front hasn’t moved and the sign on a neighbouring building just above it is in the same place on screen.

They ring at 14:30 my car would be finished by 15:00 so I’m a bit confused what happened around this time if it was parked at the kerbside and there is no footage. Also, I asked them about a knocking noise and they said they’d look under the car again, but doesn’t seem like they did.

Am I right to be suspicious? And if so, how should I approach the garage?

TLDR: Mechanically minded ppl is a brake fluid and coolant change possible in 35 minutes without cycling the ignition / 12v that powers my dash cam?

[Bonefish Blues]

I'll leave it for others to comment, but I noted with interest that the BMW Dealer who is seeing my car on Monday explicitly asks for dashcams to be turned off.

[J4CKO]

I got charged £13 for a "pre oil change flush", is that draining the oil ? Kind of thought that may be included in the £140 labour charge, they didnt run any flush type stuff through as was there whilst they were doing it, drained it, put fresh oil in.

[mmm-five]

meeky37 said:

12:13 car picked up from road

13:36 camera recording again car is parked up.

17:23 I retrieve the car after paying ?£250 and the car is in the exact spot they left it, the van in front hasn t moved and the sign on a neighbouring building just above it is in the same place on screen.

Your timeline is conflicting:

• It was moved from the road to do the MOT - so it has proven to have moved!
• It hasn't been moved as it's in EXACTLY the same place as before it was/wasn't moved?

Both cannot be true, so is it just in a very similar location (a small variation may not show well on dashcam) to where you left it as it was put back in the only place available to park it?

I don't think you could cycle the ABS (for the brake fluid change), or get the water pump to run (for the coolant change) unless the engine/ignition was on.

Could they have disconnected your dashcam after noticing it was on?

[161BMW]

Bonefish Blues said:

I'll leave it for others to comment, but I noted with interest that the BMW Dealer who is seeing my car on Monday explicitly asks for dashcams to be turned off.

This is common in a lot of BMW Dealers or Dealers or independents. Good and bad.

Probably more to with GDPR or privacy or something.

[Red9zero]

A few years ago I used a well respected local gearbox specialist to rebuild the gearbox on my Focus to sort a crunching between gears. They had the car for a week and charged from memory over £1.5k including a new clutch. Within a few hundred yards of leaving them it was obvious the car had exactly the same fault, as if nothing had actually been done. I had a quick look under the bonnet and there were no obvious marks where any work had been done, no dirty finger marks or disturbed bolts etc. I took the car back and they insisted the work had been done and they didn't know what had happened. They had the car another week and when I collected it the second time it was obviously much better, with the gearbox now working perfectly. I had a look under the bonnet when I got home and it was obvious some work had been done this time. I couldn't prove anything, so didn't take it any further, but needless to say I don't use them any more.

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

Son bought a Peugeot 108 with 64000 miles on it from a small used car dealer. Clutch fine but these wee cars are notorious for needing clutches replaced and this is about the mileage they seem to go. Haggled a bit with the dealer who was reluctant to have it changed. Finally agreed and it was ready for collection after about 5 days (said the garage he uses was busy). Looking at the bell housing bolts they have no sign of having been removed, heads a little corroded. I'm very sceptical that it was actually done. Time will tell I suppose. Having said that the car needed front wheel bearings at the very end of its warranty period and these were replaced without question.

[Lester H]

ChocolateFrog said:

J4CKO said:

Seen a few comments in threads recently and had a few conversations where folk have said they have sent a car in for work which has then been paid for but not actually done ?

Is it a thing, Any examples ?

That would be potentially a fraud conviction if true would it not ?

Happens all the time. Picked up a 20 year old Insight about 6 years ago. The pollen filter had been paid for a number of times, never once actually changed.

Yes, the pollen filter is an absolute classic for being ignored. There are also known items like spark plug number 4 on the air cooled beetle which is so inaccessible that it is often left.