Report Abuse

Report this review to the Review Centre Team

Here at Review Centre we work hard to make sure we are the best place on the internet for honest, unbiased consumer reviews - we are grateful for your help in keeping us that way!

11707074

Why are you reporting this review?

If you represent this business why not claim your page by creating a Free Business Account where you will receive improved review monitoring functionality.


★☆☆☆☆

“Avoid at all costs - charge for unnecessary work”

written by jonnoscott on 15/04/2018

I employed Servicing Stop LTD to have my Nissan Qashqai serviced on 27/03/2018. This was to be the cars 2-year service and I was quoted circa £135. Midway through the day, I had a call from Servicing Stop to say that there were a few “extras” which needed to be covered. The brake fluid and pollen filter needed replacing as part of the 2-year service. They then went on to say that all four of my brake pads would need to be replaced. I found this strange as my car is only 2 years old but accepted this as I trusted Servicing Stop and believed them to be a reputable company. The agent then went on to ask me if I wanted a quote for my tyres (all four) to be replaced. Again I found this strange as my car has only done 16,000 miles over the two years. After he gave me the quote I asked him how long roughly I could drive my car before the tyres would need to be replaced. He placed me on hold while he “called the garage” (I don’t believe he did) before coming back on the line to tell me that there had been a “miscommunication” with the garage initially and that my tyres (all four) were illegal and must be replaced immediately. I was due to drive my family to Devon that weekend so obviously would not want to endanger them and agreed to buying four new tyres. The service cost me nearly £1,500 in the end.

Later that afternoon, I had a call direct from the garage undertaking the works to say that the new tyres had not arrived in time and that they would need to keep the car in until the following afternoon. I told them that I had meetings the next day and that I needed my car. Although they protested (given my tyres were illegal) they reluctantly returned my car that night on the agreement that I take my car in the following afternoon for the new tyres to be fitted. I became suspicious when I looked at my tyres and they appeared to be fine. The front tyres seemed slightly more worn than the back which looked perfect. As such, I took my car into an ATS Euromaster the next day for a second opinion. They measured the depths of the tyres and revealed that the front tyres had 3mm of tread so were still legal and they estimated could do roughly another 2000 miles. The rear tyres had 4-5mm of tread still which were estimated to have around 16,000 miles left in them! I have the full signed report from them verifying this. The mechanic also commented that he thought it strange that all four brake pads had to be replaced, in his opinion pads can last 25,000 to 30,000 miles. Not only that, I was charge 1/3 more than ATS Euromaster would have charge (equivalent to £100!).

I called Servicing Stops customer services department immediately afterwards, around 3pm on Wednesday the 28th and relayed this to the customer services agent. He took detailed notes and said that he would get a supervisor to call me. The agent did not sound particularly surprised or concerned by the allegations so I assume mis-selling is common practice. They then tried to tell me that because I had authorised the works, I could not be refunded! At this point I became angry and demanded a call from the customer services manager. It took a week of me calling and emailing to eventually get a response from Andreas, supposedly the customer services manager. He said a case would be opened and he would keep me fully updated. A week later, I still had heard nothing so again had to chase. Eventually, I they asked for the ATS Euromaster report which I forwarded. Upon receipt of this proof, they agreed to refund the tyres only. I emailed back saying that, per my original complaint, I wanted the rest of the service refunded too. My reasoning being that after they were exposed as fraudsters having deceived me about the tyres (major items), I could not believe that the brake pads truly needed replacing too. Especially after a reputable garage like ATS Euromaster cast doubt on this. Furthermore, I could not trust that the rest of the work that was supposedly undertaken (oil, oil filter, pollen filter, and brake fluid) had truly been done. Given the deceit from Servicing Stop to date, it makes sense they would charge me, but not actually do the work thereby further maximising their profit. They point blank refuse to refund anything further.

You would think that a serious allegation like this would generate a sincere apology from the customer services team, followed by a statement that they do not condone mis-selling/fraudulent behaviour and then offer some sort of goodwill gesture such as a refund for the “service” (which, again I don’t believe was done). I’ve had nothing, not even an apology. The “customer services” team are clearly employed to protect the company’s bottom line (i.e. prevent paying out refunds), rather than truly look after their customers. Each time their response was “you authorised the works” to which my response was “yes because you lied to me and I trusted you”!

My thoughts? If it’s too good to be true, it usually is. Servicing Stop offers rock bottom prices, but they need to make money somewhere. After my experience (and others I’ve read) it seems they do this by dishonesty and charging for unnecessary work. They have a flash website which conveys a sense of a large reputable national company, but in truth they are nothing more than a dodgy back street outfit. I would strongly suggest you avoid this awful company and use a reputable authorised dealer who may appear more expensive initially but will be much cheaper in the long run.

Was this review helpful? 1 0