Was I over charged? (1 Viewer)

[Blue Knight]

I didn't get to see the old one he didn't even give me the receipt for the new one which trading standards did tell me I have a right to or at minimum a copy of it as it's also a guarantee

I'm going to phone them on Monday and request that

I don't blame you.

I bet they've thrown the old part away by the time you get there though.

 

[Jim]

Now you have named them I've changed the title of this thread to protect us both. Leave a full and honest review on the site but please be careful about terms such as "Garage Rip Off" unless of course you can prove it to be so.

 

[busby]

I'll get on to that

Go on,,give em a lousy review,,,BUSBY,,

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[shawn&emma]

I know its of no help now but maybe for the future if they still work on motorhomes (last time I used them was in 2015) I used to have our rv serviced (not habitation) at M-Line in Alloa. They run a coach tour business and there was a chap there that did just motorhome service work. Could obviously take all size vans and they sold some cvs also.
www.m-line.co.uk

Feel your pain, I normally do all my own work but couple of years ago with our car I needed work done in a hurry that i'd no time to do and was very disappointed with the result from the local garage, kicked myself for a long time afterwards.

Probably just have to put it down to bad judgment and try to forget about it, hard I know after spending over a grand. Otherwise it will just eat away at you.

Shawn

 

[joka250]

@Blue Knight Comment regarding seeing the replaced part. I always showed replaced parts to customers and informed them that unless an exchange item it was in my opinion their property. Don't remember anyone taking anything away.

 

[Blue Knight]

@Blue Knight Comment regarding seeing the replaced part. I always showed replaced parts to customers and informed them that unless an exchange item it was in my opinion their property. Don't remember anyone taking anything away.

I totally agree - it's just a shame that not all folk have your outstanding ethics and principles.

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[Baileysbus]

It was touring caravan services in glenrothes Fife

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I avoid them when it's my turn. I'd be interested to know if anyone has found a good Fiat "professional" and motorhome service place in central scotland anywhere as I'm struggling to find somewhere offering knowledgeable and reasonable service.

 

[CazPaul]

I,m always wary of the firms that offer deals for combined services.

Its usually a load of spin, you would have been better finding a mechanical garage JUST for the engine that has been recommended and forget the habitation waste of money.
Better to just then take it to someone and say''Will you check my gas system etc or service my fridge flue and nothing else''. The rest of the habitation check is a money making racket.

 

[CazPaul]

Duplicate post.

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[Ivory55]

For the cab service have you investigate iveco hgv garages in your area.

 

[DBK]

When I lived in Kuwait the local garages always returned to you the original of any item they replaced. So if they needed to replace say a fuel pump you would find your old pump in a box in the boot.
Too late now but if you could have seen the old fuel filter housing it might have helped, as that job would have been what pushed the bill up so high. If it was split there was no way you would driven there, spraying fuel over everything.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

If you check with any motorhome /fiat garage the filter will be around the £250 mark unless you buy it direct off e bay,.you should have kept the old one as a spare.

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[Bart]

If when you ask to see the old one they tell you that they have binned it , i would check with the council or whoever empties their bins, what day they do so on. unless ofc its a week since you got said work carried out.

 

[TerryL]

I do a round trip of around 450 miles to have my service & hab check - because I trust the guy and he charges a fair price. He's also done other work for me as well to an excellent standard. I won't embarrass him here, but he offers discounts to Funsters and is very well known on the forum. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I treat the trip as a break - and also manage to get my Christmas shopping done without swmbo in tow! Yes I know there's a fuel cost involved but when you do over 10,000 miles a year it's not a lot in the overall picture.

 

[olley]

I do a round trip of around 450 miles to have my service & hab check - because I trust the guy and he charges a fair price. He's also done other work for me as well to an excellent standard. I won't embarrass him here, but he offers discounts to Funsters and is very well known on the forum. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I treat the trip as a break - and also manage to get my Christmas shopping done without swmbo in tow! Yes I know there's a fuel cost involved but when you do over 10,000 miles a year it's not a lot in the overall picture.

Same here, Ipswich to Cheltenham for service and mot. motorhome medics. Fit it in as part of a holiday.

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[Emmit]

You can review the service you received here. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/reviews/touring-caravan-services-limited.130/

You can review the service you received here. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/reviews/touring-caravan-services-limited.130/

Their quote from their site,
"Our main aim is to cut your cost drastically compared to main dealer repair and servicing bills."

If that was their "AIM" then all I can say is they're bloody awful shots.

 

[Gromett]

As a fulltimer I can't always get back to where my trusted garages are so on occasion I have used whatever is local. I seem to have a 50/50 hit/miss ratio on good to bad.
One in particular ripped me off heavily. I live by the philosophy you can't get ahead while you are trying to get even. So now when I discover a bad one I vote with my wallet.
I will travel 100's of miles to use a good one and travel 100's of miles to avoid the bad ones. It's a sad state of affairs unfortunately.

How many hours of your time will it take to get a refund of the difference even if it is possible. How much do you value your time.. I understand that some people will spend more on getting the money back than the actual value for reasons of fairness, vengeance or justice etc.. I am of the mind life is too short and now put it down to an expensive lesson.

This year I have started mechanicing for myself as I don't trust the local garage where I am. When a job is beyond me I have a good friend who is an amazing help ( @Wildbill ) and from working side by side with him on some jobs there is not much I won't have a go at myself now. However for brakes and suspension I still go to my favourite, reliable and inexpensive team at Retford. They are located right next to a major autofactors so getting parts on the fly is just so convenient and even including the diesel/time costs they still work out cheaper and more convenient.

 

[tonyidle]

Please don't take this as Smart Alec or Wise after The Event post.

I am constantly astounded by the posts on here referring to the need for "Experts" on gas, vehicle servicing, hab repairs, modifications, etc and yet almost no-one questions what qualifies someone as an "Expert". There are only two kinds of recommendation that are worthwhile (and the first is much better than the second). The first is a recommendation by a number of other owners that a particular establishment will go above and beyond with the quality of work and customer service they provide. The second is provided by published qualifications (which, in the case of a hab service, can be hard to find I suspect. I know about NCC Certification.) The motor trade in general has an horrific reputation for the quality of its work and the prices it charges. A habitation service is worthless unless a written report on what, in great detail, has been checked.

Most Experts are such because they say they are and not because they have experience, a proven track record, and suitable qualifications. How many owners, for example, question exactly what was checked and how the checks were done by an expert performing a Gas Test? Or the detailed measurements and where they were taken for a Damp Check? Why should any establishment dispose of your property before you have seen it and given them permission to do so? Until owners start to make life very uncomfortable for Dealers and Service Centres nothing will improve. Find a good place and they will be delighted that you take an interest. Use a bad one and they will try to have you out the door before you can cause them embarrassment or worse.

We are motorhomers and we range all over this country and others. It is therefore no great inconvenience to drive the length of the UK if that's what it takes to use a decent service engineer. Because of the relatively low mileage covered by our vehicles servicing is rarely time-critical and should fit into a trip to somewhere.

I'll declare an interest here: I haven't been to any Expert for anything - ever. The reason for that, apart from my own enjoyment and interest, is that by the time I have researched what needs, and what I expect, to be done I have the information to do it myself. That approach isn't for everyone and we should all expect a quality job when we're parting with cash to have someone do it for us. But unless at least minimal research is conducted in advance how will we know? My approach will change as I get older no doubt but I will never use an unproven (in my opinion) "Expert" to do anything to one of my vehicles.

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[spitfire]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I avoid them when it's my turn. I'd be interested to know if anyone has found a good Fiat "professional" and motorhome service place in central scotland anywhere as I'm struggling to find somewhere offering knowledgeable and reasonable service.

Don't always trust the Fiat garage here anyway . We take our twin axle to an Lorry garage and he has a bay just for motorhomes. Maybe a truck garage is a better bet ?

 

[Northernraider]

This is all I got in the way of paperwork from him.
You can see the notes he made about tyres etc on page 1
Hab tick sheet on page 2
No mechanical tick sheet
And page 3 is supposed to be the damp test, I don't reckon he did it yes the van has stuff in it he knew that when I booked the service but a damp meter could still access the areas with minimal amount of moving things.

 

[My Dog Likes Fishing]

Have you sat back and thought the service centre may be right and the work did need doing?
All the resident forum experts on here are crucifying somebody’s business and livelihood on this forum without any proof that he had has ripped you off. You are just assuming many facts.
I am all for passing on information of dodgy dealers etc to other forum users but not until proven.

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[Gorse Hill]

 

[Louis]

Have you sat back and thought the service centre may be right and the work did need doing?
All the resident forum experts on here are crucifying somebody’s business and livelihood on this forum without any proof that he had has ripped you off. You are just assuming many facts.
I am all for passing on information of dodgy dealers etc to other forum users but not until proven.

I think it’s best if you read the thread from the beginning

 

[chaser]

All I can add to this is it's nice to have two mechanics in my lads, and to anyone who hasn't had a go , lots of the things that need doing on motorhomes can be done your self very easily, it's not rocket science, and you may find you make a far better job of it.
And if you had been for warned there is no reason you couldn't have got your own filter and let someone else fit it.

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[simsy56]

When me and my son ran a garage business, it was only polite to inform the customer of any problems or needs prior to going ahead with repairs. Unless we had been told to carry out any repairs needed beforehand.
Any repairs carried out, the old part was supplied for the customer to see, and a reason given for the replacement. And every vehicle was washed and cleaned inside as 'all part of the service'. There is no need to overcharge and overstate the repairs. One bad word can, and does, result in a bad name, as has proved here.


Craig

 

[The Wino]

I think it started to sound expensive when the first day they said it needed more repairs than just the service in my experience once it needs more than the basic service items the bill starts to go up quite quickly. Perhaps the lesson for us all is to make a point when leaving the vehicle that any extra work found we want to be given a quote for before going ahead once its done its too late I think. Also I suspect it was not made clear the original quote was plus VAT!!! I always use a local garage for my servicing father and son team plus a couple of other guys I trust them but still find the bill often comes to more than I thought it was going to be the biggest when the gearbox failed on a galaxy they had it all apart rebuilt it then the recon box was faulty had to take it out and do it all over again plus a clutch kit while it was out. The hourly rate for labor on your bill sounds to me reasonable the only question is did it all need doing who knows.

 

[Emmit]

A big bill can leave a nasty taste that takes years to recover.

I recall being taken to the cleaners car wise many years ago when we were first married than left us penniless for months. We had to take out a credit card that stripped out any extra money. I know I was ripped off and there was nothing I could do about it.

On the other side of the coin, we have just paid a garage nearly three times what the OP was charged and we have a smile on our faces.
Why? We KNOW that every penny charged was essential and we 'Got Away' with it.

The alternative would have been a bill North of £5000 before the garage had a chance to wield a spanner ie new engine.

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[BillandHelen]

Hi, we use Fiat Professional/Iveco truck dealer at Broxburn, AM Phillip Trucktech, they also have facilities at Dundee. Service Manager is called Alan, very friendly helpful guy.

Also heard good reports about Imperial Commercials at Bellshill.

Both though will charge Fiat parts prices and Labour is main dealer prices, have found they will do fixed price Motorhome servicing and negotiate on parts prices.

Hope this helps.

Bill

 

[Northernraider]

Please don't take this as Smart Alec or Wise after The Event post.

I am constantly astounded by the posts on here referring to the need for "Experts" on gas, vehicle servicing, hab repairs, modifications, etc and yet almost no-one questions what qualifies someone as an "Expert". There are only two kinds of recommendation that are worthwhile (and the first is much better than the second). The first is a recommendation by a number of other owners that a particular establishment will go above and beyond with the quality of work and customer service they provide. The second is provided by published qualifications (which, in the case of a hab service, can be hard to find I suspect. I know about NCC Certification.) The motor trade in general has an horrific reputation for the quality of its work and the prices it charges. A habitation service is worthless unless a written report on what, in great detail, has been checked.

Most Experts are such because they say they are and not because they have experience, a proven track record, and suitable qualifications. How many owners, for example, question exactly what was checked and how the checks were done by an expert performing a Gas Test? Or the detailed measurements and where they were taken for a Damp Check? Why should any establishment dispose of your property before you have seen it and given them permission to do so? Until owners start to make life very uncomfortable for Dealers and Service Centres nothing will improve. Find a good place and they will be delighted that you take an interest. Use a bad one and they will try to have you out the door before you can cause them embarrassment or worse.

We are motorhomers and we range all over this country and others. It is therefore no great inconvenience to drive the length of the UK if that's what it takes to use a decent service engineer. Because of the relatively low mileage covered by our vehicles servicing is rarely time-critical and should fit into a trip to somewhere.

I'll declare an interest here: I haven't been to any Expert for anything - ever. The reason for that, apart from my own enjoyment and interest, is that by the time I have researched what needs, and what I expect, to be done I have the information to do it myself. That approach isn't for everyone and we should all expect a quality job when we're parting with cash to have someone do it for us. But unless at least minimal research is conducted in advance how will we know? My approach will change as I get older no doubt but I will never use an unproven (in my opinion) "Expert" to do anything to one of my vehicles.

To be honest I know most of the hab service is a big con....unfortunately when you come to sell the van it's sure as damm it the buyer will want a full hab history and as the van has that up to now and it's a £40k van I opted to have that done.

The original £500 including vat I was fine with for both services thinking it would at least give peace of mind.

It's the additional work that I'm unhappy with mainly as I don't think it had the leaks when it went in for the service, and then the fact they did the work using the most expensive parts without at least talking to me first and giving options. Without the old parts or the receipts for the new parts for all I know they could have bought the parts anywhere at a fraction of the cost they charged me. And 4 hours labour to fit a filter housing, 3 hose clips and refill coolant seems more than excessive.

It's money I really could have done without spending at the minute so it stings a little.

 

[Northernraider]

I think it started to sound expensive when the first day they said it needed more repairs than just the service in my experience once it needs more than the basic service items the bill starts to go up quite quickly. Perhaps the lesson for us all is to make a point when leaving the vehicle that any extra work found we want to be given a quote for before going ahead once its done its too late I think. Also I suspect it was not made clear the original quote was plus VAT!!! I always use a local garage for my servicing father and son team plus a couple of other guys I trust them but still find the bill often comes to more than I thought it was going to be the biggest when the gearbox failed on a galaxy they had it all apart rebuilt it then the recon box was faulty had to take it out and do it all over again plus a clutch kit while it was out. The hourly rate for labor on your bill sounds to me reasonable the only question is did it all need doing who knows.

The original quote of £500 For the combined service was inclusive of vat I think it's just under £400 then 20% vat on top.

But yes I stupidly assumed that like other garages I've used in the past that he would have phoned me and said we have found such and such and it needs this part at this cost etc and asked for the go ahead before just doing it.

That's why I think they damaged the filter housing themselves and knew the van wouldn't run without replacing it

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