con artists

[AdvancedFlea]

Okay, so last week I end up getting a puncture in part of the tyre they can’t repair. Obviously my car has 2 back tyres. 1 Tyre is only a year or 2 old, still has about 6mm of useful tread left, the other is nearly 9 years old, has done 91 000 miles and was due for replacement anyway. Yeah, it was the newer tyre that got the damn puncture. But being the smart flea that I am, when I purchased the car, I also purchased a full size spare wheel with it. Not one of those space savers and not one of those piles of bullshit “Tyreweld” things that manufacturers seem hell bent on selling with new cars these days.

I put the spare on, drive to my main job and on my lunch break I make a few calls.

The Vauxhall garage I brought the car from and who are very honest couldn’t do my tyre because their machine was broken and has been waiting a week for a part so I had to go somewhere else. Fortunately there are a few garages near my new workplace so this is not a problem.

Now, I’m a brand-whore. I like branded stuff. Yes, sometimes the off-brand stuff does the job just as well or better but I don’t care. Having said that; my dad uses Michelin tyres on his car. He does like 80 000 miles a year and he finds Michelin get 40 000+ miles which is streets ahead of every other brand. They cost more in the short term but last longer. That’s good enough for me. I’ve got Michelin on the front already so I want them on the back. NOWHERE keeps Michelin in stock because they are like £70 per tyre. I knew I was going to have to order them.

I call around a few places and the best price I found was £120 for 2 tyres, fitted. They would have to order them but they would have them tomorrow. This was a national chain of garages called Hi-Q. I will never use them again.

I take my car in at 08:30 and say I’ll be around at 14:00 (my lunch break) to pick it back up. This is fine except now they want £160 off of me.

I tell them that they quoted me £120 yesterday

They tell me “Impossible. They are £160 fitted”

So I ask them if I can pay on collection instead? Yes. That’s no problem.

I head off to work. It’s not often that I KNOW I’m right but this time I knew. Thankfully, I had made the call off the phone on my desk so I knew the phone system would have recorded the call. All I needed to do was search by phone number, download the file and I could play it back.

That’s what I did. Sure enough; they had told me £120 over the phone. Some of you may be wandering if they had given me a generic price and would have to know tyre size and such like to give me a proper price. Nope. I’d given them all the numbers off the side of the tyres so I had the proper price.

I went back around on my lunch break and we got back into the same argument. So I played him back the call recording off my phone.

Him: Well, I don’t know who it was quoted you that but they shouldn’t have done

Me: Mate, it’s YOUR voice!

Him: Doesn’t matter. It’s £160 or we keep the car until you pay it.

Me: Fine. You keep hold of the car for now. I’ll give trading standards a call right now and arrange a meeting with them. I will then play them back this recording which, Need I remind you starts off with you saying “Hi-Q [location] Mike speaking. Can I help?”. Trading standards will then investigate and no doubt will find in my favour. You will then have to give me the car back after I have paid the price you quoted for the tyres. I will then persue you, through the courts if I need to, to recover any costs I have to pay out for a rental car while you have mine

Him: … let me go and speak to my manager.

Me: You do that.

He wanders off into the back office. I thought the next thing that was going to happen was I was going to have to speak to a manager then ultimately have to make good on my threat of trading standards and hope the local trading standards office aren’t a bunch of twats.

I was pleasantly surprised. The manager apparently said “as a gesture of goodwill” they were going to charge me £120.

I’m never going to use that Hi-Q again.

[eltf177]

I can imagine what would have happened if you didn't have that call recorded...

[AdvancedFlea]

I can imagine what would have happened if you didn't have that call recorded...

I would have had no choice. I would have had to pay up the extra £40. I had the money to do so, but that's not the point.

[notalwaysright]

I can imagine what would have happened if you didn't have that call recorded...

That's exactly what they were counting on. Quote a price, then "forget" and the customer has no recourse. It's pure awesome that the OP had a recording. The only thing I can't figure is how that place manages to stay in business pulling that sort of nonsense. They'd only get a customer ONCE, and those people would spread the word about how horrible it was.

I mean, I've seen this happen with many a construction company, but that's easy. Just re-open under a different name. That's why it's very iffy when a company doesn't have their name on their work vans/trucks. (at least in this area) But this is a regular store front, which would be harder to accomplish.

[Pixelated]

If they do this on a regular basis, I'm sure they never in a million years expected to have any of their calls recorded -- at least, not legitimately (don't know what the laws are in your neck of the woods about recording private calls, eltf177. Since it was from your desk, and ALL calls from there are recorded, they couldn't bitch, of course.)

Congratulations! I wonder if they'll convince themselves this was a one-off and will keep jerking customers around, or if they'll be a little warier in future ...

Yeah, I wonder too how they stay in business.

[Arcus]

They will keep doing it because most of the time it works. They just have to discount the people that catch them. I say put a call in on them anyway. It will help the next person that complains.

[AdvancedFlea]

I've seen this happen with many a construction company, but that's easy. Just re-open under a different name. That's why it's very iffy when a company doesn't have their name on their work vans/trucks. (at least in this area) But this is a regular store front, which would be harder to accomplish.

That's the thing, Hi-Q is a nation-wide brand (Like Kwikfit, JiffyLube, Canadian Tyre and a few others) as far as I know they aren't franchises so it's not like this one can just shut up shop then re-open next week as a Eurocar

If they do this on a regular basis, I'm sure they never in a million years expected to have any of their calls recorded -- at least, not legitimately (don't know what the laws are in your neck of the woods about recording private calls, eltf177. Since it was from your desk, and ALL calls from there are recorded, they couldn't bitch, of course.)

Congratulations! I wonder if they'll convince themselves this was a one-off and will keep jerking customers around, or if they'll be a little warier in future ...

Actually the law states that should I intend to play the recording to anyone else other than the participants of the conversation then I HAVE to tell them I am recording them and why I'm doing it. That's why you hear "Your call may be recorded or monitored for training and quality control purposes" from call centers over here.

I would say they will put it down as a one-off and may even store the number of Mineral computers so if someone else calls, they will know the call is being recorded. I dunno. I HOPE they learn a lesson though.

They will keep doing it because most of the time it works. They just have to discount the people that catch them. I say put a call in on them anyway. It will help the next person that complains.

you are most likely right and I am actually still so sorely tempted to ring the local trading standards office. problem is that I don't have any proof they tried to jack the price up on me. I only have evidence that they quoted me £120 and that I paid £120.

[dalesys]

I'd still report it. Trading Standards may wish to set up a sting.

[Pixelated]

I'd still report it. Trading Standards may wish to set up a sting.

^^^This. I once reported a domestic situation in a neighbouring apartment and was told child protection could do little at that time, but they were now alerted to the matter and at least a paper trail had been started (no indications of physical abuse, but Mom screamed at the toddler night and day, slammed doors, and either punched or kicked the walls, from the sound of it).

The same thing might apply in your situation; they probably can do little or nothing right now, but you might start a paper trail that others may be able to build on. And eventually, possibly, come down on these people like a ton of bricks.

[RealUnimportant]

Thirded, TS tend to build their cases on direct observation, i.e. sending in a patsy. You just tell them it's worth a look, let them worry about the rest. (I once got two businesses closed for a dodgy MoT scam...)

[greek_jester]

Definitely fourthed. Once TS know about it they can keep an eye on them. It may just be this branch, it may be a company-wide thing; either way, having TS involved may make all the difference to someone in the future for whom that £40 would make the difference between eating or not that day.

[eltf177]

I've seen this happen with many a construction company, but that's easy. Just re-open under a different name.

I don't understand how that can work. The new company needs insurance, and a simple check should show that new Company Z's owners are the same as old Company A's. And that Z hired A's employees and bought A's equipment for a token sum, leaving A nothing but an empty shell. Thus they are a poor risk and shouldn't be able to get insurance. The same with getting a business license, a simple check should show the sideslip and until all issues dealing with A have been settled Z should not be able to get a business license...

I'm being naive again, aren't I?

[AdvancedFlea]

I'd still report it.

^^^This.

Thirded

Definitely fourthed.

Wow. You all make good points. Consider my oppinion swayed. I'll call Trading Standards tomorrow. I still have the MP3 File of the recording in my phone so I can easily email it to them. I just wish I had been recording when I went back into the garage. That much, believe it or not, is not illegal. Ethically and morally ropey, yes. but not illegal.

I'm being naive again, aren't I?

Not particularly I've never understood how it works either. From what I gather it's a case of learning from mistakes. Kind of like when you are playing a strategy game (take Command & conquer, for example. Original DOS version of course. none of this "the first decade" bullshit) you muck the level up so badly that the ONLY way out is either defeat or to restart the level. Same thing.

[EricKei]

Nah, no naivety here, y'all ^_^

The reason businesses get away with this sort of thing is thatmost people simply do not care enough to do the research to find all of that out themselves. They shut down for a few months, change the name, new paint job, shuffle the inventory around, swap the workers and management with another location (while keeping the owners and non-obvious personnel on), do some heavy advertising proclaiming the "new shop in town," and BAM! New userbase who wanna check out the "new" shop.

Old customers won't recognize the old owners if they're either never on-site or sequester themselves in the back offices; the new workers will say they "never worked with those guys before" (which is true for most of them); and MOST people will never take the time to check on their history.

Thus, the slate is wiped clean. Bada bing, bada boom. Problem solved.

[Valentinian]

Thirded, TS tend to build their cases on direct observation, i.e. sending in a patsy. You just tell them it's worth a look, let them worry about the rest. (I once got two businesses closed for a dodgy MoT scam...)

*sidles over* ...so is there a thread about this somewhere?

AdvancedFlea,