KWIK FIT+£500 Exhaust = Destroyed Drive Way

[WrathOfKain]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52842[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]52843[/ATTACH]

 

Have a major issue with the local Kwik Fit.

 

Found that the exhaust had split at the tail.

Took it into Kwik Fit and of course they came back with "it will all need replaced".

I should have got it checked properly and got it significantly cheaper

but I was due to take the kids camping within a couple of days so it kind of forced my hand.

Kwik Fit is also literally round the corner from my work.

 

get the car back and head home.

I stay literally 10min walk from the Kwik Fit garage.

It sits in my drive way the following day.

 

The next day I get a phone call at work from the missus saying there is oil coming from the car.

She had taken the kids around the town for school gear and found it when she pulled into the driveway.

I head home and right enough there is a good bit dripping down.

 

I decide to take the car back to Kwik Fit as immediately I was thinking "hey they were the last ones in there".

Start the engine and the oil literally starts flooding out.

 

I am on my way to Kwik Fit and decide best to get a second opinion quickly to ensure I have some back up - head to Halfords.

Its roughly the same distance.

 

I get there and ask if they could go out and check for me and they were quite accommodating.

The chap goes to start the engine to get it up on the ramp and again the oil starts flooding out.

They cut the engine and he sticks his arm up and finds that the oil filter is really loose.

 

I call Kwik Fit and

they tell me they want to have a look before discussing further.

I agree but they ask me to drive the car to their station.

 

Now that I have time to think things through

I refuse as I am not comfortable driving a car that could potentially cause accidents with oil on the road

and more than likely kill the engine in the process.

I tell them they will need to send someone up.

Some hours later Halfords calls and tells me they eventually picked it up.

 

I get a call from the Kwik FIt duty manager telling me that he has discussed it with his Area Manager

and that they don't believe that they are culpable.

 

I went down to discuss the issue with the Kwik Fit duty manager.

He gets it up on the ramp and acknowledges that the oil filter is close to where their guys would have been working

but that with all the training and checks etc that it would be unlikely their chaps who caused this issue.

 

When its up on the ramp and he shows me where they were working

and the proximity of the exhaust to the oil filter I burst out laughing

"you have just proved that your people were working right next to this filter".

 

To be honest I think he knew the score here but advised that I would need to discuss with his area manager as it was his call.

 

I go home and call customer services as for me the area manager has already made his mind up

so I want it escalated to the customer services manager.

She tells me it "has" to go through the area manager.

 

I get the area managers number and discuss the issue.

He tells me that now "he will need to see it".

Fair enough I said but I want this resolved ASAP as I am going on a camping holiday tomorrow.

 

He hums n haws about the when/where and with some probing he suddenly admits that he is actually at the station I was at!!!

I tell him to stay there and I will be down in 5min and he responds "I have a flight to catch" ..

.. to which I reply "and yes we are all at an inconvenience today as I have had to take a half day off work

and I am supposed to be driving this vehicle on a camping holiday tomorrow".

 

I get down there and he starts coming out with all sorts of crap and excuses.

He gets it up on the ramp and literally spends nearly an hour looking all over the engine bay.

As you can imagine it is covered in oil.

 

He comes back to me with some pics on his phone showing a bit of oil surrounding a wee seal at the top of the engine.

He also shows me a picture of some oil residue on the engine.

When I say residue I mean residue i.e. its not fresh oil.

 

He barely looks at the engine filter area and all the oil everywhere around it but spends most time looking for "something .... anything".

 

His stance from there was that the engine has a leak.

I point out that what I observed on my drive way and what Halfords had to clean up on their forecourt was not a "leak" but a "flood".

Halfords also confirmed that the oil filter was loose.

 

I pointed out that given Kwik FIt had just done £500 of exhaust work right next to the oil filter

and nobody else has been under there that 99.9999% of the population would rightly be pointing the finger firmly at Kwik Fit.

 

Obviously this chap is in the .000001% category and still refuses to admit its their fault.

During our discussion I find out that he said no to their culpability to the duty manager

even though he had not seen the vehicle or discussed the issue with myself.

 

Again I ask how the hell can he come to a conclusive stance without seeing the evidence and discussing the matter with myself first.

He then of course denies that he is saying no.

So I challenge him to either say Yes or No.

He will now do neither as he clearly knows he is on the ropes but refusing to accept this is their issue ...

.. I think they would have had I not mentioned my "driveway is ruined".

 

They had said "we will flush it through and re-fill with OEM oil and make sure its safe to drive"

so clearly at that point they were going to take the hit ..

.. that is until I said the issue here is the drive way is destroyed.

 

He "advises" me that I should get it steamcleaned and he will take another look.

I am stunned and ask how he thinks that I should pay £500 for the pleasure of them ruining my driveway

and somehow have to foot the bill for more delaying tactics.

When he said it he even said "now I don't know where you can get it steam cleaned, I can get one of our guys to google it for you".

 

At this point I ask for his bosses number.

He tells me that I will need to call customer services.

I tell him I want the customer services managers number of which of course he doesn't have.

I then ask for his line managers number if it isn't the customer service manager

to be told that his line manager doesn't deal with these issues.

 

Like you I am thinking "is there any such thing as customer services at Kwik Fit

because clearly I am not going to get this resolved with this guy and the infrastructure is clearly disjointed.

 

So I am now back from my holiday. Not sure what to do.

 

£500 down on an exhaust I probably didn't need

A ruined driveway - its pink monoblock btw

Half Day off work to deal with mopping up the oil and trying to clean it

Kwik Fit refusing to accept responsibility

Kwik Fit suggesting I get steam cleaned even though they know there isn't anywhere to get it done and at my cost before they will discuss further

 

I am just flabbergasted at how they are treating me

and they think its perfectly acceptable to take my money and then insult my intelligence on the matter.

 

At one point one of their chaps said

"I know m8 I would be the same in your position ..

.. its not like your an 18 year old lassie".

 

Now that really jumped out for me as clearly if I was an 18 YO girl

they would be taking advantage of experience

and sex obviously from the perspective of pulling the proverbial wool over the eyes.

 

I am thinking of using social media as its a small city and given my work place is right next door to the Kwik Fit

and have hundreds of colleagues who probably use them that I should throw off the gloves and really go at them on this.

 

Any advice gratefully received on this.

 

Apologies if anything is incoherent or confusing but its l8 and struggling to maintain my energy level with this now.

 

P.S. It rained almost everyday for a week on the camping trip .... funny init !

[ashmk]

You can remove oil from driveways with the right kit but the longer you leave it the harder it will be to get it completely gone.

 

Where are you based? I have contacts in the industry.

 

And I would say they are blatantly responsible for this cock up.

[JoeyJoeC]

For £500 I hope you got the entire exhaust replaced along with the manifold.

[WrathOfKain]

You can remove oil from driveways with the right kit but the longer you leave it the harder it will be to get it completely gone.

 

Where are you based? I have contacts in the industry.

 

And I would say they are blatantly responsible for this cock up.

 

Aberdeen m8 . What industry ?

[WrathOfKain]

For £500 I hope you got the entire exhaust replaced along with the manifold.

 

You would think so but I think this group is well versed in avoiding their obligations, responsibilities and customer services.

[ashmk]

Jet washing, driveway cleaning etc.

 

Professional guys, I could find you some reputable companies in your area if you want them to take a look and get an idea of the cost. Not pikeys!

[WrathOfKain]

Jet washing, driveway cleaning etc.

 

Professional guys, I could find you some reputable companies in your area if you want them to take a look and get an idea of the cost. Not pikeys!

 

How much do you reckon ?

 

Was wanting to ensure I get Kwik Fit to accept liability before proceeding.

[JoeyJoeC]

Did you tell them about the driveway when you started the complaint?

 

May have been worth holding it back, so that they think they only need to screw back the filter and top-up with more oil, they would accept liability much easier, then bring up the driveway, they can't back out then

[Migster]

There's a Kwik Fit customer services rep on these boards - I expect they'll pick this up in due course or you coul ask one of the site team to alert them.

[WrathOfKain]

Did you tell them about the driveway when you started the complaint?

 

May have been worth holding it back, so that they think they only need to screw back the filter and top-up with more oil, they would accept liability much easier, then bring up the driveway, they can't back out then

 

 

Yes if I had kept quiet about the driveway I am 100% sure they would have accepted responsibility .... who in their right mind wouldn't ? ..... in fact they had to that point.

 

Silly I know but I tend to do everything up front and expect other decent human beings to do likewise.

[WrathOfKain]

There's a Kwik Fit customer services rep on these boards - I expect they'll pick this up in due course or you coul ask one of the site team to alert them.

 

I hope they get on here very quickly as I am beginning to think that this might be one of those occasions where they deserve their name to be dragged through the mud:

 

1 - Advise work colleagues through company post board - the building has hundreds and I am sure a good few might have used them

2 - Contact local media - Made some good media contacts during the school closure review in the city

3 - Social media - Its amazing how bad news travels in a wee city especially when they see a picture of my drive, denial and complete lack of customer care.

4 - Take legal advice - I honestly cant see this failing. I will phone my solicitor and speak to citizens advice this week.

 

What is really angering me is that I have had no follow up courtesy call by duty manager, area manager or customer services and I spoke to them all. It really shows the complete contempt they are showing customers. Not content with ripping you off (just found my exhaust the "whole" system for £170 not including labour) with prices they also think it is better to insult the customers intelligence rather than resolve things quickly and to the customers expectations.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I've asked the Kwik-fit rep to have a look at this thread, their last activity on the site was yesterday.

 

Regards,

 

Scott.

[WrathOfKain]

Most kind of you. And thanks to those of you showing an interest.

 

If they have not resolved this to my complete satisfaction by Friday it will be gloves off and I will make sure it costs them far more than what it has cost me.

 

I have a big heart and would h8 to think I contribute to a garage losing so much custom that jobs go but I care more for you the customer and anyone else being forced to go through this themselves.

[ashmk]

How much do you reckon ?

 

Was wanting to ensure I get Kwik Fit to accept liability before proceeding.

 

£300-£500 but it's only a small photo you put on so that's a rough estimate.

 

I'm a member of a private forum for the cleaning industry with loads of guys on it that do this type of work, professional guys who will invoice you correctly so you can pass the cost to Kwik Fit. I'm sure someone will be local to you.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Andyorch
Offer by PM removed.

[AndyOrch]

Please do not PM personal information...if in doubt contact Admin.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[JoeyJoeC]

Kwik Fit have a net worth of -£20,000,000... The only way they can stay in business a little longer is by over charging, and doing minimal work, employing the cheapest employees with minimal experience.

 

My local Kwik Fit was a ghost town on Saturday, with their teenage employees sitting on desks with nothing to do.

[KwikFit Official Customer]

Hi WrathofKain,

We would like to look into this further for you but require some details to identify your vehicle and any correspondence the team has already had with you to date in relationship to this matter.

Please can you provide your vehicle registration number and the Kwik Fit centre that you visited. If you would prefer not to post this information here, please send us a private message.

Kind regards,

Kwik Fit Customer Services

[WrathOfKain]

Hi WrathofKain,

We would like to look into this further for you but require some details to identify your vehicle and any correspondence the team has already had with you to date in relationship to this matter.

Please can you provide your vehicle registration number and the Kwik Fit centre that you visited. If you would prefer not to post this information here, please send us a private message.

Kind regards,

Kwik Fit Customer Services

 

I cannot PM you at the moment due to the website requirements.

 

Can you advise of an e-mail address and a contact telephone number. I will also put all the detail into a formal letter for you.

[AndyOrch]

You can PM me Wrath and I will pass on the details to KFS.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[KwikFit Official Customer]

Hi Wrath,

You can email us at [email protected].

Kind regards,

Kwik Fit Customer Services

[scaniaman]

Kwik fit and Halfords??????????????????????????

[Conniff]

I am thinking of using social media as its a small city and given my work place is right next door to the Kwik Fit

and have hundreds of colleagues who probably use them that I should throw off the gloves and really go at them on this.

 

 

Be very careful about shouting things in public that you can't prove.

 

 

Talking in a professional manner, filters don't just loosen by being touched or knocked, so what you are suggesting is that someone deliberately loosened your filter. There is no way in the world you would be able to prove such a thing.

The only other thing is that it was in the way so they removed it, fitted the exhaust and then replaced it but did not tighten it fully.

 

 

Make sure you are watertight before opening yourself up to serious problems.

[WrathOfKain]

Be very careful about shouting things in public that you can't prove.

 

 

Talking in a professional manner, filters don't just loosen by being touched or knocked, so what you are suggesting is that someone deliberately loosened your filter. There is no way in the world you would be able to prove such a thing.

The only other thing is that it was in the way so they removed it, fitted the exhaust and then replaced it but did not tighten it fully.

 

 

Make sure you are watertight before opening yourself up to serious problems.

 

 

I haven't at any point suggested it was malicious not sure where you are picking that up. If I suspected criminal activity then I would be involving the police.

 

I simply set out the circumstances and facts as I see them. And I will of course point that out when I "shout". After that its up to the individual to decide from themselves. I believe I am protected as a consumer and can voice my opinion on the matter if not then there is very little point even having this forum.

 

Based on the info i have provided I think the only person who might question it any way is someone connected or affiliated with Kwik Fit.

 

Some work collegues coincidently also suggested what you mentioned above. That someone has removed the filter to gain better access to the exhaust area and didn't put it back on properly. It actually reminded me that the duty manage labored the point that they would use extendable tools etc. and nothing else was touched. Clearly it was something that occurred to him even though it hadn't myself. I wish I had probed them on it more but obviously they would have said no anyway.

[Conniff]

I think I worded my post a bit wrong WoK. I just want you to be careful not to get yourself into trouble.

 

 

If web searches are anything to go by, KF have probably the worse reputation of any car repair chain but don't seem that bothered by it.

[WrathOfKain]

I think I worded my post a bit wrong WoK. I just want you to be careful not to get yourself into trouble.

 

 

If web searches are anything to go by, KF have probably the worse reputation of any car repair chain but don't seem that bothered by it.

 

No probs m8. And I agree from what I saw in my searches on KF is pretty damning.

 

One that struck me was someone saying that the garages are stocked full of inexperienced kids who have no idea what they are doing and no training. That was something that jumped out at me when I was at their garage was the ages of the lads. They clearly knew who and why I was there and there was a huddle of them in heated debate or giggling ..... was like being back at school in the playground.

 

I am keen to see how KF handles this. If its positive I will acknowledge that otherwise ....