Very angry with the state my wheels have bin left in!

What a start to the day, mot's coming up n knew i needed a new front tyre because the side wall had a crack in it, went to tyreland in Bournemouth and I advise anyone if u care about your wheels NEVER take them to one of their garages! This is how my wheels used to look:


And now thanks to the incompetent idiots at tyreland this is the state they are in now:





Thats all on one wheel! I was told to take a seat while they did the work so didnt actually see them changing the tyre. Soon as I went round and noticed it went straight back in the office and complained. All that was done was they told me they use a plastic guard and 'shouldn't' of done any damage to which one of the guys turned round to blame me for the paint used on the wheels! if thats the case how did another garage manage to put 4 tyres on without doing any damage before!! needless to say i am very p****d off but what can i do!

I always enjoy the jack on the sill trick used by tyre "fitters" makes me do that scruched up face you do when you see an accident about to happen.. feel your pain mate..

Cheers dude, i dono what to do, wether to email the photos to thier head office n try n take it further or am i just gonna get fobbed off with the excuses!

tyre places do my head in. they snapped 3 wheel bolts off of my car and i had to get them drilled out. then it took about 3 months to find the obsolete vw wheel bolts i needed. when i told them they had snapped them, they deniyed it. i dont know how they could because they were fine when the car went to them but snapped when they gave it back. the torque setting on there mega gun must have been wrong.
when it comes to changing tyres now, i remove the wheels myself and drive them down in a different car. then i watch them change the tyres because i have posh bbs wheels now. some people just have no respect for other peoples pride and joy.

you've pretty much summed it up! They were saying the same sort of thing, theres no way we could of damaged ur wheel, well its funny how they didnt go in looking like tht!

Kick up a proper stink there. Get your car as far away as possible from them, go back and take goods to the value of the damage. If they threaten you, call the police. If they threaten to call the police, let them. When they turn up they won't get involved in a dispute but the branch manager will, and take it from there.

I can't condone shop lifting and I in y experience I think 5-0 WILL be interested.

If you have a record function on your phone turn it on, go back to them and KEEP CALM. State your case firmly as do so with a plan to resolution. Don't let them decide how to resolve it, you decide!

If you get no joy, inform them that you are taking it further and do so. You'll have the advantage of before and after photos and the recording.

Good luck and have a plan!

T

Tian said

I can't condone shop lifting and I in y experience I think 5-0 WILL be interested

And what experience is this then

I remember being at kwik fit in my old Fiat Punto (scoff) and when I arrived to fit the pair of tyres I had reserved, I was told they weren't available - after opting for a slightly more rubbish alternative they jacked my car on it's sill to the sound of a large crunch as the jack made it's way swiftly through the bodywork

I have a very short temper and may or may not have flipped my lid - but this nearly got me ejected from site, so it isn't recommended to cause a kerfuffle.

The situation is absolutely criminal, I concur - but I would do a bit of searching before you act on this kind of thing. You may find that somewhere on site, or hidden on their web page is a disclaimer waiving any responsibility for damage etc.

If this is the case then the caribinieri will not see too happily anyone nicking tools etc..

Quite Simple,
Write a letter in conjunction with your phone call.
A paper trial is traceable, phone calls get forgotten.
Print and save off any E mails and start a folder, to keep all your documents in.
Explain the pre fitting condition and explain how you expected the Wheels to be returned in the same condition they went into the shop.
Explain that other tyre proffessionals have fitted tyres to wheels prior without incidence.
Your claim is failure to use "due care and dilligence" whilst fitting the new tyres, resulting in damage.
Explain how much the cost is to make repairs and that you expect the company to be liable for those costs.
Give them a reasonable time to respond followed by a phone call, then a letter stating that you intend to sue in the Small Claims Court for damages.
The argument of you paint is nullified by the fact the wheels are exposed to stones, grime, mud, water etc and have not suffered till now.

being that i'm a wheel refurbisher by trade, i deal with these things day after day.  if you mention trading standards to them, they will pay out for a refurb! they have a duty of care to your car and damage must be repaired!

Must admit i stay well away from the main big tyre places as the people (though not all) who work there don't care about other peoples wheels etc.

I'm lucky i go to a small local tyre place know the owner and guys who work there well and they always do a good job and are very careful with the wheels and car so that they don't damage them

marky4 said

Must admit i stay well away from the main big tyre places as the people (though not all) who work there don't care about other peoples wheels etc.

I'm lucky i go to a small local tyre place know the owner and guys who work there well and they always do a good job and are very careful with the wheels and car so that they don't damage them

This.

You should ALWAYS stay away from places like Kwick-fit and big tyre garages because the people who work there couldn't give a F**** about the customers property and half the time there not even trained to use the machines. i work at a local VAG specialist garage and we get quite a few car enthusiasts with chrome bbs's blah blah and stretched tyres and they go to these big chain garages and come back £200 less in there pocket for 2 tyres and 2 damaged wheels. then the customers confront the kwick-fit manager and they couldn't care less the normal quote they say is ' have you got any proof that we have done the damage'.  My advice is to find a small local garge that take care with there work u might have to pay them abit more but if they take care with your wheels then its worth it

i had the same thing spent ages prepping and spraying wheels on my old fast back chipped the paint to f*ck fitting whitwall inserts no consideration at all

Cheers for all the reply, bin at work this afternoon so took my mind off it n chilled out a bit, but yes first thing monday morning im going to get on the phone to thier head office, not even going back to the branch. No way im ever going to step foot in tht garage again!

And chortle and others thanks for the help i'll make sure i keep track of everything i send them and remain civilized, scream n shout at people as good as it makes u feel very rarely pays off.

Sedge said

What a start to the day, mot's coming up n knew i needed a new front tyre because the side wall had a crack in it, went to tyreland in Bournemouth

I wouldn't take my mint wheels to "tyreland" just by the name you can tell they will be a bunch of cowboys!

Yeah maybe should of thought about it a bit more but not long moved down to the area and havnt seen any other tyre companies around, will definately be finding another one next time tho!

Spoke to the general manager for the company on the phone today and he told me he'd get in touch with the bournemouth branch and took about 10 minutes for the bournemouth manager to ring me up apologising and offering to get my wheel repainted. Hopefully problem solved! Although would rather i didnt have to go through all this hassle!

Thats a good result. Just take the money and do it yourself. Winner!

as much of a p-i-a this suggestion might be. it actuallyworks.. when you go to get work done at a dealer you don't know/trust, make a good old show of taking photos of the bodywork and the bit(s) they're going to be dealing with in the forecourt, no matter how small.

make sure camera date is set correctly.

if any problems ensue.. you have photographic evidence taken mere minutes before the damage was done, if no damage done delete photos.

Good point jim, yeah im future i will be doing that! Should get my wheel back tomoz so we'll see then, hopwfully problem solved tho!