Oh dear. Kwik-Fit took a mauling from BBC Watchdog last night. As Annie put it, for their dishonesty and negligence. After the disappointing Which? garage findings so recently isn’t it time that the bad businesses are named and shamed so that trusting motorists can favour the honourable ones and not be put at risk and overcharged in this way? Surely this is a ‘super complaint’ moment for the OFT to finally take regulatory action on behalf of consumers?

Admittedly the Kwik-Fit screened sample was small – 3 rip off instances at Kwik-Fit Reading, Southend and Hastings but with a further 10 branches which failed to service one car correctly between them.

Understandably Kwik-Fit’s response is robust and impressive; their nationwide garage business is under threat.

But the garage industry won’t sympathise with them because for years this is what Kwik-Fit has done and we all have our stories to tell. To this day they still owe FOXY for the manifold we sourced for them to fit to one of our members’ cars (needed as a result of their brute force to an exhaust repair). We dealt with HQ and their Area Manager; I haven’t forgotten how unprofessional they were and they didn’t pay us despite saying they would. Their card was marked indelibly as it is for many women when a business behaves as badly as this one.

But no surprises for the Kwik-Fit hierarchy surely because their staff are incentivised to sell motorists products and services (inevitably things they don’t always need, want to buy or get, as per Watchdog’s findings) to supplement modest income. What did the top jollies (and other national chains who also pay commission) expect was happening on the shop floor?

I must admit I was surprised to see Kwik-Fit staff completing ATA training requiring them to sign the IMI Code of Conduct – a commitment to the highest level of ethical behaviour. I was hopeful of a renaissance of course 😉 but ethical behaviour and tempting commission to prop up income aren’t natural bedfellows in my book. This may well be the case with Kwik-Fit Reading, listed as an ATA employer, who charged Joanne £650 for safety brake repairs for her Mitsubishi when none were necessary. And she nearly paid as many will do. Granted they sent her £250 in vouchers but would you want to go back to a dishonest business? I’d much rather spread the word via women drivers within FOXY Lady Drivers Club ;-).

After the Which? garage investigation this is yet another nail in the garage industry coffin of self regulation – it hasn’t worked for the last 60 years, once again it’s supported by the franchised dealers but not the garages that need it most… Why would a new service and repair code work now when it hasn’t previously? Ipso facto.

And the reason it doesn’t work? Because of what we saw last night – endemic dishonesty and shoddy workmanship in the motor industry. Tinkering at the edges of this industry isn’t enough – we need regulation so our cars are safer, we need to outlaw the cowboys to give the garage industry an ethical image to be proud of and then hopefully the mediocre businesses will either pull their socks up or pack up and go.

Let’s get real about garage services and sort it out for the trusting motorists who don’t read good garage guides or watch BBC Watchdog perhaps.  The time is surely now.

FOXY