Servicing Stop

DO NOT USE, i have just used service stop to do a full service and a MOT, i am disgusted with the service they have provided me, Their customer services is non-existent. The main telephone number in Norwich a man called Chris was very confrontational towards me in trying to get me to pay for extra work on the service. I spoke to the main dealer where my car was serviced last year and he informed me the work Service stop were trying to get me to have at a extra £300 was not necessary! Chris from SERVICESTOP was very rude when i said i did not want this work to be done and slammed the phone down on me. My Car has returned and is damaged and half a tank of fuel has been used which is more fuel than the said mileage would use.
I have been left with a car that i can now not get to garage to refuel. I feel deeply upset and conned by using SERVCIESTOP. I have asked for a manager to ring me regarding my complaints which they have not done!

Date of experience: 21 September 2022

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If you handover to them for service you have to keep minimum £1000 what ever ur car stage. Changing from bad changing £200. Ridiculous

ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR CAR OR PAY A HUGE FINAL BILL OR THEY WON'T RELEASE IT! STAY AWAY THEY ARE CROOKS! IF IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. IT'S NOT TRUE!

STAY AWAY

Total con job, appalling service level, I'm taking them to court. Can't get worse than that! Please do not use, they will just rip you off

Absolutely appalling, shoddy company! BE WARNED... DO NOT USE THEM AT ALL... I booked my car in for a full service, paid £79 - it was collected from my home. Didn't hear anything all day despite me trying to call (twice) to ask how it was all going. At 5:30pm I get a call from some random guy called Chris who basically tells me there's a long list of things wrong with my car! After 10 minutes of him waffling on (scaremongering) I agreed to pay for 3 of the items as he said they would not be able to release my car and produce a full service report without those items being addressed! The other 5 items he spoke of where BIG TICKET items that he estimated would cost a minimum of £750+ vat. He talked about a vague, strange knocking noise that needed investigating... I was appalled... I ended up paying £216 (to fix the 3 key items) on top of the £79 I'd already paid in the morning. I was so cross... I knew I'd been ripped off and couldn't do anything about it as they had my car...! I WILL NEVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN... ITS JUST A BIG MONEY MAKING SCAM! PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM SERVICING STOP!

***AVOID AT ALL COSTS***
Here is a warning - never, ever use this company. They are nothing but crooks.

***They were the subject of a BBC Watchdog Report on July 19th 2017 - Google it for more information.***

My car arrived back after 3 days (don't believe the same day return headline on their homepage). I was quoted the following:

PERFORM: BRAKE SERVICE £115.08
RENEW: BRAKE FLUID £239.72
ENGINE FLUSH £77.28
AUXILIARY DRIVE BELT £272.47
FUEL TREATMENT £72.83

None of the above actually needed to be done. Servicing Stop tell the garage to add on items for which they get paid. They are nothing but a middle man. The garage owner who delivered my car back told me himself that the work was not necessary and they are asked to do it all the time by Servicing Stop.

DO NOT fall for the cheap service. If you decide to have the work carried out by them it will most probably be unnecessary and will cost you at least 4 times what it should.

Please DO NOT USE Servicing Stop and fall for their scam. You have been warned.

***Following advice from Trading Standards, if you have a complaint contact the Operations Manager MICHAEL NATHAN - michael. N at servicingstop.co.uk (please replace the 'at' with@) ******* *******. Servicing Stop do not use an Alternative Dispute Resolution service so the best advice if you get ripped off by them is to take them to the Small Claims Court***

DO NOT USE! Wish i had read the reviews before booking! First the positive….they picked my car up on time!
Now the negatives! Car was meant to be brought back between 4-6pm, 8pm no car! No number or messaging to chase and find out what's happening, all lines close at 6! I had 1 missed call that day, leaving no voicemail or text or email, so assumed was a scam call so didn't bother to call back. And to reiterate, only ONE call! My husband wanted me to call the police to report the car stolen as no communication! I then had to arrange for my children to be taken to school and rearrange work for the next day as no car! 8am i messaged on the live chat, told the advisor in charge will call me! 10:10am he called with a list of "additional" work mounting over £1k, for brake pads alone, didn't even get a quote for other work as they're already being sorted at my local garage which was already booked in for! I told them absolutely not and I will take to my local garage as I knew the REAL cost wouldn't be that amount! The guy then got really short with me and virtually hung up! My car was then dropped off at 1pm, in fairness the girl who picked up and collected was lovely, none of this is her issue or fault! I looked around my car and saw the wheel patch panel sticking out, I thankfully was able to push it back in! It's in my local garage tomorrow and they've been asked to ensure a full service was carried out as learning from other reviews, there's a high chance it's not been, but rather they spent their time looking for faults to try make money back on beings as the initial full service quote looked so appealing! I have also been quoted less then half the cost by my local garage for the pads! Please do not use and avoid the stress and anxiety I had!

They tried to force me to do advised work and when I declined, the service advisor became annoyed, rude and hanged up the phone.

Never use this company, they take the money and never pick the car up. No help what so ever just want the moneyScam

Due to the delay of car service. I have lost my job.
Service stop has ruin my life. I ask God to destroy these people.

The worst possible service, once you are on their hand, that means, you are gone. They slaughter you. If you want to harm someone, you can refer.

Found through a quick Google search, booked an MOT and was very happy with the complete service from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Too expensive. Say 5 times actual cost. Pushy customer service who won't return your calls back once u confirm.

Took payment up front £74. Then cancelled, as they were too busy. Only refunded £54.
Total con artists

This is what I received when I complained: My whole experience just for an MOT was the worst in my LIFE
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I do sincerely apologise for the issues that you have experienced when trying to make the needed payments online and for the fact your vehicle has been kept at the garage for longer than expected. Following your complaint I have spoken to the garage, the Servicing Stop technical team and the service advisor, who has managed your booking, about this and I will also be monitoring them closely moving forwards to ensure that the feedback has been taken on board and that the needed improvements are made.

With regards to the amount of emails that you have received in relation to your service and the clarity of these emails, I do apologise for any inconvenience that this has caused you Dee. Following your complaint I have passed your feedback regarding this to the management team, as we are always receptive to feedback and we do frequently adjust the services we offer based on suggestions and feedback made by our customers.

You have also reported that you are unhappy with the way in which the Specialist Oil charge has been explained to you, the fact you were unable to view your MOT certificate on the service date and the fact your vehicle has been returned to you dirty, with grease marks on the Bonnet and dirt in the drivers footwell, I do sincerely apologise for this. Again, I will ensure that your feedback in relation to this is provided to the service advisor and garage who have managed your booking as well as to our management team.

I appreciate that you are unhappy with the offer of a £20.00 refund and, whilst we are unfortunately unable to compensate for loss of earnings, what I can do is increase the refund offer to £25.00 for you, as a full and final resolution to this case, please advise if you would like to accept this refund and I will make the needed arrangements for you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fraud Alert!
Do not use them in any situation. I booked services with them and the sales basically said my car fail MOT and there are fault code which then i said it is impossible because my car is new and i have not seen any error code. They insist if i dont get it fix " i will not get my car back " due the car are not allow to be on the road. I told them car are under PCP and still under warranty i only need to fix the minimum and the errors i would do it with the seller ( they are closed at the time due to pandemic and i choose this $#*!ing company they offer free collection but this is hugh mistake - see follow).

So they took my car and promised to send the car and by calling me saying if don't pay them immediately it will delay the repair and hence not getting the car back. Paid them and not heard from them same day, call their phone waited for 2 hours on call ( and i am not kidding) nobody answer, texted the guy that call me for payment and he said he has finish for the day ( after i threaten him i will contact the police for stolen car) and he HAS NOT IDEA WHO I WAS!

Got my car back day after and i called their services and asked them what is the fault that prevent me from having my car back, they said they are unable to tell me, if you think of a logic, if there are POTENTIAL FAULT even before you actual do a details test you will still able to tell what is the potential fault but they refuse to give me those information.

I sent my car to proper dealer to check and they have confirmed that is not fault whatsoever. They are fraud to to scare you into paying more for nothing.

I have made complaint by sending them email, 22 June and 6 July. So far no reply whatsoever.

Beware of this fraud company, i never write review and i decide i will write at many place i can.

My car was collected Fri morning but was not returned the same day as contractually agreed! There was no communication from Servicing stop & because they shut at 6pm, I was left all weekend not knowing where my car was. Some crappy car had been left on my drive with no keys, so I was unsure if that was stolen. I reported my car to the police as stolen under deception & passed over the other car details.

On Saturday the government website showed my car had passed its MOT & displayed the garage details, but the garage was shut until Mon & it was not 'local' it was 35 miles away. So I had NO CAR ALL WEEKEND! I was unable to move my son out of his Uni halls, visit my disabled son or even do a food shop.

On Monday morning I phoned the MOT garage (RS Autos, Farnworth) who explained that they only do the MOT & another garage completes the service, but they couldn't give out their details because of 'data protection'. Apparently the garages are kept secret so that any work needed can't be negotiated cheaper which is why Servicing Stop charge ridiculous prices before releasing your car.

RS Autos phoned the other garage & told me my car had left that garage & was on its way back. Car arrived back with a sheepish looking guy saying 'I'm only the driver' and explained he had other clients in the same situation - left without their car all wkend! This 'service' garage is located in Kearsley, Bolton.

Why the hell are these garages continuing to be corrupt by colluding with Servicing Stop. I am going to report Servicing Stop to Trading Standards & if you're reading this review with a negative experience, I would advise you do the same. These companies should not be allowed to continue. The stress and anxiety of not knowing where my car is has been awful. For some people with money concerns/poor mental health could push them over the edge. Awful, shambolic, deceitful treatment. Not even a phone call or apology from Servicing Stop. They don't care, they just want your money! Also, they don't even stamp your service record, so now I've not got proof it's even been done. Probably don't want to stamp the book because that will display the corrupt garage details! AVOID

On line price is not the price you pay. They know exactly what they are doing. Horrible experience
NEVER AGAIN

I arranged and paid for an MOT & service on 7th March, 6 weeks before it was due as I wanted it done on a specific date. I emailed Servicestop on 15th March to inquire as to what was happening, receiving an automated reply saying someone would get back to me within 5-7 working days. I heard nothing! After about 10 days, I still hadn't heard about where I was going to be booked into, so I telephoned Servicestop and, after waiting for an answer for well over 30 minutes, I was told that the garage hadn't been allocated! On 4th April, I once again telephoned to find out what was happening. I was told a garage still hadn't been allocated. On 7th April I emailed AGAIN and explained how concerned I was getting. I received a telephone call on Friday 8th April at around 11am and was advised that the garage could not fit me in on the Monday, only on the Wednesday. As I had taken time off work for this, this was not convenient as I couldn't take time off at such short notice, so I cancelled. I then had one afternoon to organise an alternative garage. Fortunately I was able to book in in a local garage. I fail to understand, and I haven't received an acceptable answer, how a business can fail to sort this out having been given so much prior notice? I have received a full refund but so much for a stress free way to book. Never again would I trust Servicestop.

Don, t even use this company lots of scrammers the worse company i have to deal with
Scram scram scrammers don, t people please think

NOW THEY ARE WRITING POSITIVE REVIEWS. ALL FAKE. I booked my car for MOT and full service on 4April 22. They picked up the car and later on a man called my. He was speaking so fast and as I have hearing issues and English is not my first language I didn´t know what was going on. The only thing he made clear was that I had to pay to get my car back and later on we could discuss about it. They promise to return my car the same day but they didn´t. I thought my car was stolen. I checked the gov.co.uk and saw that the MOT pass so it calmed down. Next day I called immediately to the garage they said my car was in the email. They told me the car was there. Asking the total price of the MOT+ full service they were reluctant to answer as the contract was with Servicing Stop not with me. I told them I was charged 829. In the end they told me, confidentially that they use to charge 237 and this company brings them lot of clients. The garage itself bring me car back at home, gave me the MOT document with the signature and garage details but the full service was a sheet with the Servicing Stop logo, no mention of the garage neither signed. I asked them for a proper full service sheet but still waiting. Not 100% sure if the garage is also involved in this comedy. My car was sent to Shurlock row garage (I think there are few).
Sending bad reviews IS NOT ENOUGH. I am now guided by TRAIDING STANDARDS with this complain. PLEASE DO THE SAME. WE ALL HAVE TO STOP THIS. The more written complains we get, the more quick they will be catched. Thank you.

It was the most stressful and expensive car service I've ever had. Poor communication once they have your car, do not recommend it. They've returned my car at 7pm (instead of 4-6) without informing it, I thought I'll be left hiring a car for work.

It started great, prompt two calls to confirm the appointment, collection early as promised at 8am and they promised to return my car after servicing between 4-6pm. They called at 2pm saying there are several things to do quoting me in total over £800 incl service. I had full service done 6 months ago, so it seemed a lot but I didn't have time to shop around so I as I was at work and didn't have time to think but I've asked for full breakdown so I know what I'm paying for. But the email I got included only a list of things not the cost breakdown so I called right back to change my mind 5min later as I felt uninformed but I was left leaving several messages and emails for Gary who called me an hour later and said its too late to cancel additional works worth £700 as they've all been done now (in one hour?! Really?) and my car'll be ready by 3pm. I got confused with the invoice because the costs had base costs and vat separately (as you see on the pic) on top of what I expected and labour and it didn't state I already paid for service so I asked them to call me again but waited 3 hrs for the call, again leaving several messages. All the mobiles they've called me earlier were invalid or unable to call back. No email responses at all. Gary called me after 5pm, I've paid with him on the line and never been told about delay of retuning my car so I expected it by 6pm. It was past 6pm and I waited and waited. I called the office but it was closed, numbers didn't work. Finally, some random girl dropped it off at 7pm!

I'm not very good with costs but come on aircon top up was £300! They also recommended changing very expensive timing belt when I asked if they know for sure it needs changing because I've changed it already they said they don't know it, they just don't have records of it being changed. See the pic of costs breakdown.

Car was meant to be collected between 8-10am today. Took the day off work only for no one to turn up or call. Got sent a txt with a number to contact, so tried calling but the number said we tried to call you then the line went dead. No one had called me. I then found out from confirmation on booking email to where my car was going to be serviced and MOT'D. I then googled garage and called only to find out the number not recognized. I then looked on google for building only to find out it looked like a building that was not in use. As you can imagine I was very worried by now as I had paid upfront £162 for a service and MOT that had not been done. I then opened a live chat but it kept on asking questions and then me having to rewrite my problem, which was very frustrating and I gave up after an hour of doing this. I then went onto Service Stop and typed in that I was going to book a service as beforehand they called me straight away so I thought I would try this way to see if it would work and yes it did. I explained my problem and the guy on the phone even went on to google and looked at the garage my car was meant to be going to. He even said it didn't look right and this is a member of their staff. I said I wanted a full refund as I hadn't cancelled booking it was a no show but he said he would pass message on. I contacted my bank and explained what had happened and opened a dispute with the company for the amount i paid. Thanks to HSBC my dispute payment is in my bank today which they told me could take up to 30 days.
PLEASE, PLEASE AVOID THIS COMPANY IT IS A SCAM.
I feel as if I have dodged a bullet from looking at other reviews where they have collected car and made out the car needs work and held car to ransom until customer has paid.