An investigation from the CBC revealed that a popular oil-change place was ripping customers off. Reporters go in for a $19.99 oil change but get charged more.
“Generally speaking, these places deal with volume, not necessarily a repeat customer,” mechanic Mark Sach-Anderson told the CBC. “Most people don’t know about their cars,” added Sach-Anderson.
The CBC investigation revealed a number of unsavory business practices, which include the aggressive upselling of likely unneeded services that range in the hundreds of dollars.
“All they can do is take somebody’s word for it. And if [shops] can show them a printout or something and it says, ‘Hey, this needs doing,’ who are they to dispute it?” Sach-Anderson said of customers.
According to the report:
Economy Lube advertises its oil change as taking 10 minutes and costing $20. Despite this low cost, all three testers were told that additional services were needed, including servicing the transmission system, a coolant flush, a flush of the brake fluid system and a flush of the power steering fluid. The costs of the recommended but unnecessary services ranged from $180 to $250.
In one instance, the report notes, Economy Lube salespeople told their investigators that they should replace fluid that had just been changed, saying that the fluid smelled like it was burning.
“If they are … receiving money for services that they did not perform, that you paid for, in all honesty, that’s fraud,” Mark Simchison, former fraud chief with the Hamilton police, told the broadcaster.
“It’s a heads-up for consumers,” Simchison added. “Be wary of who you deal with.”
The report also found that many of the workers at quick-change oil and lube shops aren’t trained.
“The reality is, they’re not technicians and they are not mechanics,” Sach-Anderson said. “A mechanic’s licence is five years of on-the-job training and a minimum of three years of in-school training. These guys are straight out of high school, and when they’ve walked into these places, might not have known how to open a hood.”
From The Epoch Times
Recommended Video:
Boiling water turns to snow
[/epoch_video]
