Price for MOT - thought it was £29.65, garage invoicing for £50

[mtread]

What's a 'pre MOT test'? Is it like 'doing an MOT'? So you've been charged twice for the same piece of work. Rip off, and they say they do it unless told otherwise  :rolleyes .... Demand your money back.

[Mick-H]

Name and shame comes to mind, defo a rip off and others need to know so they don't get the same treatment.

[darrsi]

Pre MOT check, that does sound like a load of bollox to me too.
Most people would just say it failed then ask if you want them to fix it or send you away to fix whatever needs doing.


I found out by chance recently when i looked up my bike on the free Government MOT check website that my bike had been failed a few times then given a pass straight after.
One time was when i took a new tyre in to be fitted while they had the bike.
I NEVER let my tyre tread go so low as to be considered a fail, but even though i just wanted it changed he failed it on the tyre then passed it with the replacement.
But i have never ever been aware of any of this.
I've only had one MOT failure in 30 years riding, and that was in the early 90's.
It makes no difference but i do consider it a bit cheeky and underhand to be honest, as i found about 3 fails on that website.

[tommyardin]

[quote author=Buzz link=topic=22929.msg264705#msg264705 date=1500556370]
The MOT ran out on the 14th but there was no "rush" and it wasn't a Premium service etc., I called up last night to see if they could do it today, they said "no probs, just bring it down early and we'll get it done".

I thought nothing of it until I got the text invoice...I'll pay but question where the extra £20 comes from.

I usually take it somewhere else but that place couldn't do it as they'd bought the wrong insurance so they couldn't ride anyone's bikes to the MOT test centre they use...idiots!

Lesson learned I guess.  However they DID do a great while-you-wait job on the rear caliper though, split caliper (neither bolt would budge), removed 2 broken retaining pins, removed 2 stuck pistons, all for £20.  It allowed me to clean, rebuild and bleed myself so saved £60 labour.

Swings and roundabouts.

Like you say, a bit much for the MOT which you needed and they should've advised extra cost. Decent price for the caliper though.


I'd just pay up and get the MOT elsewhere next time.........unless you fancy a row after a day's work.
[/quote]


I agree with Tiger pay them what they ask, tell all you friends not to use the robing bastards services and the go on Facebook and tell your story about your expierence with the garage. I would have asked them if they usually wore a mask and rode a horse named Black Bess.

[red98]

What's a 'pre MOT test'? Is it like 'doing an MOT'? So you've been charged twice for the same piece of work. Rip off, and they say they do it unless told otherwise  :rolleyes .... Demand your money back.

:agree ?...same as all these service & MOT deals you see......a proper service would mean checking a lot of the stuff thats covered in an MOT......the garage is never going to check things twice , a blatant rip off......i know several people who rave about these deals when clearly they are being ripped off

[steve 10562cc]

Try reporting it to trading standards they would be interested in this blatant rip off.

[mtread]

  I questioned it and they said it's a "check that guarantees the bike will pass when the MOT is done"

Not if the fork seals are knackered and it's got a bald tyre, it won't

[Grahamm]

When they gave me the printed invoice it had an extra £17+VAT for a "Pre-MOT check".  I questioned it and they said it's a "check that guarantees the bike will pass when the MOT is done".  I pointed out that I spent the previous evening checking the bike myself plus no-one told me when I brought the bike in that this would be done, they said "they do it unless told otherwise"....duh, obvs eh?!?  Lucky they didn't replace both the wheels with giant Danish whirls while they were at it.

Go back to them and tell them about the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act.

It was written precisely to stop garages pulling this sort of BS, you'd take it in for an oil change, when you get back "oh, we decided you needed new tyres, here's the bill and we won't give you it back until you pay".

If you only asked the garage to do a specific piece of work and they did extra work that you didn’t ask for, you can ask them to undo the work. If this isn't possible, you should insist you only pay for the work that was agreed.

- https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consum...ar-repair/

If they start messing you about, contact your local Trading Standards.

[Buzz]

Ouch...I didn't expect this to blow up so much!


The garage in question was this one http://www.citybikeservice.co.uk/, you can see the frontpage mentions a "£50 same day MOT service"


They don't do the MOT on site, they do the check then take it to the test site in Bow, 3 miles up the road - so the same person doesn't really do the same checks twice.  Also I guess that if the seals/tyre are knackered they charge you the Pre-test fee but you save the £30 MOT fee until after the faults are fixed.


To be honest I can't really be arsed to pursue it any further, it's not worth my time, I'm just happy the bike is on the road for another year ...and still with no advisories. 


As mentioned on my first post they ripped apart my rear caliper for £20 allowing me to rebuild it instead of them and so saving £60...I'm still happy and would take the bike back there as it's 10 mins from work, I'll just make sure that I ask for the charges beforehand in future.


They still should've asked me if I wanted it done though, that goes without saying.