Just shows that the motor trade is just not capable of policing itself, one scheme after another devised by companies that have their own agenda

As talked about on this forum many times, a Government (trading standards) backed licencing scheme is the only way forward........how long before someone sits up in government and takes notice

1, February 2006
What Car? Press Release

What Car? Reveals Garages Don’t Care and Won’t Change

Just three of 25,000 workshops join Kitemark scheme
Fewer than 100 applications in five months
Industry failing to improve standards

Motorists looking for trustworthy garages have just three accredited workshops to choose from, five months after the start of a British Kitemark scheme.

The British Standards Institute says it has received fewer than 100 applications from the UK's 25,000 garages for the Automotive Kitemark it launched last September, and will only send out the first three licences later this week.

The slow response from service and repair workshops is the latest disappointment in decades of attempts by the multi-billion pound industry to get its house in order and give motorists a better deal.

Strings of mystery shops all show motorists are routinely overcharged, told they need unnecessary work or left with cars in a dangerous, unroadworthy condition.

Steve Fowler, group editor of What Car? said: 'Enough is enough. With just three out of 25,000 workshops getting approval from the BSI in five months, and fewer than 0.5% even bothering to apply, it's clear that servicing and repair workshops are treating motorists with arrogant disdain.

'There seems to be no appetite to change the industry and little effort from workshops to put their shoddy, second-rate and, at times, dangerous past behind them.'

The National Consumer Council (NCC) last summer set a deadline of the end of March this year for lead trade association the Retail Motor Industry Federation to win approval for a code of conduct from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Since the Retail Motor Industry Federation has already abandoned one code and made clear that it will not submit another to the OFT, the NCC says it is now looking to the BSI Kitemark, and another programme being developed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, to drive up standards.

The NCC has the power to lodge a 'super complaint' with the OFT, which could help to force regulation through, but is likely to extend its deadline to give the Kitemark and SMMT schemes a chance to win support.

- ends –

For more information or to arrange an interview
with the What Car? team
(ISDN available)
please contact Karen Parry
Tel: 020 8267 5553
E-mail: karen.parry@haynet.com

Dave

If they have received 100 Applications, Why are they only sending out 3 Licences. ? Are the other 97 Below Standard or have they just not got around to checking them out, Or Like most schemes, have they had a Bright Idea but not got enough manpower to follow it up. ?

And Also Every Extra Cost that is incurred to the Garage owners will get passed onto the Customer, So do they think that the Customer will be happy with Paying for the Job, Extra for Tax. Extra for VAT, Extra for The BSI Kite Mark,
etc etc.

Oh and another thing. I bet most Garages have never even heard of the Scheme, I Only know of it because I have read about it on here and on a Course that I went on in Manchester where a Guy from the College popped in and Told us about it.
If they want to get it up and running, They should publicise it properly and Not Charge Ridiculous amounts of Money to set it up.

And Also. I hope that I have not got a Shoddy and Second Rate Past, All My Work is done to the Highest standard Possible, as long as the customer can afford Quality Parts, And If They Want My opinion, That is where there attentions should be focussed as there is too much Poor quality equipment being allowed to enter the country from places like China and India and Sometimes being Reboxed under Brand Names making Customers think that they are getting a quality product. ( which they are not )
Some of these products look good but fail within minutes of being fitted and some unscrupulous Companies are even selling this stuff in bulk to Distributors with a No return policy and using the excuse that the warranty is built into the price. ? Not a bad Idea when you are selling crap that has a near 100 % failure rate. ?

So my £33+vat per hr is overcharging, but the local Landrover dealer is £77+V (& the merc dealer up the road is on £110+vat.)

I have the same equipment, same updates etc, perhaps not the huge new building (funded by the service dept). & 'Which' have the nerve to tar me with the same brush as the minority which rip people off.

All these "Schemes" are just that, schemes to extract money from hard working honest people who repair motors vehicles. Vehicles which are far more expensive to repair than their owners could ever conceive.

While I'm in a slightly aggravated mood, who charges us £500 for an ecu that probably costs £10 to make, or charges £400 for an air flow meter one month & £40 the following month? Could that be the manufacturer? Do you want that part overnight?? to keep the customer on the road? well instead of the measly 10%, you will get NO discount!

Rant over

On the subject of Licensing, what about this easy option, Make it Mandatory, let everyone register if they are already trading, but need some qualification if coming into it fresh. Charge a nominal registration fee of say £100 per year, that'll give them £2,500,000 for policing the scheme, then all they need to do is take the licences from the ones which have lots of complaints upheld against them.

The only downside I could see about this, is the various 'official' organisations can't cream money from it........sorry guys

Regards
Steve

I agree with most of the "anti" comments here.

To take up Tony's point, how do they propose to mystery shop someone who works on recommendations from other customers?

The Guild of Master Craftsmen tried it on me just after I joined some years ago (I have now left since the entry criterion was that your subscription cheque clears!) and it was so obvious, and for work which was not mainstream, I turned the job down.

So, if it's that obvious it's not too much of a mystery and you would pay it even more attention than your already high standards.

Regards,

Steve

When is a Kite mark just a kite mark ? when you pay a load of money to get it and then someone else gets it cheaper cos they just fit tyres,(nothing wrong with just fitting tyres !) but it still entitles them to display the sign, so would you be happy paying £1500 and £750 a year there after and then find out that the tyre bay around the corner has bought one for a few hundred quid and is able to display the same Kite mark sign as you ?

Dave

And then Joe (or Joanne) Public will think that the tyre place (nothing wrong with fitting tyres - as long as they stick to what they're good at!) has the same credentials as you, and can service, diagnose etc.

We need a license scheme that does not cost the earth - and keep on costing, year after year.

Steve

Having just read the press release in the Financial section of the Mail on Sunday, i can only say that its enough to make your blood boil

Its headline is "Why are only three UK garages flying a Kite?". It then goes on to say that they have received less than a 100 applications

The Editor of What Car Magazine then asks "why are so few bothering to apply", probably meaning that the rest of us just want to carry on ripping customers off and doing shoddy work

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The 1st reason only a 100 applications have been received from 25,000 garages is because NOT EVERY garage owner knows about the "Kite Mark Scheme". I for one have never received any letters or documentation from "The British Standards Institute" to apply, i only heard about it from articles in trade mags that not every garage receives

The 2nd reason is that Garage Owners (such as myself) are sick to death of so called "Good Garage Schemes" that have failed miserably in the past or failed to impress the motoring public. These schemes are all voluntary and carry no credibility

The 3rd reason is that it is not Government backed, it is being highly promoted by a parts supplier that is trying to force all of their soft franchises to become "Kite Marked" approved. The soft franchise owners are all aware of the scheme and have all been wooed with special days out to win them over......so what about the other 23,500 garages?. The scheme will also cost an average of £700:00 per year to keep the kite mark

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I suggest that this scheme is pulled ASAP to save the credibility of the "Kite Mark". This should be handed over to an independent government body to see it through and make sure that all of the 25,000 garages are made aware of it.....NOT just a chosen few

I would also suggest that the editor of the "What Car Magazine" and Russell Bray from The "Mail on Sunday" come out from behing their desks and take the blinkers off......there are many Independent Garages out there that have some of the best trained technicians in the country, also investing heavily in the latest technology to keep some of the most mechanically and electronically sophisticated vehicles on the road

All this training and technology comes at a price (very high) and ultimateley must be passed onto the customer. The motoring public can no longer expect todays vehicles to be fixed cheaply, those days are gone

Peter

If they want to price up some of my work they can have a go.
(1) How Much does it cost to Find and Rectify a short on a Sidelamp circuit. ?
(2) How much will it cost to repair Some Burnt wiring. ?
(3) how much will it cost to get the Electric windows and Central locking working on a VW passat. ?
(4) How much will it cost to Get a car through an Emission Test when it has failed miserably.?

And how long will each job take. What would be a fair price or a Rip off. ? And If a Customer complained, what would be the procedure and when would they start to take any action. ? Or would they just take the Kite Mark away from them that they have just Paid £700. For. ?

It occurs to me as well that it is hardly fair to charge an individual such as me the same as a large garage employing several mechanics.

I noticed that a BSI man holding forth in February's Aftermarket magazine says that it's only £2 a day to pay for the Kitemark (after the initial £700 that is).

Wish I was being paid his salary too!

Regards,

Steve

Oh And

If you *are* given the oppertunity to inspect the vehicle you will be expected to do any preliminary inspections FOC even if it takes all day to work out "exactly" what is wrong.

For some years now I have been telling customers that "In most cases, repair is part of the diagnostic process and therefore an accurate prior estimate is impossible"

For the most part, people accept this once it has been explained to them. Those that dont accept it would probabally have been the sort of people who would have complained that, after having spent half a day tracking down a bad earth (say) it is not reasonable that you should charge "All that money *just* for replaceing a lucar terminal costing 20p!"

Ho Humm

Simple as that!!

Well done West Yorkshire Trading Standards

This was motor trading at its worst. The guy has been reported to trading standards hundreds of times and has a conviction for violence, but still he is able to trade

Can be foung here http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/fife/motor.htm
Been up and running around 3 yrs now, and more garages are being let in once they have passed the auditing process.

Gordon