Lenzie Car Services, Unit 1 Nicols Yard, Glenhead Road, Lenzie, Glasgow, G665EX

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
I took my car in to Lenzie Car Services for a minor repair 4 months ago and I am still dealing with the mess and costs of what they have done to my car.

When I initially took my car in it had a very minor scratch to the paint work on the driver door where it had been hit by the door of another car. Although being very minor damage I was advised by my work to get it repaired as it is a company car through a leasing company and the other driver had been kind enough to agree to cover the costs of the repair. I therefore took it in to Lenzie Car Services and that is when my problems really started.

Despite the scratch only being around half a centimetre long I was quoted a price of £300 for it to be repaired. This seemed pretty steep given the damage but they advised that as it was a lease car they would have to ensure it had a perfect finish for when I handed the car back to the leasing company. I was also told that the actual repair wouldn’t cost that much but they would just raise an invoice for £300 initially so that they won’t have to keep going back to the other driver during the repair if it ended up costing more than expected. They also said that they would refund the other driver with the difference between the £300 and the actual cost of the repair once it was all completed. Reluctantly, I agreed to go ahead with the repair and booked it in for April so it could be repaired while I was off work for Easter.

When I took my car in to be repaired in April I was told they couldn’t do it then as the boy who does the painting had got brake fluid in his eye and had to be rushed to A&E. I was then told that as the garage was really busy they couldn’t now fit it in until the start of June. This was not ideal as I need my car for work but I agreed to book it back in for the start of June.

I took my car in to be repaired at the start of June as arranged and after 2 days I was told it was ready for me to collect but as it was a bigger job than expected it had actually cost £350 and so they had billed the other driver for extra £50. When I then went in to pick up my car I was totally shocked as not only was the scratch not repaired properly but the whole door was now completely wrecked and it looked like it had been covered over with Polyfilla and then spray painted (see first photo attached for evidence). When I complained I was told that the paint must have just reacted with the filler they had used but not to worry as they would sort it. I was then told that I would have to book it back in for a couple of weeks time as they were too busy and didn’t have space to fix it immediately even though they hadn’t completed the original repair properly yet!

I then took my car back in to be repaired again at the end of June and after 3 days (the original repair only took 2 days) I was again told it was fixed and ready for me to collect. Once again though, when I went to pick it up the car was a complete mess and covered in loads of scratches (see second photo attached for evidence). I was told this was the best they could do so to take it or leave it.

I spoke to the woman at my work who deals with the lease cars about this and she said that we would just need to get it repaired elsewhere and bill Lenzie Car Services for the costs as the damage to my car now is now significantly worse than when I first took the car in. I therefore asked for a receipt and a guarantee for the work but was told they don’t give guarantees, which given the standard of their work is not surprising. He also refused to give me a receipt and told me he couldn’t as it had been paid in cash even though this was totally irrelevant to him issuing a receipt and was also a complete lie as the other driver had already told me she had paid by card.

I advised the woman at my work of what had happened and she confirmed that we have the right to get a receipt and guarantee as part of our statutory consumer rights. She also said that if the garage still refused to provide these then we would just have to report it to East Dunbartonshire Council’s trading standards team.

I went back in this afternoon to give them one last chance to either provide me with the receipt and guarantee for their work or refund the money to the other driver but they refused to do either.

I then asked him to come and have a look at the state of my car door and he said that there was no point him looking at it as he knows it was perfect when they handed it back to me, so that probably tells you everything you need to know about the way they operate.
My work has been left with no choice but to report them to trading standards. They will also be raising a claim to recover the costs of the repair (including the £350 already charged to the other driver) from Lenzie Car Services when the car is returned to the leasing company at the end of the year. However, I just wanted to post this as a warning to anyone else who might be considering using them as if this hadn’t been a company car I would be left with a huge bill for the damage they have done. Given my experience, I would advise you to avoid using Lenzie Car Services at all costs as I am sure there are plenty of reputable companies out there that would never dream of acting like this.