George Fraser, Wembley.

[C43AMG]

I am also a member of the The Mercedes Club.

In this month's Gazette a fellow member had occasion to write this letter.

" Regrettably i must advise you of an unsatisfactory experience we received at the hands of George Fraser (London) Ltd, a company listed in "The Good Garage Guide"

Please note that i have tried very hard to resolve the dispute amicably with George Fraser and have telephoned and written to him on many occasions. however he has consistently failed to return my calls or respond to my letters. I advised him that i would have to inform the Mercedes-Benz Club if we did not get a satisfactory resolution. It is therefore disappointing that i am forced to take this action.

Our key concern is not that George Fraser failed to find and repair the original fault on our vehicle, but that he was clearly using the car whilst it was in his possession and not simply for legitimate testing purposes. He incurred two penalty charges for entering the London congestion zone and failing to pay the charge, which we had to pay. Despite my requests he has failed to provide an explanation or reimburse us for the fines. He covered about 250 miles using the vehicle, when it is only 12 miles from our house to his garage.

This is totally unacceptable and i must therefore recommend that his firm be removed from the guide."

Incredible behavior from George Fraser.

 

[glojo]

I have read some very complimentary messages about this garage and am surprised to read about this event. I keep prattling on about there always being two sides to evry story but I do wonder whether it is right or fair to air these things on a public forum before a final decision has been made.

I am certainly not taking sides and will not pass an opinion regarding this specific case.

Regards
John

 

[stats007]

One of two complaint letters this month Peter. Malcolm's story is even more unbelievable given their reputation.

Avoid at all costs I say.

 

[jaymanek]

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=44956&highlight=george

george has very very quickly lost his reputation and this is just another thing to add to the list...

Speaking to forum member KLP_92 will give you an idea of just what goes on there...


http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=38337&highlight=fraser
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=32069&highlight=fraser

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=24598&highlight=fraser
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=167173&postcount=6

 

[Sp!ke]

I like George as a person and I've used his services a few times.

The last time I used him, I didnt have a particularly satisfactory experience. He is simply too busy to be able to provide adequate care for each vehicle in my opinion.

I've always been a little suspicious about the courtesy cars I'd been given. A couple of lovely old 107 SL's, a big S class and an assortment of W124's. Some of which I was almost certain were customer cars judging by the contents of the boot/glove box.

If this practice really is going on, I'm surprised something like this didn't come out sooner.

 

[rajinder_1]

Nav (klp 92)used to speak very highly of him but i think that was before he ran into issues over the SEC which i think he ended up taking elsewhere.

I think this happens at alot of garages, signs of overbooking i think too many cars not enough time......

Raj

 

[jaymanek]

I was almost certain were customer cars judging by the contents of the boot/glove box.

If this practice really is going on, I'm surprised something like this didn't come out sooner.

To be honest im sure i was given customers cars too, and once i saw him arrive to work in a particularly nice SL60 AMG (R129)...


The crux of it is that he is way too busy to handle it all by himself... the quality is suffering... really he needs a manager and more quality technicians... him and the woman that sits behind reception is not really adequate for a garage the size of his...

its a shame as it could be such a profitable business... (which im sure it is at the moment)

 

[glojo]

To be honest im sure i was given customers cars too, and once i saw him arrive to work in a particularly nice SL60 AMG (R129)...

That is amazing and perhaps verging on the criminal. Would any customer give permission for there car to be used in this way??

John

 

[GRAV888]

That is amazing and perhaps verging on the criminal. Would any customer give permission for there car to be used in this way??

John

I doubt it very much.

If he used mine like that, I would sue him.

 

[jaymanek]

That is amazing and perhaps verging on the criminal. Would any customer give permission for there car to be used in this way??

John

Well he is very friendly with a lot of his regulars... whether they would allow him to use the car.. not sure... maybe he was taking it home to ensure security... who knows...

the point is that he has made a lot of mistakes recently, mostly through bad management...

there is a part of me that his reputation will be restored as there are not many remaining with his knowledge, especially for the older models..

 

[glojo]

I doubt it bery much.

If he used mine like that, I would sue him.

You are allowing the garage to work on the vehicle but you would not allow this p[erson to use the car for social or domestic purposes and the offence to be considered is taking and using the car without the owners authority or consent. If the car was involved in a blameworthy fatal accident at 1am and the driver was drunk then whose insurance would pay out especially if this was an employee and when the police interviewed the registered keeper the proverbial will really hit the fan?

Regards
John

 

[GRAV888]

You are allowing the garage to work on the vehicle but you would not allow this p[erson to use the car for social or domestic purposes and the offence to be considered is taking and using the car without the owners authority or consent. If the car was involved in a blameworthy fatal accident at 1am and the driver was drunk then whose insurance would pay out especially if this was an employee and when the police interviewed the registered keeper the proverbial will really hit the fan?

Regards
John

Then it would be down to the garages insurance.
You have left your vehicle there for repair and not for them to go galavanting around in.
If it came to it, you would have to say that they were using your vehicle without your permission.

Slightly different, but when I take my lorries in for their 6 weekly inspections, they are so thorough, they even turn the radio on and change station to make sure that's working ok

 

[glojo]

Then it would be down to the garages insurance.
You have left your vehicle there for repair and not for them to go galavanting around in.
If it came to it, you would have to say that they were using your vehicle without your permission.

Slightly different, but when I take my lorries in for their 6 weekly inspections, they are so thorough, they even turn the radio on and change station to make sure that's working ok

Totally agree,
They are using the motor vehicle without the owner's consent. Those six weekly inspections sound very thorough, is this a legal requirement?

I would suggest that anyone using this garage should get the service department to sign a declaration stating your vehicle will not leave the premises without your express permission, if they want to test drive it then agree on the route, mileage etc. This is something I would not even have considered, but the thought of my vehicle being used as a courtesy car appals me.

Regards
John

 

[C43AMG]

Just shows what a naive and trusting soul i am. Surely this is not common practice !!

 

[GRAV888]

The 6 weekly inspections are a condition of an operators licence.
It's to ensure vehicles are roadworthy.
Timescales change depending on mileage and use.

 

[nick mercedes]

That is amazing and perhaps verging on the criminal. Would any customer give permission for there car to be used in this way??

John

I dont know the circumstances, but sometimes it is justified for a garage to take home a car, or use it, as some faults are intermittant, and do need more than a test drive to discover.

Using customers cars as loan cars would be a bit rash, surely they were pxs?

 

[glojo]

I dont know the circumstances, but sometimes it is justified for a garage to take home a car, or use it, as some faults are intermittant, and do need more than a test drive to discover.

Using customers cars as loan cars would be a bit rash, surely they were pxs?

Hi Nick,
I will respectfully disagree and using a customers car for your own needs is a no, no. Intermittent faults are a real pain and if the garage want to take the car out for a specific reason then they should inform the customer. Are we suggesting a mechanic takes the customer's car home, takes it out in his own time trying to locate this fault without using it for there own needs and would they do it if the car was an A-Class, Fiesta etc

My vehicle had an awful electronic intermittent fault. The car was kept in the vehicle workshop connected up to electronic gadgetry which managed to record the drainage issue.

I think we can all read between the lines here and see exactly what is going on. Hopefully this establishment will be aware of our discussions and learn from them?

regards
John

 

[nick mercedes]

Hi Nick,
I will respectfully disagree and using a customers car for your own needs is a no, no. Intermittent faults are a real pain and if the garage want to take the car out for a specific reason then they should inform the customer.

Absolutly, the customer should always be informed first.

I know someone who dropped a sales W202 off for a velet on a Friday night, and when they got around to collecting it on Monday afternoon, it had done almost 700 miles extra...

 

[glojo]

Absolutly, the customer should always be informed first.

I know someone who dropped a sales W202 off for a velet on a Friday night, and when they got around to collecting it on Monday afternoon, it had done almost 700 miles extra...

Getting rid of the nicotine smells??

What would be the icing on the cake to that story, is if the owner had just filled the car up with fuel and it was returned empty!

Regards
John

 

[nick mercedes]

Getting rid of the nicotine smells??

What would be the icing on the cake to that story, is if the owner had just filled the car up with fuel and it was returned empty!

Regards
John

There was sand in the boot, the valeter had been to Bournemouth for the weekend.

The trader was upset mainly as it has the milage pushed it up to the next 000, so the 12k mile he'd sold was now a 13k mile car.