Hey guys, a visit to lexus Bristol yesterday has left me out of pocket with nothing to show for it (I'm a student so money is very tight for me anyway!).

I bought my lexus a couple of weeks ago after a very long time of saving. When I bought the car from a used car dearlership, I was given two keys. I was informed that the one key worked perfectly and the other would do the central locking and boot, but it wouldn't start the engine and needed programming.

I called Lexus Bristol and explained the situation, they quoted me about £56 to program the key and I was happy to pay that as I knew that if I lost my working key it would cost me a lot more! Great!

Anyway, I popped the car down to them and gave the lady the keys, she took them away and I said that the car would be ready in about 30-45 mins so I took a seat and waited.

About 45 mins later, I was approached by the same lady and she sat down next to me and told me that the job could not be carried out as I did not have the master key, but I would still have to pay the full amount. At this point I was absolutly gobsmacked - 45 mins to tell me I haven't got a master key! What's that all about!!!

I refused to pay, and asked her why I am being asked to pay and what I am getting for my money - the reply was that I now know that I do not have a master key and therefore it is a diagnostic check. Still, I refused to pay as I did not book the car in for a diagnostic check, I booked it in to program the key - at no point was I told that there was a chance there could be a problem, I was quoted £56 to do the job and it was not carried out.

She called her manager (service manager) and he came over to have 'a chat' with me. The conversation continued along the same lines for a lengthy time and wanted to know why it had taken this long to come to the conclusion that I did not have a master key and what I was being charged for. I explained to him that I was a student and that charge is over a weeks worth of my student loan and I could not afford to pay them and come away with nothing done. I told him that I had not at any time been told that there could be a problem if I did not have a master key.

He basically blackmailed me and I quote from him "If you do not pay the full amount, I am not going to release your car"

So all in all, I came away from Lexus Bristol, out of pocket, with absolutly nothing except knowing that I did not have a master key. I was quoted for a job and I ended paying that amount and the job wasn't even carried out.

I wouldn't have minded if I had to pay even half the price or something like that. I am absoluty disgusted in the way I was dealt with by the staff and service manager, especially when he said "If you do not pay the full amount, I am not going to release your car".

I ended up paying under protest on my credit card, I did not have any other choice and I now feel absolutly gutted that this happened and I am still in the same situation as I was before I took it to them.

Sorry, rant over

I think it would be well worth you speaking to Lexus GB

Cost me £55 quid from the same dealership to programme all three keys on my IS200 (inc. the Master key)...that's half an hours labour charge plus VAT.

You could try the following:



1). With driver's door open put programmed key into ignition, do not turn, then remove it.

2). Within 40 seconds:
Press LOCK and then UNLOCK on driver's door switch 5 times at 1 second intervals.
Close and open driver's door.

3). Within 40 seconds:
Press LOCK and then UNLOCK on driver's door switch 5 times at 1 second intervals.
Insert key into ignition and switch ON and OFF:
once to keep original remotes,
twice to erase original remotes.
Remove key from ignition.

System will now lock and unlock:
once if originals kept,
twice if originals erased.

4). Within 40 seconds:
Press LOCK and UNLOCK buttons on remote simultaneously for 1.5 seconds.
Within 3 seconds press any button on remote for 1 second.
Locks should then lock and unlock once.
If locks lock and unlock twice restart procedure.

5). Within 40 seconds:
Repeat step 4 for additional remotes up to a maximum of 4.

To exit programming insert key into ignition or close driver's door.

Contact your credit card company and complain, laos ask for a copy of ther jobcard from thew stealers. Then send a letter of complaint with a copy to Lexus GB.

i agree with steve,what have you got to lose

im sorry to hear about this,BMW tried the same on with me today,producing a £400 bill when my car was under warranty,claiming certain parts werent included,they too threatened to keep the car,I just blasted them at that point.I suppose it doesnt help you showed your vulnerable student image,this is likely to make them feel above you and give them the idea to bully.I know its over now,but Lexus GB complaint is the best solution.Im sorry but you really should have lost your cool,it certainly would have had more of an affect.

The unholy tirade of vocabulary that would have left my mouth at the very mention of the possibility of charging for wasting my time would have been a sight to behold.

You should contact Lexus GB, demanding nothing less than a full refund and apology from the dealership, and the manager who refused to let you take the car without.

If that didn't give you the outcome that should naturally be expected then:
Talk to Trading Standards, write to The Times motoring section and Top Gear, etc.

That's just my view, anyway.

Completely outrageous.

At the point where the Service Manager said "If you do not pay the full amount, I am not going to release your car", I would have been straight in there saying "If you don't release my car I'm calling the police". You don't have to pay for work not done or, on a tangent a meal you did not eat because it was crap.

Legally the amount owed, assuming it was owed in the first place, is disproportionate to the value of the car so that amounts to extortion.

Contact Trading Standards first then Lexus GB, absolutely disgusting way to be treated, if it was a wheel clamping company you would expect that but not from a Lexus dealer.

Okay, do all of the following things:

1. Write a VERY stern letter to the dealer principal - and tell him you have done all of the following actions.
2. Write to Lexus GB and complain.
3. Write to Trading standards

The fact is, "work cannot be carried out without your express permission", you gave them permission to perform a job they didn't do, so they cant charge you for that, and they can't perform a 'diagnostic' without your express permission and clearance that you are happy to pay for it.

Kick up a BIG fuss about this, its disgusting!

Absolutely foul.

Jamie

wrong diddly wrong wrong! no excuse. they can't charge you for work not done. if they are lexus specialists why would they need a diagnostics check done to tell them one key hasnt got 3 buttons on it!?

Craig

write a complaint to them and lexus GB!

Disgusting! Gob smacked really! Which is probably what would have happenend to him when I smashed him! Feel for you mate, think its out rageous what they have done! Not sure what writing a letter to Lexus GB will do but by all means try it.

MacRS200 is spot on the issue.

Turning the example around to a restaurant meal. if you ordered your meal, having means to pay, but were not satisfied and decided to leave your name and contact details at the venue stating your reasons for not paying - then this is perfectly legal. You havemeans to pay, you have full intention to pay and choose not to because you have not been provided with good enough goods and have left your verifiable contact details with teh merchant to contact you at a latyer date.

This is niether theft nor deception. Perfectly legal and I certainly would have threatened to call the Police as what they were doing was tantamount to theft. Obviously it depends on the awareness of the attending Officer(s) to deal with this amtter correctly - but the Police aside, I would have sstood my ground as you had started to do and refused to pay and wanted to speak with Lexus Customer Services there and then.

This nothing short of dispicable behaviour from them and needs resolving. I do hope that you can get redress retrospectively.

But on an aside, what sort of student are you that you cna afford to drive, run, insure and own a Lexus as a Student? Student days must ahve changed sicne I was one

Just a note of caution here, as we've only heard one side of this story. Lexus Bristol has been well slagged off in this post, their Service Manager in particular, and he hasn't had the chance to defend himself or the Company (a member of the Sytner group). Normally this post would have been relegated to the Gold forum after the initial post.

I know this Service Manager very well as he's been my first line of contact for the last three years. I've never found him to be less than helpful and fair in all dealings with both my Lexus.

He's more than welcome to join the club and voice his opinion...

Tango, I wasn't taking sides - but was merely looking to support a POV already expressed by another Forum Member. I tend to beleive, that the Law is clear on the aspect about unauthorised work being carried out and a Custoemrs right to withold payment subject to certain conditions being met.

I was niether implying or slighting the Service Manager in question - merely clarifying a point of Law, that is all.

That's fine as long as there's a clear point of law to be resolved in the first place...I could give the guy a call but it's really none of my business. This forum is public, so there's no need for anyone to 'join' anything, and that's why criticism of traders should be confined to the Gold forum. There's a lot of lurkers on the public forum including employees of the various franchises of Lexus UK, so I've no doubt word will get back to Bristol. If the complaint is justified it really should be pursued back through to Steve Settle of Lexus GB, but I note that the original poster has not replied to any subsequent post nor updated us on progress, if any, that he's made with his complaint. All we've got his the original one sided tirade and a bunch of posts taking the same line.

I'm no law student, but the title of the post could be construed as slander.

Criticism doesn't need to be hidden in the gold forums, yes it's a public forum and hence people are 'free' to join as they wish!

Absaloutly discusting if it was me and please dont lead by example i would have had that service manager eating the keys and that's putting it politley

There must be some law against them keeping your car! they haven't performed a service so therefore surely can't charge you?


Theres a few coppers on this site would be good to hear their opinion if they were called to that situation

Yes there are some And yes it would be nice to have their opinnions if they were called - I know what I'd do *cough*

Tango - do I detect some case of 'Jump On The Newbie' here?

A lot of other contributors have said more inflamatory things than I. Yet my posts get chosen to be highlighted when all I have done is comment on a point of Law. I don't mind personally - but I think you might be taking this a little too personally. A few psots down the road I hope not to be a Newbie

So what Lexus Bristol have done in your opinion looking at your previous posts is surely illegal

Before they do any work at all on your car, Lexus Bristol get you to sign an agreement form for the work to be carried out, and you keep a copy. If the work on the signed form was not completed as stated then there would be an obvious case to answer. However, if the form said 'diagnostic check' and was duly signed then there is no case.Sounds quite black and white to me. KevWatkins, show us the form....

As far as police are concerned there's no relevance at all, because if any action is to be taken it's civil law, not criminal...unless of course you resort to violence as hinted in several posts, in which case it's the perp who gets arrested.

I did not sign anything while I was at Lexus Bristol, before or after they had the car.

Well no agreement form was mentioned in the original topic ive been to Lexus and many other dealerships on many occasions (ok i used to own a Fiat) and have never heard of such a thing! however I may have signed to say work has been carried out etc etc.

Yes the Violence hinted in ONE post is just personal opinion as already stated..... but that would be my own downfall.

So if this was to be a cival matter are you saying the police would just walk and leave it alone?

From what has been described It's my opinion that this is discusting behaivour!

The plot thickens...

In all seriousness, that is very strange indeed.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the same rules don't apply when they're not working on an actual car.

I have nothing more than common sense to guide me here, but:
I would imagine that the only situation the police would have to interfere in is if it amounted to theft.
That would occur, I suppose, if they really did refuse to give you your keys back, even once the police arrived.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I have to sign the form for each time I visit Bristol without exception regardless of whether it's a first service, as it was on my IS250, OR re-programming of the three keys (inc. the master) as it was for my IS200 Sport that I posted the price on earlier in this topic. The form has to be signed at the time I hand over the keys or I'm sure I'd get them back and asked to go elsewhere.

Tango,

I'm sorry - but your practically calling this guy a liar.

Now fair enough to say there are two sides to every story - but your being awfully rude with that above statement.

Just because YOU get good service, doesnt mean everyone does - and if Kev is a young lad, he may have been taken for a ride whereas they wouldnt risk it with you.

The fact is HE DIDNT SIGN ANYTHING - so as you said, they shouldn't have done any chargable work - well, they didn't do any chargeable work, other than go "oh, he doesnt have the master key" and then proceed to try and rip him off.

Im happy you get good service from them, from what ive heard, you must be a minority.

Now stop beating up Kev, you've made a counterpoint, but the fact remains he was unfairly charged.

Ian,

I'm not calling him a liar at all, I'm just pointing out the normal routine. If Lexus Bristol have not followed that procedure then there's an even stronger case for re-payment as he hasn't formally agreed to the work. If they didn't get him to sign then it's unauthorised according to their standard practise. The Dealer rating on Gold for Bristol is good and they participate in the LOC discount scheme...they should be allowed to answer the allegation of theft.

..and after reading what happened to this lad... I think that rating might drop.

LOL.

When I had my keys done at leicester they took them off me and then gave them back. no form was signed and no diagnostic was done. he asked for the master key and took it along with the the new ones that needed reprogramming.

Tango, I'm glad that you get great service from them but to be honest I'm believing kev so far here. how do you know things havnt got mixed up and your both talking about different guys or maybee nothing has gone wrong for you and you havn't seen the ugly side of thier customer service. Im sure Bristol like 99% of lexus dealers are great but what they did (if it is all true) is wrong.

just like all of us have been, he is a newbee but why would someone write what he has written for no reason other than anger and frustration at his first visit to lexus. Ive praised leicester because I have had great service from them. If I had been treated like kev, I would have considered changing brands!

any one thought about e-mailing this thread to bristol?
it would be interesting to see what there reply if any would be

Can't believe that they forced you to pay when they did no work

The part I'm a little confused about though is that the master key is black, and the valet key is grey, so how did it take them 45 minutes to figure it out?

I was once charged 2 hours labour by a garage to:
"Check and Tighten pressurized cooling system tank cap"

When I clarified they finally admitted they were charging me over £150 to tighten the water header tank cap...
I got the whole service for free, naturally, and never went back there.

G

Rating for Lexus Bristol: 0 out of 10...no really, it's that bad in my experience (about 5 visits between 2000 - 2005).

They may have improved since 2005 (well, they could hardly get worse!) because I haven't been back after the last visit when they charged me £55.00 just to tell me they where unable to do the work I took the car in for in the first place.

That was one expensive 1 hour rental of the magazine I was reading on their premises.

Stunningly bad customer care!

D. Marq

So you had exactly the same situation at that garage?! paying for work not done?! Not good at all!

Can we see a copy of the joblist/invoice of the alleged work,done or not?

Can the dealer confirm or deny this or a acknowledge a transaction occured?

We all know dealers have targets for their managers to make bonus so
this can influence trading?

Just because a dealer has a 'big brand' does not mean they are any more trust worthy than the small guy business?

So lets see some proof?

I know this thread is a little old now but all the same I bought my lexus from bristol and have had to get Lexus GB involved as the car i receved was not in the same condition as when I test drove it. In short they had changed the mags and tyers inculding the spear to damaged ones. Now that four months have passed the paint has started to peal off in small places. After a week they replaced the mags and tyers under protest and still claiming that they had not changed them. as for the paint I have gone back to them and they have accepted no responsabilty so I got in touch with the old and asked him if he had it touched up and suprise suprise he traided it with out touching it up so after an argument with steve I am waiting for a responce from Lexus GB.

All in all I will NEVER go back to the Bristol branch and would not recomend them to anyone ever.

I will post the out come when it conclueds

P.S. this is only what happened to me and im Not a student

id like to know the outcome from the original poster, and if they pursued the claim