At the mechanic: check the price before performing the service

Camila S. from Kempice (Pomeranian Voivodeship) believes that she paid too much to the mechanic for car repairs. However, according to the consumer protection ombudsman, the details of the service should always be clarified before work begins.

A few days ago Ms Camila's old golf 3 started to fail.

“He lost power and compression,” says the owner (personal information for the editors’ information).

The woman signed up for an electrician in Slupsk and on the same day took the car to the garage on the street. Borchardt.

“I left the mechanic's phone number so I can call him when he finishes his job or if I need advice about buying parts,” says Camila.

Did not call. That's what Mrs. Camila called him. Then she found out that the car had already been repaired. She quickly came to pick him up.

It turned out that the mechanic replaced the candles, wires, dome and finger in it.

– I was surprised that he demanded 380 zlotys for this work and did not want to give any guarantees for spare parts. As a result, he lowered the price and issued an invoice for PLN 369,” the woman says.

She concluded that she overpaid because she checked that in car shops she would pay between PLN 140 and a maximum of PLN 280 for the parts used by the mechanic.

The mechanic is surprised by the behavior of a customer who came to Glos with a complaint.

"The lady wanted me to fix her old car quickly." I completed this task. She had no expectations about the price of parts, so I bought what I always buy. I billed her for the service and I think I did it right, especially since I gave her a discount, the mechanic convinces.

She adds that if the client does have a claim, she can contact the mechanic's insurer. He may decide that she should be compensated.

Ewa Kaliszewska, district consumer protection commissioner in Słupsk Starost, believes that the client made a mistake when she started talking to the mechanic.

– If she herself wanted to buy cheaper parts, she should have mentioned this when determining what would be replaced. Since the prices for goods and services in our country are free, the mechanic has the right to set them himself for the entire service period, if the customer has not previously set any preconditions, says Kaliszewska.

Zbigniew Marecki