# Tyre Fitting - Wheel cap missing...



## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

So we had the better halfs car in today for 2 new tyres as the MOT is due in a couple of weeks and they were close to the legal limit.

Arranged purchase and fitting through black circles at a local national tyre fitting company (I wont mention the name - not sure if it breaks forum rules).

Anyway, tyres were fitted and all was fine when signing the paperwork - no notes or verbal communication about any issues at all. We drive 2 miles home and when going back out to the car to get something i noticed one of the wheel centre caps was missing!

I called them but there was no answer so as they were very close i drove back to see if they had it and forgot to put it back on. I was met with the same guy behind the counter who served us earlier, told him it was missing and the reply immediately was "Both of the front caps had only 3 clips instead of 4 so arent as secure as they should be, i wrote it on the job card and told you that.".............erm.......you said absolutely nothing verbally to us (My wife was there too to vouch for that) and the copy of the job sheet he gave us has no mention of it at all! He has however conveniently added it to the inhouse job card only!

Its only a minor issue i know but another one is about £15 online and its so annoying that they obviously have damaged it and just placed it back on knowing it will fall off without holding there hands up and been honest. The car hasnt had any work done before today for 11 months (Last years annual service) and in all my years of owning cars i've never had a centre cap fall off randomly. Its a bit too of a coincidence for me that this has happened the same day they have taken off the front wheels to fit new tyres.

Anyway, the customer service was shocking to which i said i wasn't happy, wouldnt be returning for any work in the future and would be taking it further (In front of 3x customers who were there at the time).

I probably wont get anything but have sent an email of complaint to black circles and the fitting company with photos of the job sheet.

Bloody annoying that these places just dont care less and cant even be honest with people!


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## Tyrefitter (Feb 13, 2010)

When they have put the wheel on the balancer they used the shaft on the balancer to knock the centre cap off & it’s probably snapped one of the clips off,,is it a Ford by any chance.The reason they don’t care is the fitting centre only gets about £6 for fitting,balancing,new valve & tyre disposal,,I won’t entertain any online fitting companies for that reason.

Andy.


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## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

Tyrefitter said:


> When they have put the wheel on the balancer they used the shaft on the balancer to knock the centre cap off & it's probably snapped one of the clips off,,is it a Ford by any chance.The reason they don't care is the fitting centre only gets about £6 for fitting,balancing,new valve & tyre disposal,,I won't entertain any online fitting companies for that reason.
> 
> Andy.


Ill be keeping a closer eye on what happens in future when i take any of our cars to a fitting place thats for sure. Its a Yaris. Cheers


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Being cynical - especially if he didn't give them back to you (as if they were broken etc, why wouldn't he hand them to you) - wonder if he needed / someone he knows needed a couple of new ones ??? 

Hope you do manage to get replacements - especially as you're job sheet has no note of the issue...


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

Unfortunately, there's not enough people that take pride and care in their work regardless of the price paid. There are just too many opportunities that it can all go wrong with tyre fitting too: jacking up, removing wheel weights etc. I took 4 brand new Ford alloys for tyres fitting, they were boxed up with no weights and I was absolutely certain that there was no existing damage.

I didn't fit them for 12 months, but when cleaning and sealing them prior to fitting I noticed that the outer lip of the alloys (2) had been damaged, I had checked the faces for damage on collection but there was white fitting paste and so I'd missed the damage. Given the lapse in time and that I hadn't checked thoroughly there was nothing that I could do.










Lesson learned for me, check thoroughly beforehand in the presence of the fitter and check after. You have to be anal about everything unfortunately.


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## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

Andyblue said:


> Being cynical - especially if he didn't give them back to you (as if they were broken etc, why wouldn't he hand them to you) - wonder if he needed / someone he knows needed a couple of new ones ???
> 
> Hope you do manage to get replacements - especially as you're job sheet has no note of the issue...


Maybe so although the other side is still on and feels really solid, I cant get it off thats for sure. I will do when ive got a bit more time this week to check if that one really does have 3 from 4 clips. We ll see what response I get from my email complaint.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

woodycivic said:


> Maybe so although the other side is still on and feels really solid, I cant get it off thats for sure. I will do when ive got a bit more time this week to check if that one really does have 3 from 4 clips. We ll see what response I get from my email complaint.


Fingers crossed something from your email :thumb:


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

i do "love" the so called garages that damage your car,, say nothing then lie

as for "well they only get £x for doing the job" , SO ? they got paid, end of , they damaged bits /lost them + lied,,i can not see where/how/why being paid "not much" is in any way shape or form an Excuse for those actions ?

push it with black circles, they are having Their name + rep ruined by these clowns,,


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

I read recently in another post on the forum that ATS go round with you and inspect for damage before hand to ensure any existing damage is noted and use plastic or rubber coated tools, if true sounds like they may take care, anyone got any experiences?

I can only think of two places locally to me that i trust, one is an actually small garage (tyres, brakes etc sort of place) I told them to please be careful as they are refurbed in a unique colour and the company that did the refurb has gone out of business so no chance of getting a colour match. 

The other is a self employed chap who works from home who i was put in touch with from a family member.

Got a feeling next time Fiesta goes for tyres the tracking needs doing so will need to be left on car rather than fitting the spare set and refitting myself as garages over doing nuts with airguns is another massive thing that annoys me. Cannot tell you the lengths I've had to go to to get a wheel off due to this


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

My local Kingsway garage (before they went commercial vehicles only) always used these hard plastic tools on my alloys and when they removed the centre caps on my Range Rover 2 of them the metal trim covering the plastic cap had come unstuck. So he handed them to me showing what happened and said he would rather not fit them back in case a trim fell off so at least he was honest and upfront, it was only due to age the two pieces came apart. I just applied some glue when I got home, kept them clamped together in a g clamp over night and pushed them in the next day. No more issues after that.


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## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

DLGWRX02 said:


> My local Kingsway garage (before they went commercial vehicles only) always used these hard plastic tools on my alloys and when they removed the centre caps on my Range Rover 2 of them the metal trim covering the plastic cap had come unstuck. So he handed them to me showing what happened and said he would rather not fit them back in case a trim fell off so at least he was honest and upfront, it was only due to age the two pieces came apart. I just applied some glue when I got home, kept them clamped together in a g clamp over night and pushed them in the next day. No more issues after that.


If they had been honest and said something similar to me id have accepted it and taken the hit, it is 10 years old this year so plastic does become brittle. Its the fact that they blatantly didn't give a toss and didnt say anything that annoys me more than anything else.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk


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## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

Christian6984 said:


> I read recently in another post on the forum that ATS go round with you and inspect for damage before hand to ensure any existing damage is noted and use plastic or rubber coated tools, if true sounds like they may take care, anyone got any experiences?
> 
> I can only think of two places locally to me that i trust, one is an actually small garage (tyres, brakes etc sort of place) I told them to please be careful as they are refurbed in a unique colour and the company that did the refurb has gone out of business so no chance of getting a colour match.
> 
> ...


The irony, the branch I went to didnt do this thats for sure!!!

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk


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## woodycivic (Jun 4, 2015)

UPDATE

I recieved an email from blackcircles yesterday apologising for the experience we had and offering to refund the cost of a new wheel cap provided we sent over an invoice showing the amount paid.

I duly bought an official one from a toyota spares store on ebay last night and forwarded the receipt onto black circles.

They also said they would be taking up the complaint with the manager of the branch. 

Just waiting on confirmation of my refund now for the new wheel cap.

I must say the black circles service has been very good and prompt.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

woodycivic said:


> UPDATE
> 
> I recieved an email from blackcircles yesterday apologising for the experience we had and offering to refund the cost of a new wheel cap provided we sent over an invoice showing the amount paid.
> 
> ...


Glad you got it sorted, lesson learnt for next time, as mentioned these places get paied pennies for the fitting and usual don't give a **** , I often by tyres from online retailers get them delivered to mine and find a fitting place that will take care of my wheels, I ring up and ask can you fit tires without damaging my wheels, I am lucky to have found a place that fits tires to refurbished alloys so they CANT damage them, its usualy 10-12 a tire but worth it for peace of mind


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## riskypicker (Apr 16, 2014)

Its pretty decent that BS sorted it despite it technically being the fitters issue.

The disclaimer next to where you sign your name on the Blackcircles invoice upon collecting the car states something along the lines of - signing to say youve inspected the work carried out BEFORE signing. So by signing that piece of paper and driving off i dare say legally you've accepted the work was carried out and all was well.

I actually had some done yesterday via BS and when i saw that, i went outside and checked the car first before signing. The surprise on the receptionists face suggested that isnt normally how things happen.

I was looking for marks on the alloys primarily but checked the locking nuts were back on and the key back in the boot and the centre caps.


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## sshooie (May 15, 2007)

I had a pug 407sw years ago, it was on it's first set of tyres when I took it for new ones.

All sorted until the centre cap fell out similar to yours, except.. they were centreless wheels and they had deliberately knocked them out and stuck them back on with double sided tape.


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## washingitagain (Sep 11, 2018)

Had an issue a few years back when had 2 new tyres fitted. I got home to wash the car (and wash all the tyre gunk they leave all over the tyre wall) I noticed a big chunk out of one of the tyres. Drove it straight back and the service manager tried to tell me I’d kerbed it since leaving. I had to kick up a right stink for them to order in a new tyre and replace it. I always check now before I drive away although I do feel like ‘that bloke’ who checks but I’m not prepared to get ripped off!


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

washingitagain said:


> Had an issue a few years back when had 2 new tyres fitted. I got home to wash the car (and wash all the tyre gunk they leave all over the tyre wall) I noticed a big chunk out of one of the tyres. Drove it straight back and the service manager tried to tell me I'd kerbed it since leaving. I had to kick up a right stink for them to order in a new tyre and replace it. I always check now before I drive away although I do feel like 'that bloke' who checks but I'm not prepared to get ripped off!


You have to take a bottle of Degreaser and a Microfibre now to the tyre fitters - before you move your car off, clean all their tyre soap off and inspect for damage. Yes, you become 'that guy'. I take my own pressure gauge as well.

I once drove my car in, and started cleaning the wheel faces BEFORE they took them off, and again when they were done. They were already clean, but I made a point of doing it in front of them.


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