Extremely Disappointed with Overcharging and Poor Service at Mercedes-Benz Southend I would give a 0 if I could!!! I recently took my 2015 Mercedes-Benz C Class to Mercedes-Benz Southend for repairs and was hit with an outrageous bill. My car’s ECU was faulty because of a wrong coding sent from a diagnostic tool, and I made sure this was clearly explained in the booking notes, when I dropped off the car, and even over the phone around 11 a.m. when I suspected that the technician had no clue what was going on (they’re supposed to be highly skilled techs, after all!). Yet, I was charged £666 just for diagnostics—despite spelling out the issue for them right from the start. Basically, they billed me for redundant checks on a problem I’d already identified. When I collected my car and challenged the charges, the supervisor’s response was dismissive, suggesting that because most customers “don’t have knowledge in these matters,” they had to carry out all checks. This essentially translates to treating all customers as uninformed (to not say stupid in other words) and, in my case, ignoring clear information about the issue to justify overcharging for redundant diagnostics. After much back and forth, the supervisor eventually admitted that the £444 seemed high and offered to cut it in half, which I’d have been fine with. But once he found out I’d already paid in full, he said he couldn’t make any adjustments, leaving me with no way to resolve this. It’s absurd to come in with a specific problem, be clear about what’s wrong, and end up paying £222 + £444 just to confirm what I told them at the start (plus an additional £1,345 for the ECU itself, which I expected). Southend claims I agreed to all charges, but they conveniently didn’t mention that the initial £222 diagnostic fee wasn’t included in the quoted charges. I only found this out at the end of the day when I realized the £444 was for two extra hours of checks, which didn’t even include the initial diagnostic. Honestly, if I’d known that, I’d never have agreed to pay for two extra hours. What could they possibly be doing for three hours when I’d already told them the ECU was unresponsive? Any skilled tech, with my notes in front of them, should have just checked the ECU pinouts, which would have shown there was no data coming out. Instead, they wasted two hours checking fuses and wires when I’d made it clear it was a software issue, not a physical fault. (And really, what is there to check for two hours? There are only two plugs altogether.) On top of all this, I had to chase them down for an invoice, which I didn’t receive when I collected the car. I eventually requested it by email last week, but only got it today after following up by phone—they didn’t even bother to answer my email. When I filed a complaint, Customer Service backed Southend’s approach, said a goodwill request was submitted (and quickly denied), and reiterated that I agreed with the charges (again, not knowing that the initial diagnostic of £222 was not included in the £444 they asked for the investigation). This shows a total disregard for customer input and a lack of transparency. I would never, ever use any Mercedes Dealership again after being ripped off in such a shameful way, and I plan to take this to The Motor Ombudsman to get it properly looked into. Hopefully, sharing my experience will help other customers make more informed choices about where to take their cars for repairs. Date of experience: 16 October 2024