Chaucer Sevenoaks Ltd

Upon a friend's recommendation, I booked my Son's car into Chaucer Sevenoaks Limited for a coolant overheating warning issue and a full service. The garage kept the car overnight, but the following day according to the owner, despite them driving the vehicle at 100 miles per hour, they couldn't replicate the overheating fault, however when the car was driven again by my son the same fault occurred. Upon later inspection, it was discovered that there was no water in the radiator, which also had a leak! I asked my friend to speak to Ian about this shocking find, and his reply was that they don't check the fluid in the radiator as it's sealed, they just check the expansion bottle. I then telephoned Ian myself and was told exactly the same thing. The vehicle was taken to another garage locally where they identified that the cylinder head gasket was blown.

I telephoned Ian with this information, however, he refused to accept that any of this was their fault, reiterating that checking the radiator fluid isn't part of their servicing procedure. After contacting the motor ombudsman for advice, I wrote Chaucer a letter of complaint, asking them to compensate for the damage they had potentially caused, by their lack of care in not checking the fluid and also driving the vehicle at 100 MPH without coolant.

Shockingly, instead of owning up to their mistakes, their written reply to me was to lie about everything they did and even to deny they drove the vehicle at high speed. Fortunately, I had recorded my telephone conversation with Ian, and after advising him of this, he agreed to just refund the cost of the service.

Suffice to say I wouldn't recommend anyone using Chaucer Sevenoaks Limited, as in my opinion, they are unprofessional, untrustworthy, and dishonest. My friend who recommended them was also shocked by their attitude and will no longer be using them for his servicing needs.

I have since reported Chaucer Sevenoaks Limited to Trading Standards.