10:00 am, July 11, 2013
TACTICS used by the car supermarket Carcraft have been investigated by the BBC.
Undercover BBC reporters discovered underhand methods included ‘hammering customers into cars’.
The car supermarket was investigated by reporters from the BBC One show ‘Your Money, Their Tricks’, which was broadcast last night.
A Carcraft sales manager was secretly caught saying: ‘You’ve basically got to beat people up, without them knowing you’re beating them and then get them to love you for it.
‘Our prices are pretty nuts. To be honest with the prices we’re charging, I’m shocked we sell any cars.’
Carcraft is one of the UK’s leading car supermarkets. On its website, the company says: ‘At Carcraft, we’re really proud to be the country’s leading used car supermarket. We aim to make every part of the process as straightforward as possible and to help every customer drive away their perfect car.’
A Carcraft spokesperson said: ‘Price alone doesn’t determine a good deal as the part exchange price and the finance package combined determines the best overall deal and we’re confident that our deals and quality of cars are aligned to our customer needs.
‘We have strict pricing policies and will review the BBC footage and take action against any individuals that haven’t adhered to our policies. In addition, we are evaluating our training and monitoring procedures.
‘We apologise unreservedly to any customers affected.’
The BBC One programme also examined tactics used by KwikFit and discovered customers were paying for parts they did not need.
