To gearheads, this is probably the worst and most dishonorable thing a mechanic can do! Almost everyone will have to visit a mechanic one day, and repairs can be very costly! One American company however, took it to a whole different level! Jiffy Lube is the name of this company, and their mechanics are part of a nationwide mechanic scam! This scam was so big, it made one TV station go undercover to unravel the scam.
Joel Glover of NBC4 took part in a 3 month investigation to let people know how Jiffy Lube employees charge more money for NOTHING! As he puts it, you go to the repair shop, pay for the repairs, only to find out later that the work was never done! With the help of several insiders, this scheme was uncovered. To have solid proof that something is going on, they decided to wire 2 test cars with hidden cameras.
The footage from these hidden cameras was disturbing. It showed how this mechanic scam is actually done. The investigators drove one of the test cars into a Jiffy Lube repair shop. One service advisor recommended more repairs than the ones that were asked by the investigators. This time, the advisor recommended a fuel filter change. After agreeing to the extra repairs, the investigators paid for everything. Later on, they found out that the fuel filter was never changed! They knew this because they marked their old one before going to Jiffy Lube, and the mark was still there after the vehicle was returned! It was not only the service advisors that were involved this scam!
Even managers tried to scam the investigators! One district manager even denied his identity when questioned about the scam! Furthermore, another service advisor recommended a transmission flush, which was paid for in advance, but never actually happened! A spokesperson of Jiffy Lube was furious because of the footage. She said that the problem will be addressed and they conducted additional training for employees. Instead of preventing future violations, employees were trained how to NOT GET CAUGHT! Watch the video for all the incredible details on this Jiffy Lube scam!
Finally, follow this link to find out which are the 10 common car problems that you don’t need a mechanic for!
