A man from Sofia claims that he was cheated by a car repair shop. Gave nearly 18 thousand BGN for bumper and headlight. Twice his car was abandoned and the service just disappeared. The victim was also threatened that they would set the car on fire. During the investigation, the owner of the car service offers to return the money to the defrauded man.
Petar Valkov buys the new car he has been looking for for a long time. Shortly afterwards, however, he had a minor accident. The car is in motion, but in need of repair. Therefore, he turns to masters he has already relied on. For many years they were a trusted repair shop for his insurance company.
“This way it’s easier to work, no money is given in advance and I decided to work with them. It wasn’t until two weeks later that they said that they are no longer a trusted repair shop. I was told that the problem was elementary. It was mainly about the bumper and headlight are being replaced. On the second week I was asked for the sum of BGN 14,520 for parts and labor. Since the car is new, I thought it might really be worth that much. They explained to me that I had to pay them, I thought I would I paid them, I paid them. My car is insured, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he says.
Thus, in order for the repair to go quickly, Peter gives the requested amount. They issue him an invoice for it. After a month, they ask for an additional amount, for which they refuse to issue him a document. “About two or three more weeks passed and they asked me for an additional 3,000 BGN. More parts had to be bought urgently. It was strange to me, but I gave the money,” he adds.
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Half a year passes, and the repair, for which an amount equal to a third of the car’s price was given, has not been started. He hears various excuses. By chance, Peter realizes that the car is abandoned, and there is no sign of the repair shop. From the owner – also.
“I had no connection for some time. After a week they picked me up and said that they found a place to finish. We took the car to the Druzhba residential area. I had no connection, and the car was stopped under a tree and the service station was not there,” says Petar.
Thus, in practice, his car was abandoned twice, and the repair shop disappeared without a trace. Among other things, Peter became the object of threats. “I had a few more difficult conversations. The first was when I tried to seek assistance from the insurance company. They said to me: “What do you think, when you went to the insurance company, will something happen?” And the next was when I tried to seek assistance . Another call after hiding and they told me: “Why are you giving me trouble, if I want I’ll set your car on fire,” reveals the man.
The service is owned by “Lan Carr” company. Its registered address is in Pernik. In a house that looks uninhabited. The NOVA team checked the address from which the invoice was issued. He is in the village. “Orlandovci”. And there is no such company there.
Our check revealed that the company was deregistered in October. Another one with a similar name was created. And her manager is the man who issued the invoice. There is no such company, a new inspection by our team found.
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We cannot find the owner of the company and his home address. And in a telephone conversation, he refuses to meet with us. Then he stops answering calls.
Meanwhile, as our team begins to work on the fraud alert, Peter receives a call from the owner of the company. He offers to return some of the money. “Soon after we started working with you, the gentleman called me and offered me parts to return three thousand leva, he wanted the bank account,” says the man.
Is there any control over trusted services, although this one was not at this time? We turned to the Association of Insurers with this question. From there they stated that the control is very strict. And they advise insureds to contact their company first and follow their instructions. Money in hand is not given at the trusted services.
“The damage is filed through an insurance company, it prepares a document and the customer with the inventory goes to the repair shop to be picked up with a delivery protocol. There are also people who try to abuse. With trusted repair shops, they can also abuse. The insurance company itself controls the repair, because of the costs it will pay”, the association specifies.
9 months and BGN 18,000 later, Peter still can’t drive his new car. Not only is it not repaired, but there is additional damage and parts of it are missing. The car is back in the garage. Peter has hired a lawyer. He filed a complaint with the police. It is being checked whether there are other deceived drivers.
2024-01-07 06:57:55
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