I felt compelled to report a very poor experience with Nationwide Autocentres.

We needed an MOT on our son's car and were using them for the second year principally because we had taken out an MOT Guarantee with them.

Last year's experience wasn't brilliant and very expensive but I put that down to our inital purchase error with the car.This year started with their telephone reminder about the MOT and 'their' special offer of a discounted MOT price.A week later later I rang to book in, and no one recognises this offer not even the Manager.I must have dreamt it up......He advises an online booking to acheive 10% off.So we try that and it doesn't exist!! Ring back and another person tells us there is no such offer but if we have an RAC,Matalan or Tesco card there is a discount.

Anyway the car fails on a most marginal basis of slight windscreen damage.There is also a bulb not working in the front headlamp.They can't repair or replace the windscreen and I have to press them to look at the bulb( it has come loose). I am told I need to pay a retest fee of
£27 because the vehicle will have to leave the premises !! So they can't do the repair and charge you to look at it when someone else has replaced it.Mmmmm

Eventually he saw sense and waived the charge but not without extraordinary attitude and disdain.The bulb resettling cost £11 and you are left feeling a might irritated.

As for the guarantee it naturally doesn't cover any of the problems we are told.

So in summary,avoid NA like the plague unless you like your customer service served up with misinformation,pedantic Inspectors and Service staff who would have been trained at the Reggie Kray Charm School.

Want to hear a worse story?

I took my Renault Megane to them for a service and it was returned with a dash warning light continually on, after a great deal of argument and them more than implying it was on already (it most certainly wasn't), I returned the car a total of four times. Not once did they manage to do a single thing and a few weeks later the engine blew up - my bill £6,000 for their mistake. I still have no idea what they did or how, nor have I been successful in chasing them for the last 2 years. You got off lightly!

Furthermore, a friend unwittingly took her car to Nationwide for MOT (its first one), the car had done 8,000 miles in three years and she was quoted nearly £700 for repairs after it failed. She drove the car (not allowed I know) to the next garage and it passed the same day!

These people are crooks