Ford mechanic sacked after taking minicab he was supposed to be servicing for a joyrideA minicab driver was left “speechless” after discovering his car had been taken on a joyride by a mechanic.
Nima Saeidi, 36, from Ponders End, took his car to the TrustFord dealership on Great Cambridge Road, Enfield, last week for a regulation service.
However, after picking his vehicle up, not only did he discover no work had been carried out, despite being charged £220, but footage from his dashboard camera showed the mechanic had taken it out for a ride.
The 45-minute video shows the Ford Galaxy car being driven carelessly around Enfield, including dangerously overtaking buses, while the driver is not wearing his seatbelt.
The garage has since apologised to Mr Saeidi, given him a full refund and has sacked the mechanic responsible.
Mr Saedi said: “I looked at the camera and saw the car had been speeding around Enfield; it was even parked outside this guy’s house for about fifteen minutes.
“I was shocked – not only had it been driven without my consent, it has been driven dangerously, and I have reported it to the police.
“When I first saw the footage I was absolutely speechless – I have been a minicab driver for seven years and I have never seen or heard of anything like this before.
“I am not happy, but this car is my livelihood, I have no choice but to keep using Ford.”
Mr Saeidi said he had been told by TrustFord that they were installing security cameras in their Enfield shop, but he has called for the staff to be personally monitored as they work.
He also says his car has started to shake when it travels at high speeds, and fears it may have been damaged during its unexpected journey.
He said: “If I didn’t find out about this, I could have broken down or had a crash.
“People have a right to know about this – the public take their cars in and expect them to be serviced and taken care of; nothing like this.”
TrustFord spokesman Andrew Nankervis said they had launched a full investigation.
They said: “When it became clear that an employee had breached TrustFord’s strict terms of employment, the technician responsible was dismissed from the company.
“We can also confirm that on the day that TrustFord was alerted to the incident by Mr Saeidi they carried out a further service and that they are also carrying out full safety and wheel alignment checks on the vehicle.
“TrustFord has apologised to Mr Saeidi and offered to reimburse him for all work undertaken on the vehicle.”
source:
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news ... a_joyride/
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