Brian S

DON'T GO TO HIWAY BANDE HEIDELBERG CAPE

I would like to let the dealership and owner/manager of Hiway Bande (I think they fall under Hi-Q) Heidelberg Cape know why we went the extra 33kms to Riversdale for our new tyres and puncture repair even though the Heidelberg branch is the closest. Earlier this year l went to the H’Berg branch with a punctured tyre. It was a Saturday and on arriving l asked what time they closed. They said 12 noon. I checked my watch it was ten to 12. It looked like they wanted to close early but l said it was urgent as the owner needed to get to Cape Town before it got dark. After something of a wait l was finally attended to. I showed the worker where the puncture was and it was repaired within a minute or two. While doing so l asked him how much it would be and he said l had to check with the duty manager. I somehow got the idea he was being evasive. Once done l asked him again with the same reply. On paying l was told it would be R50. I have never paid more than R20 to repair a puncture. Then he said l also had to pay a R100 “call-out fee” in cash. I responded saying that no-one ever said anything about that despite me asking twice. Had l known l would have done it in Riversdale where l was headed. Also they were not called out. They were at the premises. He was belligerent and l knew that if l didn’t pay it l would not get the wheel back. I was in a hurry as l had to get to other shops before they closed and was forced to pay the total of R150. I call it extortion. Some twenty minutes later l saw the same guy at the bottle store buying alcohol probably with my money. I have told everyone l know in our area (Witsand) about this incident and discouraged them from ever going there. They have thus lost a lot more than the R100 they extorted out of me and will continue to lose even more.