etbtyres.co.uk

ETB and Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems.

I went to ETB (Exhaust Tyres and Batteries (Worcester) Ltd.) at Ross on Wye for a puncture repair to a car tyre fitted with a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (not a standard tyre valve).On the invoice they had charged for a new tyre valve (£1.52 plus VAT), although they had neither supplied nor fitted one. When I queried this I was told that I had already received a discount from the usual puncture repair price of £19.50 (I paid £15), although nothing had been said about this and it was not shown on the invoice. They also informed me that it appeared on the invoice as “it was automatically entered by the computer” (the old ‘it was all the computers fault’ still lives), although I had stood and watched him enter three separate items manually (Puncture Repair, Tubeless Valve and Wheel Balance). The answer came in a very slick manner, and there would be no refund. On their website they state: ‘From 1st November 2014 all new cars manufactured or sold in Europe will be fitted with TPMS.By the end of 2015, it is expected 1 in 3 cars will be fitted with a TPMS system’.If their computer system automatically adds a new tyre valve to every invoice, there will be a substantial number of valves added (but not fitted) to TPMS wheels at £1.52 (plus VAT) a throw. What I believe is called in the trade ‘a nice little earner’.This appears to be an unexpected consequence of the tyre trades insistence of fitting a new valve every time a tyre is fitted, whether it is needed or not. In mitigation I will say the staff were pleasant and courteous and worked like Trojans.In case you are wondering- no I am not down to my last £1.52 plus VAT, it is the principle of the thing.

Date of experience: Jun 08, 2018