BP EXPRESS GARAGE / CAR WASH - CLUBVIEW - DAMAGED IGNTION AND NO CUSTOMER SERVICE

We have been loyal BP customers for many years. We consistently choose BP service stations for fuel, and we also regularly support the convenience store, BP Express, and car wash facilities. The BP Express car wash has been our preferred choice for several years, and we have always received good service up until this incident.

On Saturday, 16 May 2026, we visited the BP Express car wash superwash (Lyttelton Rd &, Adam Tas St, Clubview, Centurion, 0157) to have my vehicle washed. We handed the keys to a staff member. I just want to make it very clear that at the time of handing over the key to your staff member, that there were absolutely no issues with either the vehicle, the key, or the ignition system.

While waiting at a nearby restaurant, we were approached by the staff member who informed us that the vehicle would not start. Upon returning to the car wash, we found the vehicle in an abnormal state: the lights and radio were on, yet the key had been removed from the ignition. Based on my knowledge of the vehicle, it is not possible to remove the key while the ignition is still on. This strongly suggests that the key was forcefully removed while still in the ignition lock position. Furthermore, the remote key showed visible signs of damage, including deep nail marks, indicating that it had been handled with excessive force. When questioned, the staff member stated that he had simply removed the key. However, the key could no longer be inserted into the ignition, and the vehicle had to be pushed into a parking bay. In addition, we attempted to resolve the issue that was caused by the staff member ourselves before calling a locksmith so we unplugged the battery and even tried using Q20 to try and see if we could fix the ignition, but this was unsuccessful due to the extent of the damage already caused by the staff member.

We were forced to call a locksmith as the vehicle could not be started and the ignition system was still not functional.

The locksmith’s report confirms the following: “During the process, the vehicle’s ignition key was forcibly removed while still in the lock position. This action caused the ignition cylinder to jam and rendered the ignition mechanism inoperable. The ignition lock cylinder shows signs of forced removal of the key. The key was extracted while the ignition was still in the ‘start’ position, which is not the correct procedure. The forced removal resulted in internal damage to the ignition mechanism, preventing normal operation.” We had to pay the locksmith on Saturday for the damage that that staff member did to my ignition.

Following the incident, we engaged with management at the BP branch. We were informed that the owner was not available. Despite this, he was contacted telephonically by staff and indicated that BP would not be accepting responsibility for the damage—without having consulted us or conducted any form of customer engagement.

We must express our deep disappointment with how this situation has been handled as well as how we have been treated as loyal BP customers and falsely accused. We have been met with denial, a total lack of integrity, lies and an unwillingness to take responsibility by the staff member, staff and management.

The one and only friendly lady working at BP finally managed to schedule a meeting with the owner of BP on Thursday, 21 May 09:00 and we were hopeful that we can come to an agreement and sort this out in a decent way. We had to arrange to take off at our place of work and arrived at the BP@ 09:00 for this meeting.

The owner didn’t bother to show up – he was not there and the staff member that caused the damage was also not there after this date and time was scheduled with us. what type of customer service is this??? We wanted to discuss this situation like decent human beings and that is the way the owner is? no decency at all!! and as we heard from one of the staff members is that there are other complaints as well...

The way the staff and management at BP treated us yesterday is totally unacceptable. They accused us that the ignition was broken beforehand, which I can just clarify again that this is not the case at all. This is totally a false accusation. No customer service at all from the staff and management. This experience has unfortunately left us extremely dissatisfied, and it has significantly impacted our perception of BP as a brand. We went there today as we wanted to handle this situation in a respected decent way but the owner doesn’t even have the decency to talk to us or show up for a meeting that was scheduled with him by his own staff and the staff members and management was so extremely rude with false accusations.

I also send this email to BP headoffice, who only forwarded it to BP Clubview and said they must call the client!!! I complained about BP Clubview and want to speak to someone from BP Headoffice and don't want to speak to someone at BP Clubview!!!

We will never ever support any BP ever again.