Batteries On The Road

I used this service on 31/12/22 to replace a flat battery in my 3yo Hyundai Accent.

While I was very pleased with the service I received, I have to say I am still reeling from price shock at the charges.



On my initial phone call I was told there would be a call out charge of $110+ gst, plus the the battery charge of approximately $270+ gst. I do not recall being informed that there would also be a labour charge applicable. The labour charge of $165+ gst only became clear once an invoice was later provided.



Firstly, in Australia by law you should quote all prices to the public inclusive of GST. When you are combining a call-out fee + product fee + labour fee, quoting each ex gst and with gst becomes very confusing to the customer.



The technician arrived within the quoted time and I opted to go with a higher capacity battery which would last longer. He calculated the call-out fee + battery cost + gst on his mobile phone and gave me price of around $450. I felt this was higher than I had previously paid for car batteries, but since I was far from home and he was already there I agreed to go ahead.



Once he had installed the battery my friend asked for the final price. There was some more calculating on the mobile phone and we were told $643.50. My friend stepped in and paid for me before I could raise a fuss. But I was quite confused how the price had jumped from in the $400s to over $600.



Upon receiving the invoice a day or so later I contacted Neil to ask if he had made a mistake whilst using his phone to calculate the fees - they were so high. He replied that he had not.



So I checked the model of the installed battery and cross checked the price online. I was charged $341 for a SuperCharge PSN55 which retails online for $159, so over 100% markup to the regular retail price. I would call that price gouging.



Then the labour charge. $181.50. If it had been made clear to me that this was not included in the call-out fee, I would have installed the battery myself rather than pay this exorbitant fee. If I conservatively say it took 1/2 hour to change a battery (which it does not - 10 mins max), then the labour charge is equivalent of $363 per hour for a relatively unskilled, simple task.



Further adding insult to injury, I later price checked the NRMA Battery Service to see what they would have charged me as a non-member. Turns out it would have been only $260 all inclusive. So Batteries On The Road charged nearly two-and-a-half times the price of their competition.



When I questioned the technician about the pricing I was told all prices were “set by management”. As there were no other contact details available I used the comment form on their website to share my experience. I got no response (it has been more than 3 months now).



I then made a complaint with NSW Fair Trading. The company cited “weekend call-out rates” and refused the partial refund I requested. However my primary issue was not with the callout rate - it was the undisclosed service charge and severe overpricing of the battery.



I cannot overstate how ripped off I feel from using this company. I would not recommend them at all on that basis

Highly professional battery mechanic and quick service 5 star

Fast service and honest people.......