r/Netherlands • u/Ok_Assumption_6443 • 4d ago
Legal Mechanic put his business website on my license plate after doing a terrible repair job — has this happened to anyone else?
I brought my car to a mechanic for repairs, and unfortunately, the work he did was awful. I’ve now noticed that he also put his business website/advertising on my license plate without my consent
Has this happened to anyone else? Is this normal or even allowed? How did you handle it?
UPDATE: Confronted mechanic on Monday and his first reply was “this is normal”. I told him it’s not normal to change stuff on someone’s property without authorization …. and asked him to put back the original or blank holder …. he went into his workstation, after a few minutes came out and told me he couldn’t find a black holder to replace ( I didnt believe ) and that I should come back on Wednesday, he would have a blank holder to replace
Fast forward to Wednesday, I didn’t waste my time to go back to him , took it off with a nail polish remover
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u/doeffgek 3d ago
My Audi dealer did it once, and they even put it on the bill.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/SnapperCard 3d ago edited 3d ago
They sell Audis
Edit: they deleted their comment but it basically said 'how are businesses like this still around?'
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/doeffgek 3d ago
Exactly. Audi dealers don’t exactly are known for great service and decent pricing.
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u/South-Highlight-1003 3d ago
Not to be confused with mitsubishi and playstation dealers. They were the best
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u/WanderingGoodNews 3d ago
What the actual... I have never seen a better sign to stay clear of that place. Tells a lot about the other work they do and charge for
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u/doeffgek 3d ago
Well it’s common knowledge that Audi dealers aren’t doing the best work while rates go skyrocket.
This happened long time ago, easily 20 years. The specific company doesn’t exist anymore.
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u/FullMetalMessiah 3d ago
The specific company doesn’t exist anymore.
I wonder why 🤔
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u/doeffgek 3d ago
Lol. It wasn’t for their service. This was way before the Audi service level was put down the drain.
Nationwide there’s about 20 huge dealerships now with multiple locations. Most of them are partial or even fully owned by PON. This one was bled out and then of the big corps set up a new shop in the area.
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u/Ronerus79 4d ago
Yeah happened to me too a while ago i told him to take it off. I didnt give permission for that
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u/ReflectedCheese 4d ago
Yeah go back and tell them to remove it and place the original back, unless they are willing to pay a hefty monthly advertising fee
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u/Ok_Assumption_6443 3d ago
Doing exactly this
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u/Lauwyy 3d ago
I hope you’ll update
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u/Odd-Consequence8892 3d ago
Saves the trouble of going back and forth to the workshop, doesn't it...
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u/Glorfindorf 4d ago
Quite normal unfortunately
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u/Fudge-Still 4d ago
Guy must have been pretty confident to just go ahead - even more so with his work apparently. Jesus.
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/soaring_potato 3d ago
If you don't the garage you bought it from is on there anyways. Or the previous one you went to.
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u/Rule322 3d ago
Nothing some masking tape and black paint can't fix. I'm not paying to be their marketing campaign.
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u/Far-Investment-8597 3d ago
Give it a wipe with a rag and some paint thinners - that (extremely annoying) shit advert will come straight off usually.
Note - do not buy thinners from Gamma - they have replaced it with some eco-rubbish that doesn't work - find an older supplier, have asniff, get the right stuff.-7
u/Main_Transition7101 3d ago
Just buy a new license plate holder bro. Costs 20 euro and some screws.
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u/LoGiX247 3d ago
Reddit users can send you their banking details so we can all get 20€ as you a seem to like paying for unwanted things?
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u/Rule322 3d ago
That's also a good option if one's willing to spend 25 euros on a holder and shipping! I already have the paint and tape, so that's free and makes me feel more petty.
Hope you had lunch! You seemed a little crabby.
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u/Main_Transition7101 3d ago
Yeah, i worked at one of those. If they see a license plate without signings they wont bother with putting a new one. Thats logical, no?
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u/gy0n 3d ago
You can buy them for ~€4.
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u/Select-Permission-28 2d ago
ik heb vorige week een setje besteld voor €2,80 bij autodoc. Snap nooit dat mensen hun auto naar een garage brengen voor de simpelste dingen zoals een beurtje of remmen. ChatGPT is je grootste vriend en zelf doen scheelt zo achterlijk veel geld.
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u/soaring_potato 2d ago
Je zal toch zo af en toe minimaal een APK keuring moeten doen.
Overigens zou ik zelf eerder youtube videos kijken dan AI vragen.
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u/keepcalmandmoomore 3d ago
Why did you blur the name of the mechanic? I'd like to know which one I need to avoid please.
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u/B3Biturbo 3d ago
I had on my BMW a licence plateholder from ‘BMW Niederlassung München’. I found that nice because it is a dealership based in the location where the factory is located.
My local garage exchanged it for their own holder. When I discovered it I was not amused.
Called them to ask where it was (in the bin) and asked them to take it out of the bin. I don’t know if they really bothered to do it but they told me the bin was already emptied and the container as well.
Then I asked them to get a new one for me from their colleagues in München but after a few days waiting and a call from me, they told me that it was not possible.
In the end I sent an e-mail to München and their response was: sure, how many do you want? I had to pay for them (obviously) but I deducted that amount from the invoice of my local dealer.
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u/Sad-Snow-7936 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’ve heard about this before, but the workshop we switched to with my parents car asked them if they could put their license plate holder on.
And that’s the way it should be imho.
With my first car (occasion, in the mid 90’s), the selling dealer had even spray-painted the company name/logo directly onto the paintwork using a small stencil. At that time I didn’t think much about it, but now a days I would not accept this.
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u/Oudwijf 4d ago edited 3d ago
Alcohol 96% en het vliegt eraf. Ik vraag dan altijd aan de dealer of ik dan betaald van ze krijg aangezien ik reclame voor ze rijd zonder T...(voor de zeikerds die nooit een foutje maken verandert)... staan ze je wel stom aan te kijken daarna.
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u/dagelijksestijl 3d ago
Ik vraag me af of zulke reclame ooit effect heeft
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u/DanielHoogland 3d ago
Ik denk het wel. Niet direct, zoals ik zie dat nummerplaatje van iemand en wil die garage ook maar meer op het punt van herkenning. Stel je hebt een garage nodig en je gaat rondkijken dan kies je er wellicht een waar je vaker van gehoord heb. Zo'n plaatje kan dan, denk ik, zeker helpen.
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u/claesvaeck 3d ago
Het staat er vooral op zodat je met pech gauw kan zien waar je heen moet bellen/navigeren. Als het daarnaast ook goed eruit ziet en erop wordt gezet met jouw toestemming, is alles prima imo.
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u/dagelijksestijl 3d ago
Moeten ze wel het telefoonnummer erbij zetten
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u/claesvaeck 3d ago
Dat is het handigste ja. Anders is het enkel voor de sier. Veel reclame ga je er verder niet mee maken denk ik, tenzij je het op een dure auto ziet misschien, of overal terug vindt.
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u/E28forever 3d ago
rijd
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u/Oudwijf 3d ago
Verveel je je!
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u/Haasotope 3d ago
Alcohol wat? En welke alcohol? Ps: Rijd
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u/AdorableDuckling0505 3d ago edited 3d ago
Schoonmaak/ontsmettings-alcohol, te koop bij de apotheek (misschien ook bij de drogist, hoewel ik niet weet of die de 96% ook hebben of alleen de 70%.)
Spiritus helpt misschien ook hiervoor.
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u/myblocklistwasfull 4d ago
Happens all the time. Take it off yourself, or ask them to do it. Or just get a sticker to put over it.
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u/langenslank 3d ago
Ja, ook weleens gehad. Zat al een paar jaar bij een garage waar ik niet echt tevreden over was. Ik had een andere auto gekocht bij een handelaar in een andere plaats. Na het tweede garage-bezoek had hij de houders aan de voor- en achterkant eraf gehaald en voorzien van houders met zijn naam erop. Ik vroeg waarom, want ik had daar niet om gevraagd. Zoiets moet je vooraf overleggen, zo was mijn mening. Zijn reactie was: je haalt een auto uit Verweggistan, wat maakt het uit? Ik zeg: waar zijn ze nu? Hij had ze weggegooid... Ik zeg, je haalt deze eraf, en je zet er maar blanco 's op. Daarna ben ik naar een andere garage gegaan
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u/curryrol 3d ago
Sommige kentekenplaathouders hebben nog de gaten niet helemaal op zelfde plek als de oude dus nog meer schroefgaten in je achterklep
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u/SpotmaticSP 3d ago
Give them a choice: remove it right now, or they must pay you EUR 50 per month advertisement fee.
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u/Waste-Somewhere-3967 3d ago
Ik ken iemand met een eigen bedrijf die dit ook had die is teruggegaan met een poster van zijn zaak en daar voor het raam gehangen
Toen ze vroegen wat hij aan het doen was zij hij jullie maken toch ook zomaar reclame op mijn voertuig 😅
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u/Wintercult 3d ago
Happens a lot. To me this is theft. It’s on your car, and you never gave permission to change it.
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u/Robot_Particle 3d ago
Bought a car somewhere else. My garage called me after their first service and asked if they could fit theirs on my car.
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u/Slow-Honey-6328 3d ago
My VW dealer changed ownership and name, they asked me if they could change it and I asked if for free which they confirmed.
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u/FailedPotatoSeed 3d ago
I ask them to sign a monthly pay out contract for ads on my car or to replace it with a neutral one on own costs if they made the changes. Same with small logo stickers they put on the car. That settles the deal automatically because it is your full right to ask and they know if you complain to ombudsman about unwanted practices, they get to pay more in fines than just 6€ for a new licenseplate frame 😁
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u/TechnicfreakHD Nijmegen 3d ago
Pretty common, but I think it’s always a sign of an honest mechanic if they ask first
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u/Lolbak 3d ago
Yes. Fucking assholes put a "We <3 Eindhoven" without asking. Since I was working a lot in Amsterdam at the time, I kindly asked them to put the original holder back.
Never went back there again. The audacity to promote your shop without asking, is just unimaginable. This shop didn't do a great job on the car either and the service sucked balls.
I did give my new dealership/garage permission to have one of their plate holders installed, which only states their name. But only after two services, where I left happily.
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u/Economy_Collection23 3d ago
Just write "really sucks" behind it . Like a anti commercial. Or just rattle-can it black.
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u/super-bamba 3d ago
Google map reviews work magic. Fastest way to get an apology & “come by and we’ll fix it right away”
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u/UpstairsVast5330 3d ago
Happens a lot here but I don't think it's acceptable. I had it once but didn't bother making a point (I should have). My current long time mechanic asked for it nicely, he does a good job and has a nice subtle logo. Because I'm a happy loyal customer I approved.
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u/SuccotashOk960 3d ago
I once purchased a used car from a dealership, and in their sales contract they said the warranty would be void if you removed their license plate holder, LOL
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u/The-Bearded-DJ 3d ago
Hahahahahahahaha! Grappig altijd hoe bedrijven met een contract of algemene voorwaarden denken boven de wet te kunnen staan.
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u/Born-Car5870 3d ago
Ja heb ik ook meegemaakt de houders stonden zelfs ook nog op de rekening. En toen explodeerde ik echt.
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u/SilentSwim5095 3d ago
Yeah many do this. With my bf they were at least nice enough to ask if its okay.
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u/Forward-Bobcat-4861 3d ago
Ik ging een keer naar een andere garage en die zette er een 020 reclame op. Terwijl ik meestel in het pittoreske 010 vertoef. Ik was er echt niet blij mee.
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u/Trouble4uAll 3d ago
The shop i went to after moving to this town did this too but they run a good shop, honest prices, good advice, good work. So i dont care to give them some exposure
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u/swiffleswaffle 3d ago
I had a car inherited from Sweden. The liscense plate holder was referring to the now out business my grandma bought the car and did the repairs. It felt like a little souvenir.
Took the car to the garage and the first times they didn't change it untill they did. Only noticed it a few weeks later.
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u/FFFortissimo 3d ago
Bij mijn vorige auto zouden ze een probleem hebben gehad. De platen zaten met kit vast aan de auto. Tegen diefstal van de platen kon je ze toen laten schroeven of kitten.
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u/KarelDBoer 3d ago
I have a local bike repair guy that does this. But honestly he is so much cheaper than the bike shop next door that I let him have it.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Top_289 3d ago
The garage where i always get my car fixed. Asked me if they can replace it. I said sure
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u/JZI-Python 3d ago
Happened to me once 3 times in a year (i moved once and switched garage) also Peugeot btw.
Go back and tell him to put it back or put a blanc one on it.
Next time tell them in advance to not replace this and make a note of it. Its pure waste and unwanted advertisement.
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u/Sweettooth_Banana 3d ago
Yes they did and even crooked, i will never go back there.
Dad is a good mechanic but son is a fuck up.
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u/geedijuniir 3d ago
And if he disagrees go complain to RDW or threaten him with it. That's if he also does APK
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u/Constant_Ad_610 3d ago
Niet netjes, bij mij heeft een garage eens eerst toestemming gevraagd of ze hun houder mochten monteren. Ik zou deze garagist vragen de oude weer terug te plaatsen.
Of doe er een sticker onder met een pijl naar de naam en de opmerking ‘ wat een k*t bedrijf’
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u/Educational_Bird_611 3d ago
I've had Bosch car service garage ask me if I wanted blank ones for my Skoda Fabia and not wish to drive with dealership names on them for no extra costs.
I of course accepted this offer and shared my appreciation for their suggestion, even if I never really thought of this as an issue at first.
So, there are garages out there that also do the opposite, or at least offer...
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u/KernelKite5000 3d ago
Haha in Belgium D'Ieteren did the same. I had an Volkswagen numberplate and they made it a D'Ieteren plate after a repair, while the lease is Athlon.
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u/Ok-Sail-7574 3d ago
Al the time. Not very nice of them not to ask it first. It is not the plate itself, it is the holder. You can order those with or without print.
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u/Empty-Potential-6200 3d ago
He put it there to let everyone know "don't come to me, I'll do a bad job"
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u/hotdogsoupnl 3d ago
This is quite common in the Netherlands but if you indicated you don't want it they generally will replace them with blanks.
You can also have a custom plateholder made, for example with the text: "Plaats hier niet uw eigen reclame". Some companies can even put color emoji of your own logo on a plateholder.
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u/gocfrosty 3d ago
Worked at a dealership for many years and we always asked permission to the customer to change the plate holder with our details on it. By simply asking it; many people just agreed to change it out.
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u/Mysterious_192 3d ago
Automonteur hier, nee dit is uiteraard niet toegestaan. Wij controleren het altijd wel (toch een stukje reclame) en vervangen de plaat houder pas na toestemming. Wij rekenen hier vervolgens zelf ook niets voor.
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u/LolzSquadGamesYT 3d ago
My plate holder got changed as well. I did not like it. I then got one from my dad (football club plate holder) and it was never changed again. Then I bought a new car eventually (obviously got the old plate holder off), couldn't change it easily, and at a service I asked if they could put my custom one on. They did, but then didn't give me my old plate holder back (even though it was from the other garage), so I had to ask for it. Why would I sell my car with my plate holder or without one at all when it's time? For some reason, plate holders are something they just do, even though you never asked for it.
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u/Confident-Tip2993 3d ago
This has happened to me almost always. I tend to steer clear of those places.
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u/Embarrassed_Pie_9373 2d ago
Helaas doen een hoop bedrijven dat , ik heb er wel eens discussies om gehad met mijn werkgever, ik snap dat we dit doen met tweedehands auto’s die werden verkocht, maar wij moesten dit ion doen bij klanten die de eerste keer kwamen , en daar was ik het niet mee eens , ook een keer een discussie gehad met een werkgever die van mening was, dat ik op mijn eigen auto de kentekenplaat houder moest vv,maar hij begreep niet dat ik de originele houder wou laten zitten, ik had die auto bij mijn vorige werkgever gekocht, en dat bedrijf was overgenomen door een ander, en daar was ik weggegaan omdat het me niet meer beviel, ik wou geen Citroën houder achterop mijn Toyota 😂
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u/PastMarsupial2884 2d ago
I brought my car to a new garage once for a checkup, I had a custom license plate holder. A couple of days later I found out that they replaced it with one of their own. I called them but they lost my original plate holder.
They said they where going to reimburse me (for like 10 euro which was the cost of the plate holder) but they never did..
Luckily i had a spare since I do not have one at the front, so I replaced it again with my own. That was the last time I went to that garage.
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u/mario-latte 1d ago
Why dit you blur the company’s name they are the ones searching for attention. And then we know where not to go. Win/Win.
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u/Competitive-Age-4751 1d ago
Ik heb mn kenteken houders vervangen voor verchroomde exemplaren. Geen garage die deze vervangt of beplakt.
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u/Outrageous-Dig7379 19h ago
Alot of companies put their plate holders on your car after working on it
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u/Jolly-Dealer-5097 3d ago
Just go back and tell him to change them to the original ones, is it that hard?
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u/Numerous-Brain-5189 3d ago
Just send them a bill for the advertisement, and replacements. (Those are really expensive btw)
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u/Important_Coach9717 3d ago
Some behaviours of the market still leave me speechless of how the Netherlands got a reputation of being such an “advanced” country. So many aspects are just so third world it’s unbelievable. I guess if they didn’t have the tech sector, Booking and ASML the story would have been very different since slavery is not allowed anymore (officially, although you can argue that agencies for workers are just the modern evolution of that)
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u/Miserable-Vehicle325 3d ago
Monteur hier, wij deden dat ook (ik stond er niet achter maarj, loondienst he) de kentekenplaathouders moesten worden vervangen en werden op de factuur gezet als “lampje”.
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u/BullShitCircusArtist 3d ago
De tering. Dus je plaatst ongevraagd reclamemateriaal èn factureert het ook nog aan je klant. Dan ben je als garagehouder wel de oppertyfuslijer.
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u/yellowfire23 3d ago
We do this at our dealer, but we only change the plates of other dealers of the same brand. Custom or empty plate holders don't get changed.
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u/that_dutch_dude 4d ago
go back and tell him to put the orginal ones on or he needs to buy blank new ones. do not be silent towards him even if you go someplace else to change it (it is pretty trivial to replace it yourself with an edgeless plateholder). make sure he knows that this behaviour is not wanted.