Some BS! but I got there in the end

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

A while ago I was given a plate as a b.day gift and I thought I would call up to get my plate made today.

I Called the company that make them.

Hi, I'd like to get my plate made please.

"Yes we can do that for you, what is the plate you would like to have made?",

It hasn't been printed yet, its [******], can I change it to a Euro Black Plate from Euro Blue?

"Sure, we will need an email from Plates because we show it as a Blue Plate and the email is our paper trail to confirm the order, if they send that through we can make it straight away"

Called P.Plates.

Hi, I have a plate I would like to print but the company needs an email to confirm the change from Euro Blue to Euro Black..

"Sure we can do that for you, whats the plate?? there is also a fee of $60 to change the colour"

Sorry, what??

"There is an admin fee of $60 to change it to Euro Black from Euro Blue"

But all they need is an email from you.. it hasn't been printed yet etc etc

"I realise but we run a business and there are fee's involved. If it was already printed it would cost you $299"

Yes but it hasn't been printed and they only need an email. and you want to charge me $60 to email them??

It went on like this for a few more mins, the lady checked with her boss and still nothing..

In the end I hung up on them as I thought it was pretty rude to charge me $60 on top of the $800ish it already costs to buy the plate. And they never gave warning of extra fee's to change the colour but have the same style.

Just before I hung up I pointed out how many plates I had bought from them in the past.

Admittedly they came back within 2mins and they confirmed they would not charge me as a "special appreciation for being a long term customer" but I still found it rude to begin with given i had no warning about the fee when I first got the plate, otherwise I would have changed it to start with.

I would totally understand if I had the plate printed as it needs to be re-created and that is more work.. But it was sitting as a template in their system and all they have to do is take a Black Plate and put it in the press.

BTW there is a 90 day period where you can change it for free, after that they charge $60.

Just venting now, but I feel so much better

Has this happened to anyone else??

Laurence

Edited July 29, 2009 by Old_Skool_Bmw

[JiB 0]

No this hasn't happened to me.

But when I did a transfer of ownership for mine, the lady on the phone kept pushing for me to upgrade to a picture or euro or whatever costs more money.

When I refused to spend any money on them, they insisted it was customary to have the plate remade - even though the existing ones were in good condition!

The amount of money they wanted for things absolutely boggled my mind.

[CamB 48]

It's moments like that where I tend to look at the fee involved, then make myself as unpleasant as necessary to ensure I get some "value" out of the deal. It's petty, I know, but monopoly charging pisses me off.

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

They just gave me no reasonable justification as to why it was so high. Maybe $10 or $20 I could understand as someone has to do some work and send the email, but $60 was just too much.

Laurence

[bravo 34]

It's to cover the wages of the person on the phone for the time they spend arguing with people as to why the fees are so high.

The higher the fees, the longer the argument = the higher the fee.....

[DRTDVL 0]

Hmmm i'm still waiting on that reply from the governement Bravo... Time for a hurry up/ anouther email i think...

[Guest Simon*]

The higher the fees, the longer the argument = the higher the fee.....

Did someone say argument .....?

[OLLIE 26]

p plates

I want to burn that place and it's f**kin owners to the ground.

[antil33t 90]

p plates

I want to burn that place and it's f**kin owners to the ground.

Amen,

I want Europlates, but i can't justify the sack of money to go with it.

[e30plz 1]

I just want a normal p plate,

So much money still. Maybe i'll just pay it off.

[JiB 0]

I just want a normal p plate,

So much money still. Maybe i'll just pay it off.

It's a huge amount of money. I don't think I'd ever be able to justify $800 for a plate! Ever!

Obviously for some it's fine, but I know I'd rather have $800 worth of racing

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

it seems like every month there is an increase in the cost of buying a P.Plate.

I remember when Dad bought his P.Plate years ago.. Only cost him $300-$400 I think..

Now they are $800ish for a euro.

Would be interested to know the 'actual cost' to the business to create the plate, and how much of the fee is profit.

Laurence

[bravo 34]

Licensys (the people that ACTUALLY make the plate) charge about $33 per set. That includes their profit.

That should give you an idea of how much it costs to make - a few bucks.

The rest of the $800 goes into PPlates coffers.

Out of that comes their wages, overheads, maintenance of the website and the plates database with LTNZ, development budget for plate styles, and their huge marketing budget. I'm guessing the majority is still profit.

[DRTDVL 0]

it seems like every month there is an increase in the cost of buying a P.Plate.

I remember when Dad bought his P.Plate years ago.. Only cost him $300-$400 I think..

Now they are $800ish for a euro.

Would be interested to know the 'actual cost' to the business to create the plate, and how much of the fee is profit.

Laurence

cost of remanufacturing is $35

[QuickSilver 0]

It's to cover the wages of the person on the phone for the time they spend arguing with people as to why the fees are so high.

The higher the fees, the longer the argument = the higher the fee.....

Its a paradox...

[Driftit 2001]

My plate was $300. Got it for my 21st 7 years ago.

Will never buy one myself. My plate now resides under some BMW parts in the garage for the rest of time.

[pjay 8]

Its a paradox...

I want to keep my german plates. Much better than Kiwi euros.

Make german plates legal and I'll pay $200 to use them

[CamB 48]

I've noticed the going rate on Trademe is more like $500 even for some semi-decent plates. I suspect they aren't actually doing that well. It's arguably a dead end business - their remaining product is becoming less desirable.

[bmw_guy 0]

Euro Black = + 1

I want so bad