Mother claims Kwik Fit mechanics tried to charge her £360 for an £11.65 puncture repair 'because she is a woman' 

A teacher claims Kwik Fit mechanics tried to charge her £360 for a simple puncture repair that later cost just £11 because she is a woman.

Susie Henderson, 32, took her Renault Clio to a garage in Milngavie, Glasgow, to get the driver's side front tyre repaired after suffering a slow puncture.

The 'disgusted' mother-of-one claims the mechanics rang half an hour later to say that the puncture couldn't be fixed and that all four tyres would also have to be replaced - at a cost of £360.

Susie Henderson (above), a 32-year-old teacher, was told a puncture repair would cost £360 by Kwik Fit - whereas an independent garage charged just £11.65 (pictured with her husband Ross and two-year-old daughter Olivia)

But rejecting their offer, Mrs Henderson took the car she shares with her husband Ross to an independent garage that charged her just £11.65 to repair the slow puncture.

Kwik Fit has apologised for the the incident and offered to re-inspect the car to ascertain whether its initial advice was correct. They denied that any customer is ever treated differently because of gender.

Mrs Henderson, who has a two-year-old daughter, Olivia, said: 'I can't fully express how disgusted I am with the Kwik Fit team.

'I think the mechanics in Kwik Fit saw that I was a woman and thought they could quote me whatever they liked.

'There definitely could have been an element of sexism to it. I'm just glad I took time to think about it before handing over any money. 

She claims the Kwik Fit in Glasgow said the front tyre was a winter tyre- which it isn't - and they would therefore need to replace all four tyres of her Renault Clio (pictured)

'I knew I had a slow puncture on the front driver's side tyre. I asked the team to look at it and repair the puncture if that was possible.

'After about 30 minutes I got a call to say there was a nail in that tyre and it couldn't be fixed.

'They had also found a tear in one of the rear tyres and the tread in the other was below the legal limit.

'They said because the front passenger tyre is a winter tyre - which actually it's not, it's an all seasons tyre - all four would have to be replaced for a cost of £360.

'I decided not to go ahead with this, as I wanted to speak to my husband. For the next week or so we kept pumping the tyre up to make sure it was at the right pressure.'

Mrs Henderson and 36-year-old dentist Ross eventually took the car to family firm SMS in Stirling.

Her complaint about the situation received almost 13,000 shares and attracted almost 4,000 comments on social media.

The mother-of-one spoke to her dentist husband Ross, 36, and the couple decided to take the car to family firm SMS in Stirling - who checked all four tyres and charged just £11.65 to fix the slow puncture in the front driver's tyre

Mechanics at the second garage checked all four tyres and charged just £11.65 to fix the slow puncture in the front driver's tyre.

Mrs Henderson said: 'The two rear tyres are absolutely fine, no tear and at least a few thousand miles left of wear.

'And they confirmed that the front tyres are all season, not winter tyres, something which surely any mechanic could identify.

'I am disgusted that Kwik Fit would have happily taken £360 from me fully knowing that there was nothing wrong with my tyres.

'I work hard for my money and don't like to be conned by a nationwide company who should be honest with their customers. They should be ashamed of themselves.

'I will never go to Kwik Fit again.'

Kwik Fit, in Milngavie, Glasgow (pictured), apologised and offered to re-inspect the car to ascertain whether its initial advice was correct. They denied that any customer is ever treated differently because of gender 

Kwik Fit denied that Mrs Henderson was treated differently because of her gender.

A company spokesperson said: 'All our advice is given with the safety of the motorist uppermost in mind, whether they are male or female, young or old.

'Whether a puncture can be repaired depends on the location of the puncture on the tread and it is best practice not to mix different compounds of tyre - such as summer, all season and winter - on one car.

'A senior manager from our company has spoken with Ms Henderson and arranged to meet with her where a further re-inspection of her tyres will take place in order to assess if she was given the correct advice by our staff.

'We apologise for any inconvenience caused.'