BYD dealership axes staff after footage exposes camera tampering, unsafe test drive
A BYD service centre in Chon Buri has dismissed all staff involved after dashcam footage showed technicians disconnecting a customer’s cameras and conducting a test drive without a seatbelt while on a mobile phone.
The customer, Suriya Sudsanit, who initially made a Facebook post about the incident, brought his BYD to the centre for a routine service and to investigate an unusual sound from the undercarriage.
He said he did not notice anything was wrong until more than 100 kilometres after leaving, when he found both his front and interior cameras had been unplugged.
Reviewing footage saved before the cameras were disconnected on April 29, Suriya identified three separate incidents. A technician was recorded disconnecting the cameras while laughing and remarking that the owner would not notice.
A separate staff member reportedly took the car for a test drive without wearing a seatbelt while using a mobile phone.
Suriya also noted that staff failed to locate the source of the undercarriage noise until a fourth test drive, on which he rode along. He had visited the centre as a regular customer since purchasing the vehicle, and had even bought drinks for the team on the day of the service, believing staff were working diligently on his behalf.
He added that after posting the footage on his personal Facebook page, a separate post he had made in a BYD group had its comments disabled and the clip removed.
BYD RÊVER Thailand, the official BYD distributor in Thailand, issued a statement on April 30 apologising for the incident and confirming that all individuals involved were employees of the dealership, not direct company staff. The dealership had dismissed all those involved with immediate effect.
The distributor said it viewed the incident as unacceptable and that it would review and strengthen oversight of its dealer network, including service standards and professional conduct, to prevent a recurrence.
In a follow-up post, Suriya said the dealership’s service general manager had visited him in person to apologise. He said he accepted the apology, adding that his intention had never been to assign blame but to advocate for better service standards for all customers.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
