I have now spoken to a solicitor (a good one recommended by a colleague) who after reviewing the case confirms what I've been saying all along that we did not have an agreement. For even a verbal agreement to be relied upon, it needs to be complete and meet certain criteria. He will handle my case should I instruct him to do so. I've got a reference number from CAB who will refer my case to the Trading Standards should I wish to report them. I've written my letter explaining the situation which has been sent today to STC and detailing my request. If they refuse my request which by their track record is inevitable, then hopefully things will start moving much more structured to bring their vile injustice and bad practice to an end. I will then go full steam ahead and firstly report them to Trading Standards before continuing down the road to justice. I'm now more determined than ever to not let them bully me into paying when the fault was theirs. Companies should really cut out this bad practice of carrying out work when not instructed to do so then charging what they want causing misery to honest and hard working motorists who feel pressurized to pay and then have their vehicles held to ransom.

Can anyone help with my questions please, i'd appreciate a solid definite answer.

Just to check, because I haven't paid so no money to claim, am I able to use the small claims court when all i'll be asking for is the truck back?

After speaking with my ex, she was willing to loan me £500 to help remove the truck and then I could pay her back after I go to court. I spoke to a friend of mine who was also prepared to loan me £1300 by calling in with his credit card. I would pay the rest. I emailed Ian and told him I would the £2395.05 under protest and explained that my friend will call up and pay with his card and once payment is received to let me know so I can come and pay the balance and collect the truck. He replied saying he would not be taking payment over the phone and my friend would need to to come in and pay in person. Trust issues. The problem is my friend is currently in Belgium working away so I'm stuck. This got me thinking and made me feel angry because even though he is trying to fleece me by going ahead and doing work not agreed to I have been making offers and trying to negotiate to release the truck. Not only did they do that, they did unnecessary work and then charged a ridiculous amount for it. After all that, I manage to secure payment to release the truck and he refuses even that just to make life difficult and in an attempt to increase the payment by charging £25 a day storage. I've decided enough is enough. I won't let him bully me and hold me to ransom. This is bad practice and blatant robbery masquerading as a professional outfit. I'm going to inform him I am cancelling all previous offers. I should not have to pay for their errors. I will then compile a letter of intent asking for the truck to be put back to how it was and returned to me. I'll then issue small claims proceedings to recover the truck. I could do with some pointers on writing the letter of intent. How long to wait etc. BankFodder are you still there, some advice on how to proceed with be invaluable right now so I get it right.

Yes it is. It really sickens me.

Hi BankFodder, I recieved the email from Ian this morning and it reads: Good morning, I have spoken to my MD yesterday and we both agree that we have done everything correctly and carried out the repairs in good faith. We cannot give a reduction on the invoice and would like the matter resolved by the end of this week. If payment isn’t made by the end of this week then we will have to start charging storage of £25.00 per day. What would be the next step in terms of a reply I could send to them?

So the email promised before the end of the day was not received. How long should I wait before contacting them again?

We came back from the meeting and have been told to wait for Ian to discuss with Gareth and get back to me. In the meeting, I introduced my ex as the owner of the truck with the documents (Logbook & loan agreement secured on the truck signed when I borrowed the money from her to buy the truck) present. Ian dismissed that completely and said that that does not have an impact at all on the matter and is irrelevant. He would talk to me as the "contract" is with me. They then went on to say I absolutely and clearly gave them the go ahead to find, fix and repair any and all problems and that I will be paying the bill whatever it was at the end. I politely confirmed that that was untrue and I was not there to argue rather to negotiate a fair settlement. Ian said the bill cannot be reduced because of their position that I gave them the go ahead but he is willing to offer me a reduction to end the matter. He said if I paid 2000 then that will be the end of the matter. I insisted I never gave the go ahead and pointed out that I had noticed on the MOT that the load sensing valve (LSV) had been written down as seized and as this is what controls the amount of pressure going to the rear brakes, it would have been simple to repair that first before trying anything else. It would have equated to 165 for the part including an hours labour to fit it. He said they have to look elsewhere first as is their practice to determine if anything else might be faulty. This led to the many many hours of investigative work hence the very high labour costs. I also explained the cost of the parts used where excessive even if I was to buy them directly from suppliers without a trade discount. He explained they use their own suppliers to guarantee quality. This is ridiculous as a couple of those parts are coming from Iveco themselves. I insisted I wasn't trying to remove the vehicle without paying nor was I there to have an argument or a full discussion of how things work as we are all mechanics and should be familiar already. I increased my offer to 1200 including VAT and let him know that was my absolute final offer. He (Ian) said he cannot see that offer as being acceptable to his company but he will discuss it anyway and let me know. We agreed and left.

Always polite which has caused many to take advantage and be dismissive to me but let's hope for the best.

Yes i'll explain that to her. I'll post back as soon as we get out of there. Icily polite. I need to remember that one.

Quick question please, the meeting is set for tomorrow between 9.30-11am. My ex would like to know if as the owner of the truck she has any rights over the holding of it? If the garage can still hold it even though she owns it and was not involved in the original dispute. If she has a right to repossess the vehicle then that could force the garage to negotiate a settlement. If the garage cannot forcefully hold the vehicle, is there any law she can quote so to speak?

Brilliant. I'll do just that. Your support is I hate confrontations anyway and always choose the non-aggressive way. I will report back as soon as possible. Your support is invaluable and I'd be totally lost without it.

Hi BankFodder, an email was received by my ex today from Ian Shepard and it reads: Dear XXX, can you tell me when you are available next week for a meeting so we can try to resolve the problem. Ian

You read my mind. Exactly what I wrote.

I will certainly let you know without delay.