Hi, I wonder if anyone could clear things up for me,

I purchased a used car 5 months ago which broke down yesterday,

the steering lock is electronic and will not disengage meaning the car won't start.

I had to have the car recovered to home as it was in a pay and display spot.

It is my understanding of the CRA that if a fault occurs up to 6 months then the dealer has to offer a repair or replacement.

They said there was a 3 months warranty and that's that.

Upon ringing the dealer today, they told me to book it in and it will be chargable.

Recovery has already cost me 200 and dealer prices for the repair could run to a new steering column which would be astronomical. I bought a car with such low miles to avoid any unwanted repair costs.

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and need the car to get to hospital every week as its a problem pregnancy.

I have now had to hire a car just for this purpose.

The car is only just over 3 years old and cost me 10000 pounds. And I have covered only 2500 miles in it.

I am now unsure of my next step, I have car that won't run and can't afford to fix right away, and the dealer's stance is that its chargable even though the CRA says otherwise.

Please help!

TIA

You are quite right about your rights under the CRA. However, you don't want to get involved in a protracted dispute where you lose the use of your car. Put the car in for repair, pay the bill and then claim it back.

I see that you say you can't afford the repairs straightaway but I'm afraid that I don't really see any other option. You could simply start suing the dealer pretty well straightaway but I'm afraid that by the time he put his hands up or it goes to court, whichever is the sooner, you are looking at from anything from a month to 6 months or more.

How did you pay for the car?

Thanks for the prompt reply, I paid with a debit card with funds from my late fathers inheritance.

So they are incorrect and they should repair free of charge?

I just want to be armed with the correct information the next time I call.

If the don't hang up yet again.

In that case I think that you could initiate a chargeback. The bank won't be happy about it but I suspect that if you get it going and let the dealer know what you are doing then that might move him more quickly. If he has difficulty accepting card payments in future then he may be more cautious about what he does.

I would suggest that you write a letter immediately asking him to confirm that he is not prepared to repair your car under your CRA rights and that he is insisting that he will only treat it as a chargeable repair because of the expiry of the three month warranty. Tell him that you have already incurred costs of a hire car because of your pregnancy and that if he will not repair it under the Consumer Rights Act that you will treat the contract as terminated and that you will seek a chargeback for a refund of all the money paid to him. Furthermore you will take whatever action necessary to recover any losses associated with his breach of contract including the recovery of reasonable costs of car hire once you are sourcing another vehicle.

Tell him that he has 24 hours to agree to repair the vehicle or else you will complaint to the bank and begin the chargeback and that after a further 14 days you will begin a County Court action for the losses incurred as a result of his breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act.

Be sure that you are prepared to carry out your threat. Do not bluff – it's not worth it.

White this letter to him today. Send it by email if possible and also by recorded delivery post. Do it all today.

Why have you not told us the name of the dealer?

I didn't know we could name and shame, its frowned upon on some forums, its Evans halshaw (Ashton branch)

Thank you. They seem to be a fairly large group. Have you complained to the head office?

We have just sent off the following tweet

More

@evanshalshawuk Ashton branch refusing to respect pregnant customer's rights under the Consumer Rights Act. Insists on chargeable repair because the car is outside the "three-month warranty" period. http://cag.tw/26ad

 

If you have a Twitter account then you could tweet it or retweet it to your own followers

Just to their customer care line, they keep putting me through to a line that automatically hangs up. But insist its chargable.

Just onto them again now, didn't like throw "the consumer rights act says" initially but I'm just getting robbed off so......

No joy again, insist its chargable. They tried to put me through to a service manager but he wasnt available and say he will get back to me in 48 hours.

Of course I suppose that you haven't recorded any of these calls – as we are constantly advising to everyone who comes onto this forum.

I suggest that you write the letter as I have suggested. Send it to the dealer, send a copy to the head office and send a copy to your bank. Make it clear at the bottom of the letter that the copies have gone out and to whom they have gone. I think you can also include in the letter a reference to the fact that you have tried several times to contact them and that you are getting the same story all the time or else you are not able to get through at all.

Let us know what happens. Start recording your calls. The calls you have had would already have been extremely useful for a complaint to your bank or to the courts. Read our customer services guide

I dontbthink i can record my calls.

I have just sent an e-mail to their head office stating they are in breach of the consumer rights act and asked them to respond via e-mail so I have a record of what's happening.

I dontbthink i can record my calls.

If you're using a mobile, there are some good free apps out there for Android and iPhone. I use "Automatic Call Recorder" (on Android) and available here > https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appstar.callrecorder&hl=en_GB I don't use an iPhone, but it's probably on the Appstore as well

If you're using a mobile, there are some good free apps out there for Android and iPhone. I use "Automatic Call Recorder" (on Android) and available here > https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appstar.callrecorder&hl=en_GB I don't use an iPhone, but it's probably on the Appstore as well

iPhones can’t “natively” record calls (due to restrictions on the microphone by ‘other apps’ during calls). There is an easy solution (an app that records by calling it as a conference call.

I use:

TapeACall Lite: Call Recorder by Epic Enterprises

Just don’t forget to merge the calls!

If you read our customer services guide you will find that specific recommendations have been made for recording with iPhones and other non-android telephones – including landlines

A bit of a result.

Tom from Ashton branch who is a service manager called in reply to my email to say that in fact we are correct and the car would be repaired free of charge and could be taken to our more preferred local branch.

But we will still need to have the car recovered to that branch.

As yet I have been unable to contact service there to book the car in:-x

My worry now is how long would be reasonable a time limit for them to complete the repair.

After reading some reviews etc of people waiting weeks and seeing a whole Facebook group dedicated to their bad services I'm beginning to wonder if its all worth it.

But its a step in the right direction that they have admitted liability

Thanks to all who have replied so far.

I'll update as things progress, or not

I suggest that you respond with an email confirming the conversation as I am certain that you haven't recorded it.

Secondly, you are quite right to be worried about a poor repair and I think that it is worth pointing out to him that they have one opportunity to repair and if the repair fails then under the Consumer Rights Act you are then entitled to have a replacement or refund. I think it is worth pointing out that you are fully aware of this and therefore that the repair must be of proper quality.

You are right to ask how long you should wait for the repair to be carried out. I think it should be carried out within seven days. I think you should point this out to him an email as well. You may as well let all of your cards down on the table so that everything is clear to them.

Finally, they have told you that you are responsible for getting the car to them. This is completely wrong. They are responsible for that that if you are able to get it to them quickly then it is probably better to do that and then to claim back the losses that you might have suffered.

On the other hand, if it causes a problem getting the car recovered to the garage then I should explain to them in an email that you are unable to do that. You are not equipped – whereas they certainly are – and therefore you expect them to take all reasonable measures to take the car and to repair it and return it to you within seven days.

Update.

After speaking to someone at the local branch the car has been booked in for repair next Tuesday.

I have emailed head office to ask for confirmation in writing that the repair will be free of charges as per my rights under the CRA.