Hi D, yes with a couple of response forms if I want to pay or fight basically. x

I sent my horsebox (7.5T lorry) in for an MOT which I expect to cost me a couple of hundred pounds for a 7.5T lorry. When I went to collect the vehicle their invoice system wasn't working and being a regular customer (well once a year) they let me take the vehicle and agreed they would call me to take payment. Which they did a few days later, when I was presented with a figure of just under £1000! I then found out they had carried out 2 big pieces of work without my knowledge. My boyfriend is a mechanic and could have carried out this work for the cost of parts only! I told them this and their answer was "well we have done the work now so you have to pay". I told them I haven't even received an invoice and they would have to send one. They continued to chase me for the amount and I repeated that I still hadn't had an invoice! Finally a couple of months later an invoice arrived. In the meantime my boyfriend had looked at the work carried out. They had cut away trim which protected the engine bay and not replaced it. And they had cross threaded several bolt holes and only put 3 of 6 bolts in, a couple of which weren't in correctly as they were cross threaded. And this was to bolt on the exhaust downpipe. I sent a cheque for about £250 detailing why I was not paying for the labour of fitting those parts but did say I would pay for the parts. I also deducted a few hours labour for what it would cost me to get the bolt holes re-tapped by an independent engineer. The cheque was dated 23rd July 2015 and they didn't return it until 7th October 2015 (I'm sure they should have returned it before this!) They have now issued court proceedings for non-payment but I did offer some payment and they didn't want to accept. Has anyone has any similar issues and how did it get resolved or does anyone have any advice to where I stand legally? Your advice would be appreciated. Thank you Katie