Garage have had car for a month - promised week max - looking dodgy

[paulfoel]

Talked the talk when I booked it in - week maximum blah blah blah.
After two weeks, taking days to get hold of someone they told me the part was delayed.
Last week, they said the part was in. Today someone else told me the part wasnt there
 

Having read some REALLY bad reviews I'm a little concerned. I have no idea what they are playing at.
What are my legal rights? Its a gearbox replacement and I've got a feeling they've already taken the old one out.

 

Im hoping they are just being completely useless but I am beginning to wonder.

[BankFodder]

Could you please go to the story a little bit more carefully. Give us a bullet pointed chronology and also tell us the name of the garage you are dealing with.

Did you buy it from them? Or are they simply a repair garage?

 

[paulfoel]

Id rather give the garage the benefit of the doubt for now if thats ok.

 

It was a faulty gearbox. Looked around for someone to fix and found on internet.

Guy was good as gold told me 7-10 days max but probably sorted in a week.

 

4 weeks ago - car goes in.

After 7 days I ring them every day or two. After two weeks they tell me part is on "back order" and could take up to 14 days.

Week ago I ring them again - part arrived today. Should be done in 4-5 days.

This week its taken me 3 days to get hold of someone. Today I spoke to someone who said no the part wasn't in (I got the impression he knew he'd dropped someone in it).

 

I've asked for someone to call me back to explain whats going on. As usual, no call back.

[paulfoel]

Looks like they've decided they dont want to do it after all. 4 weeks and now they've told me they cant get the parts.

 

I found the part online in 10 mins this am. Oh well, bullet dodged maybe because car has just sat there for 4 weeks.

 

Another completely useless garage.

[paulfoel]

Car was recently in the garage.

I booked it in three weeks ago and spoke to them on the phone saying I'd sort out getting car to them.

They said no its ok we'll come and get it no problem at all.

 

So they take it, do some work (which I'm happy to pay for) and then I notice a charge of £100+VAT for RECOVERY AS REQUESTED.

I pointed out to garage that maybe when we discussed collection it would have been wise to advise me of this charge.

I also pointed out, even the AA would only have charged me £65.

 

Answer was "tough thats my standard recovery fee - you did ask and its not my fault if I can't do it as cheap as others".

Hardly recovery when it was arranged three weeks in advance.

More like, I'll offer, not tell him how much, then rinse him later.

 

Best of all

- I decided after this not to go ahead with the work. £100+VAT if I want it back! (No thanks mate I'll phone AA thanks).

Glad I never took courtesy car off him - he'd have keep quiet then added £200 to the bill!

 

Where do I stand legally?

Of course, got to pay to get the car back.

Possibly he'd done nothing illegal apart from being a total ******?

 

Bit of background

- he did make a real  p@ss take of an offer (about 20% of what its worth in its current state) to buy the car to refurbish himself,  and knock off the repair bill too.

And of course I wouldn't need to get it transported back.

 

I get the impression he was hoping I'd go for the easy option and cut my losses.

Very poor behavior undoubtedly but do I have a leg to stand on complaining about the unspecified recovery charge?

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

bet he wont let the car go when the aa turn up either.

 

very sharp practice and I bet you didn't record the calls?

 

dx

[ericsbrother]

the law is on your side as far as contrcats go but you have a big problem- the law allows the garage to keep yur car in lieu of any monies owed them so you cant get your car back until you pay the money!

Now, if you decide to sue to get your hundred quid back then you will have to show soem evidenec of the conversation that took place about the collection and you cant, can you. So you will get sympathy but no money.

I would swallow on it and complain to the local trading standards, chances are they have already heard of him and if they get enough complaints they may well act but wont move on a single complaint.

[paulfoel]

Yes I know I've got to pay - its wrong they can make up charges like this.

 

I do actually have the facebook conversation saved where I tell him where I am and say its going to be a problem getting car to him and hes answered:- 

 

"Hi there yes we can take care of that for you. We could collect it on a trailer and bring it in so that isn't an issue either"

 

No mention of cost anywhere until I get the invoice. I even messaged him to thank him for collecting it. Bet he though yeh right you've just been charged £120!

 

Surely I'm not the first to have an issue with this guy. All dealings with him have been about him trying to screw as much money.

 

Hes messaged me today to tell me- get car moved tomorrow or pay him £120 or hes going to dump it on the street. 

[PIXeL_92]

Let him dump it on the street and just get the AA to collect it if he has left it on a public road, then you at least have your car whilst you argue the charge.

[paulfoel]

5 hours ago, PIXeL_92 said:

Let him dump it on the street and just get the AA to collect it if he has left it on a public road, then you at least have your car whilst you argue the charge.

 

Its got no tax and no mot. And hes said he wont let me have the keys until I pay - guys a crook.

 

Im going to have to pay for now.

[paulfoel]

I guess its a grey area. You provide you're car to the garage and sometimes they give you a quote for work sometimes they don't.

 

But generally you dont say, what you're charging me £30 an hour to do the work -  I thought it was free. How far do you take this?

 

Personally, I think offering a service without advising someone, that could be construed as being an added extra (e.g. a lot of garages will collect car for free, provide courtesy car for free etc) and then hitting with a charge more than double what you know they could have sorted themselves is just plain wrong IMHO.

[paulfoel]

Well I paid in full and informed him that I was not happy about the charge. Hes emailed me to argue now.

 

Given him a massive benefit of the doubt that he simply forgot to mention it, he still doesn't think he's done anything wrong. Hes trying to say his charge is fair, I can't expect it for free etc.

 

He just doesn't seem to want to understand that hes charged me a permium, I could have got it sorted for much cheaper, and, its not true that some garages don't offer free collection. I've had this many times with other cars.

 

Personally, I think hes "accidentally on purpose" forgot to mention knowing that its an easy £120 which I pretty much can't get out of later because he'll have my car.

 

Worse still even when I complained in the first instance and said £120 was excessive because he didn't tell me, and I could have got it there for £55, he still wanted ANOTHER £120 to bring it back, and then has demanded it go today. If he'd brought it back for free (£120 two journeys)  and not been awkward about it I'd have let it go.

 

Not now. Hes made his decision now hes going to have to stand by it with the bad publicity.

[paulfoel]

Surely he can't do this? Seems a bit much - accept my offer or I'm going to threaten you. Surely the idea of the small claims court is you can enter valid claims without being threatened with legal action yourself.

He actually officially responded with this:-

"I will be taking the matter further, and will also be issuing a counter claim for my costs and time taken from business in dealing with this issue, and the stress and anxiety this has caused me"

If this conduct is unnacceptable, who can I complain to?

[honeybee13]

Hi.

 

Do you have a thread running about this already?

 

HB

[paulfoel]

4 minutes ago, honeybee13 said:

Hi.

 

Do you have a thread running about this already?

 

HB

 

No - I dont think I duplicate posted did I?

[honeybee13]

Sorry,  I didn't mean that you had. I just wondered as the case is quite advanced whether we'd seen anything about it before. It always helps the advisers to see the history. 

 

HB

[BankFodder]

I'm afraid that we can't possibly guess what the story is so you will have to explain it to us.  You've been here since 2010 - so you must realise that.

He can't counterclaim for costs - so the fact that he says that makes it clear that he has no idea what he is talking about. 

 

On the other hand if you are claiming more than £10000 then if you lose, you may have t pay the winner's costs - but as you have given us absolutely no detail - I don't think that there is more that we can say

[Raven1]

We are all equal under the law. The courts are not just a hit squad for the claimant. 'He' may well believe you are threatening him.

[paulfoel]

OK heres the full story....

 

My wifes has an old classic car thats off the road. I phoned this guy and he said he could look at in 6 weeks. We discussed the fact that the car was not driveable and his exact words were "no problem I'm happy to collect it on my traier".

 

Off it goes. Went ahead with some of the work, not all - still not driveable. So he tells me £100 if you want it back. Then he gives me the invoice for the work done and I see "Collection Fee £100". In the end I have to pay the bill to get the car released but I let him know I'm not happy - I also arrange my own recovery for £55.

 

Anyway, I tell him that he made no mention of the £100 fee  when he offered to collect the car. Also, he must have known his £100 fee was a premium fee yet chose to keep quiet about it. 

 

His attitude was that's my fee, you didn't ask, tough luck, nothing is free. I pointed out that I had recently had a similar experience with the gearbox on my car and recovery to the garage in question was included.  Also, with 6 weeks notice, I could have got the car to him a lot cheaper than £100 . - his attitude, tough I charge £100.

 

So after letters, he offered £45 on the basis it would have cost me £55 anyway. To be honest, I'd have got a mate to tow it for free with 6 weeks to do it.

 

Personally, I think he knows that being vague has allowed him to charge £100. He knew damn well what he was doing.

 

So I entered the small claim and his response has been as above.

[BankFodder]

You say that you have started the claim???  Please post the claim form

[honeybee13]

Does this relate to your threads here in April?

 

HB

[paulfoel]

2 minutes ago, honeybee13 said:

Does this relate to your threads here in April?

 

HB

 

Sorry yes I'd forgotten about that. Can we merge?

[BankFodder]

I see that You didn't want to tell us who the repairer was because you wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Would you like to tell us who they are now? Also I'm waiting to hear about this claim form

[paulfoel]

Merged wth wrong thread BTW

Ross Thomas - Thomas Classic and Modern Cwmbran

 

I'll get claim form posted.

[BankFodder]

Please will you link to the correct thread and I'll merge them