Roadstar Autocentre - i've raised a Court Claim re: terrible service after wrongly fitting a turbo **WON**

[BankFodder]

It's not necessary to see an invoice.

You will have to figure out how much you paid for the installation part of the work which was carried out – because that is what you want to claim back. If it's not clear what proportion of the bill was in respect of the installation, then you will probably need to get some outside opinions – independent opinions – as to the cost of an installation. It would be better to understate the value then overstate it – because if the cost is not clear then that could become the subject of a dispute if you take this to court.

You will be better off identifying an amount of money which you could reasonably attribute to the cost of installing the new turbo – and which will be supported by independent evidence – and which will be accepted without much question from the judge.

[gavino76]

Ok. On the invoice I'm quite sure they've stated 5 hours labour for installation. So I'll go with that amount. 

 

I'll tweak this template I have later and show you asap. Thank you for your time.

[BankFodder]

"Quite sure" suggests that you're not completely sure and that you are guessing to the best of your recollection.

Don't.

Be sure.

[gavino76]

I will do. I'll check the invoice tonight and make sure I have the right amount.

[gavino76]

21 Upper bridge road, chelmsford, CM2 0AY

Roadstar LTD, new writtle street, chelmsford, CM2 0LF

Dear Jon sharply 

Reference: Faulty turbo installation

As it has not been possible to resolve this matter amicably, and it is apparent that court action may be necessary, I write in compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.

 

At the end of 2019 I asked you to check my vehicle for problems. After leaving my vehicle with you at your request, you could not find any problems and told me to take it to ford. Ford provided a list of problems, one of which was that the turbo had stopped working. I asked you to replace it. Immediately Upon receiving my vehicle back, a high pitched screaming emitted from the engine area. You sent the mechanic who fitted the turbo out on a drive with me and he told me to my face he could not hear the high pitched screaming coming from my engine. I emailed you to ask what was going to happen and you completely ignored me. I called you and you told me it was nothing to do with you and not your problem.

 

From you I am claiming: £480 for 5 hours turbo installation

 

I have calculated this sum: From the amount stated on your invoice.

 

Listed below are the documents on which I intend to rely in my claim against you:

Invoice from an independent garage who repaired the faulty work you’ve done

 

In accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct I would request that you provide me with copies of the following documents:

[List any documents you want from the party you are claiming from]

 

I can confirm that I would be agreeable to mediation and would consider any other system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to avoid the need for this matter to be resolved by the courts. (NOT SURE ABOUT THIS?)

 

I would invite you to put forward any proposals in this regard. 

 

[Alternatively you can set out details of any ADR scheme that you would be prepared to use]

 

In closing, I would draw your attention to paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Practice Direction which gives the courts the power to impose sanctions on the parties if they fail to comply with the direction including failing to respond to this letter before claim. 

I look forward to hearing from you within the next 28 days. 

 

Should I not receive a response to my letter within this time frame, then I anticipate that court action will be commenced with no further reference to you.

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

hello. ive had to copy and paste this as i can seem to use word - it didn't look like this before i pasted it. Am i on the right track?

[dx100uk]

5 hours ago, gavino76 said:

hello. ive had to copy and paste this as i can seem to use word - it didn't look like this before i pasted it. Am i on the right track?

 

sorted for you

 

dx

 

[BankFodder]

The letter has far too much in it – some of it is not relevant – and apart from anything else, if he didn't comply with the various things that you are saying, you wouldn't know what to do about it.

The best thing to do is to keep it simple.

 

Quote

Dear XXX

On XX date I left my vehicle registration XXX to investigate for certain problems. You reported that you were unable to find anything wrong. You recommended that I take it to a Ford dealership.

The Ford dealership reported that amongst other things the turbo had ceased to function – which you had not discovered.

I returned the vehicle to you and asked you to replace the turbo. You did so and charged me for the turbo £XXX and also £XXX Labour for installation.

Within a short time the turbo unit started to make serious noises but when I telephoned you about it you told me that it was not your problem and that you wouldn't do anything about it.

I have since had to take the car to a another repairer who discovered that the turbocharger had been incorrectly installed. They were obliged to remove it and reinstall it correctly and it is now working satisfactorily.

This means that I have unnecessary paid you £XXX for the installation of the turbo.

I require the refund of this money.

I have tried to engage with you on this but you have declined to become involved.

If I do not receive a full refund within 14 days that I will sue you in the County Court and without any further notice.

Yours sincerely
 

 

[BankFodder]

I hope you won't mind me saying that when you draft letters or documents, you should be using words and phrases that you understand and that you understand the impact of – and in that way you will be confident and in control. If you simply cut-and-paste stuff from other sources that you don't really know what they mean, then it will look as if you are making up as you go along – and you will never have confidence in what you do.

[gavino76]

Thanks. Yes you're right. It was a template on which? I thought there was certain things that had to be said.

 

Ok so I'll add my details, and send by recorded post?

[BankFodder]

If you don't understand what you're saying then don't say it.

 

Yes recorded post is a good idea

[gavino76]

should i send to the manager of the garage or head office?

[gavino76]

Dear jon

In December 2019 I left you my vehicle to investigate for certain problems. You reported that you were unable to find anything wrong. You recommended that I take it to a Ford dealership.

The Ford dealership reported that amongst other things the turbo had ceased to function – which you had not discovered.

I returned the vehicle to you and ask you to replace the turbo. You did so and charged me £742.50 for the turbo and also £480 Labour for installation.

Immediately after i drove it away from you the turbo unit started to make serious noises but when I telephoned you about it you told me that it was not your problem and that you wouldn't do anything about it.

I have since had to take the car to a another garage who discovered that the turbo had been incorrectly installed, They were obliged to remove it and reinstall it correctly and it is now working satisfactorily.

This means that I have unnecessary paid you £480 for the installation of the turbo.

I require the refund of this money.

I have tried to engage with you on this but you have declined to become involved.

If I do not receive a full refund within 14 days that I will sue you in the County Court and without any further notice.

Yours sincerely
 

gavin 

[BankFodder]

Head office might be best

[gavino76]

thank you

[gavino76]

hello there.

 

So i have a receipt for proof of posting for the letter we have spoken about. Date of posting is 17th Nov.

 

I have had one missed call from the garage and that's it. can you let me know what i have to do next please?

[BankFodder]

Sorry, I'm not sure where you are on this. It's been so long since you engaged with this thread that I rather lost track.

Can you explain exactly what you've done so far.

[gavino76]

oh im sorry about that. i didn't want to constantly bombard you. Ive done as you said, and sent a letter to the garage by recorded post. the letter was written exactly as above.

 

ive had a missed call and that's about it

[BankFodder]

A number of things:

First of all, are you referring to the draft letter of claim which you posted up here on 30 October – a month ago? If so, then when did you send it?

Secondly, if you have sent a letter of claim giving 14 days and the deadline which you set out in the letter has expired, then why haven't you moved onto the next step? Haven't you read around this forum about the steps required to begin an action in the County Court so that you are ready to go the moment that your deadline expires? Do you understand the steps that you need to take? Have you registered on moneyclaim online?

We give advice here but it is a self-help forum and part of the deal is that we help you for free but in return you have to read around to understand where you are and what your next steps are. This means that you join in the effort with us and also you will gain confidence by understanding what to do rather than having to ask us for answers all the time.

So please let us know what date you sent the letter – and if you have registered with the County Court website – moneyclaim.

Finally, you sent us a very generous donation. Thank you very much indeed. It's appreciated very much – but I have refunded the money to you. I think that you sent it to us by way of an apology for bothering us but you're not bothering us and that's not what donations are for anyway.

What would be really helpful is if you would make sure that you understand all the steps and that you engage with the thread properly.

If you get a result – and I expect you will if you are tenacious and persistent about this, then you can certainly give us a donation if you want – and we will be pleased to accept.

[gavino76]

Hello.

 

yes, im referring to the draft letter of claim that i posted up a month ago. I done as you asked, sent it recorded delivery on the 17th november and left it at that as i had nothing  more to say? 

 

i haven't moved onto the next step as i did not know what it was, I've never made a claim before, done plenty of reading about it - as i have just done when logging into my government gateway account. I read the whole of the guidance info and its quite daunting. it may seem clear as day to you, and others as i have come across their posts, they seem to navigate quite easily though it.

 

Maybe I'm just unsure of myself. its quite clear that if you make a wrong entry it can be disastrous and time consuming.

 

Ive registered with MCOL. and begun a claim. is it against the garage, is it against the manager, you know, im just afraid to put a foot wrong,

 

I made the donation to show that im serious about this and i do genuinely appreciate your help as id otherwise have nowhere else to turn.

 

shall i make a draft POC  and let you see?

 

 

thanks 

•  

 

In December 2019 I left you my vehicle to 
investigate for certain problems.

Eventually you installed a new turbo with 
labour costing £480.

An independent garage has had to reinstall 
the turbo correctly as you would not engage 
with me when i complained to you about 
problems with it.

I have the faulty items in my possession as 
proof.

i now require the refund of this money 
including interest.

 

( My draft POC)

[BankFodder]

Okay, well it has the merit of being brief – and that's good. Most people want to write their life history.

I suggest:

Quote

On XXX date the defendant agreed to investigate and to repair a problem with the claimant's vehicle make XX registration XXX. The defendant discovered that the vehicle's turbocharger had failed and had to be replaced. The defendant replace the turbocharger at a cost of £XX for the replacement unit and £XXX labour charge. The repair failed and an independent garage discovered that the turbocharger had been incorrectly fitted. The defendant declined to rectify the problem and so the claimant paid the independent garage to refit the turbo unit which is now working satisfactory.
The claimant seeks reimbursement of £XXX wasted labour charge for the fitting of the turbo unit plus £XXX ancillary losses incurred plus interest pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts act 1984

 

 

Please have a look at this. I haven't looked back at your whole story so I'm not sure if this sums it up. Please let us know if there is anything missing or anything wrong and we will amend it. Also, I can't remember if you suffered additional losses for since by having to pay me for the car to be transported or anything. So I have included that in the POC but of course it can be removed.

If you did incur ancillary losses then please let us know what they were

[gavino76]

When i said they declined to rectify the problem, they had me collect the mechanic in question and drive him about to hear the high pitched screaming coming from the engine, which was more than clearly apparent as it was high pitched screaming, but he told me he couldnt hear anything.

 

so i guess we can just skip that right

 

 

 

there were no costs if I'm honest. just absolute inconvenience borrowing other vehicles trying to get into work 

 

In december 2019, the defendant agreed to 
investigate into repair a problem with the 
claimant's vehicle ford transit registration 
........ The defendant discovered that the 
vehicle's turbocharger had failed and had to 
be replaced. The defendant replaced the 
turbocharger at a cost of £742.50 for the 
replacement unit and £480 labour charge. 

The repair failed and an independent garage 
discovered that the turbocharger had been 
incorrectly fitted. The defendant declined to 
rectify the problem so the claimant paid an 
independent garage to refit the turbo unit 
which is now working satisfactorily. The 
claimant seeks reimbursement of £480 wasted 
labour charge for the fitting of the turbo 
unit, plus interest pursuant to section 69 county courts act 1984

[BankFodder]

That looks ok so if you are happy then send it off.

please will you start doing some proper reading about the steps which are going to happen. Follow the links >>>>> small claim county court

 

[gavino76]

i already have read the guidance, but i think ill need to read a it a few times! thanks again old chap.

ill report back asap

 

I've fulfilled the pre action requirements by sending the 14 day warning letter, and i have a receipt of posting. so i can continue?

[gavino76]

the claim has been sent

[gavino76]

Ive received a notice of issue from the court. The claim was issued on the 2nd december.

the court sent it 1st class post to the defendant  and it will be deemed to be served on the 7th december.

the defendant has until the 21st december to reply.