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

[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.

[gavino76]

A bar was put in place for roadstar autocentre on 10/12/2020

roadstar autocentre filed a defence on 10/12/2020

DQ sent to roadstar autocentre on 10/12/2020

 

 

 

[gavino76]

hi bank fodder.

 

I'm looking through the guidance at the moment. It states the onus is on me to advise the court on how i want to proceed once the defendant has filed a response (Defence)

 

im looking at my claim online and there is no further information, i cannot view the defendants defence. what should i do now, do i wait for the DQ to come back from the defendant? its a little bit stressful. i feel a little out of my depth, not having done this before. Although i believe im right.

[gavino76]

hello there

 

am i waiting to receive paperwork from the court? i don't want to waste  time.

[gavino76]

thank you

[gavino76]

hello. i received the DQ today and with it, a copy of the defence. the defence is as follows:

 

Quote

 

Mr gavino76 picked his car up on the 4th January 2020 and returned about a week later stating a problem with the turbo charger.

 

The vehicle was examined by 2 mechanics and no problem found.

 

Mr gavino76 came into us again end of January for a quote on further work he needed. 

When eventually complained again of problem with the turbocharger

 

he was to deal with our head office and given an email address plus direct line telephone number.

 

Mrgavino76 was asked to let our head office have supporting evidence that the car went to an independent garage.

Our head office heard nothing from him either by email or phone.

 

The head office tried to phone him but the phone call went unanswered. 

 

Should mr gavino76 furnish us with the supporting evidence we would of course take it into consideration.

 

 

the defence was dated 7th dec 2020.

 

the info on my claim history is:

 

A bar was put in place for roadstar autocentre on 10/12/2020

roadstar autocentre filed a defence on 10/12/2020

DQ sent to roadstar autocentre on 10/12/2020

 

the vehicle we're actually talking about is a van. a large red van.

the high pitched screaming was apparent from the moment i drove way from the garage,

 

due to the sheer volume of work i faced after returning from xmas break it was just not convenient to me to return it for examination, and also they never seemed to have availability.

 

the garage had it at the end of jan 2019 for around 2 weeks and one of the problems id raised was the heater was not working. in the 2 weeks they had it, they could not fix it or explain why.

 

when i returned at the end of jan to try to have the heater fixed again (which they still couldnt manage), they 'examined' the screeching noise. they told me that there was a couple of screws loose and it had been sorted. and that they had put a dye into the engine to find the oil leak.

 

on their defence, they have stated that the vehicle was examined by 2 mechanics and no problem found. They have signed this to be true.

 

upon leaving the garage the van was still screaming,

i called the garage and we ended up having an argument.

 

the garage manager is very blunt and rude and totally unhelpful.

 

I emailed the manager to say 'i am not interested in a stupid argument, i want the screaming fixed, i have paid almost £2000 without question now i am receiving terrible customer service.'

 

as i was so busy at work it was impossible to get back to the garage on the few occasions they did have a slot.

 

there was a period of time during the year when the noise stopped, or was almost imperceptible, and it was so draining trying to deal with the garage that i left it. and eventually, it came back.

 

after a few calls or emails i was told the mechanic that done the work would come for a drive with me to determine the source of the noise.

 

we drove, the high pitch noise screamed, i asked him if he could hear it, and he sat next to me in my own van, looked me in the eye, and said no.

 

i took him back to the garage. i emailed the manager to ask for a verdict, no reply.

when i rang him, he told me the noise was not mechanical (the noise the mechanic said he couldn't hear) and it was nothing to do with them and not their problem.

 

i was seething yet i did not know what to do, as i did not know what i could do.

i suffered it.

 

at some point the power to the van was suffering and it was almost as though something was not working.

i took it to a garage that the man i work for recommend, and they found the problem straight away.

 

the turbo had been incorrectly installed.

a part that was renewed by the new garage was given to me to keep, and was clearly burnt and damaged.

 

i do understand that I'm a bit all over the place here, we're talking about january to september.

 

would anyone be able to advise me in how to proceed without writing a novel,  or is this a necessity.

its a little bit difficult as it was over quite a long time,

 

i can't precisely remember the exact sequence of events. i do have quite a few emails, can i use these as evidence.

 

i understand i am to ask for mediation.

[gavino76]

There was more phone conversation than emails. 

 

I do have the defects report from ford which I sent via email to the garage. But not anything from the garage telling me they cannot find a problem 

 

I have 2-4 emails sent to the garage saying that there is a screaming noise and how could you give it back to me like that, I need it looked at asap pls.

 

At the time I didn't know the turbo was blown.

 

They have also said In their defence how they asked me to contact head office and was asked to furnish them with evidence of having been to an independent garage, I have an email from the garage asking for the invoice from the independent garage which I sent in to them.

 

I will contact the  independent garage first thing in the morning.

 

 

[gavino76]

i have the mechanics mobile number that repaired the turbo. i messaged him, and called him. he has not responded.

i called the garage. the secretary said to me, most of the information is on the invoice. i did say i need a written statement for court ands she is prepared to do so and has sent it through the post on headed paper. not going to manage a written statement from the mechanic unfortunately.

 

i do have emails, not many. most of the corresponding was done via phone unfortunately, i didn't know it would come to this.

 

the court is 10 mins walk from my house. the defendant is based 5 mins walk from the court. i may return the forms in person? will save time. is this ok?

 

 

[gavino76]

iI've printed off all the emails that were swapped between us. one of which is a photo of the faults list from ford but no conversation.

 

one of which is me mentioning to them that they asked me to take my van to fords to find the faults as they couldnt manage it.

 

one of which is the invoice from the independent garage for the repair to turbo.

 

i have the parts which were removed during the repair, one of which is burnt.

 

i am waiting for the letter from the independent garage to add.

 

so i print X3 copies of DQ? and serve copies on all other parties. do i post a copy direct to them?

[gavino76]

Hello guys. Sorry for the gap between updates. I have been completely wiped out with Corona virus. 

 

The last thing I done was posted off the n180 and I am waiting for a response. Also, I registered with the mediation service and have heard from them on email.

 

Thank you

[gavino76]

So my van has been back for an MOT. (At the new garage i use which was responsible for repairing the turbo) and they have had to replace the water pump (which was replaced with the turbo at the garage I am taking to court)

 

How can I add this to my current case, or is it too late, please advise on what I should do.

 

Thank you

[gavino76]

Sorry.

 

A claim has been issued for the cost of the labour of the installation of the turbo. It was defended. I have returned the DQ.

 

My van has been in to the new garage I use and the water pump needs to be replaced at a cost of £220, this being after it was replaced along with the turbo that was blown during the initial work Dec 2019

[gavino76]

Ok then. I'll bear this all in mind, thanks again.

[gavino76]

hello. i have my telephone appointment set for thurs 28th jan between 8 and 10am for approx an hour.

 

I've read some posts re vs hermes, and i will be assertive. this incident is from dec 2019, i dont have an exact timeline of how this all unfolded, will they focus on specific dates, i cant see how they would make a difference to the outcome?

[gavino76]

yes, sorry

 

[gavino76]

Yes they asked me for the invoice of the repair. I sent it to them immediately, and I also said I don't want to have a huge row about it, if you can just pay for the repair (approx £180) I'll leave it there .  

 

I had to chase again after a while of being patient then I was told to contact head office to see if I could have my money.

 

It was at that point I decided to take action as I was fed up with it, and that they should be helping me not faffing me around. I hope that this decision doesn't come back to haunt me

[gavino76]

This is on a headed letter.

 

I also have the blown gasket and incorrect screws used.

 

[gavino76]

Apologies. Couldn't edit.

[gavino76]

I'm not sure youve asked me the name of the garage I'm suing - I don't believe you have. I may have stated it In previous posts. Would you like to know it?

 

Is my photo of the letter on headed paper from the garage that re- fitted the turbo ok? I purposely left out their details.

[gavino76]

That's totally fine.

 

Yes, that's the one.

 

[gavino76]

I'm sure, yes. The mechanic was very methodical and had the whole engine area stripped out and cleaned down (from soot and oil that had been leaking and blowing all over the engine) he then showed me the parts. The gasket is actually burnt.

[gavino76]

I can ask the secretary. The mechanic does not wish to talk outside discussing work to be done.

[gavino76]

Hello guys how are you. I have just got off the phone to the mediator. The garage who initially changed the turbo are saying that I haven't suffered a loss of £480. (Cost of labour to renew turbo) The only loss I have suffered is the £185.01 I had to pay the independent garage to repair the turbo. They said a gasket can go at any time. ( In this case almost immediately after I drove away after the repair) and that I didn't follow the complaints procedure.

 

Mediator says if it goes to court I have to prove a loss.

 

And the £185.01 is the only loss...

 

The initial garage said they would pay the 185.01 and my court fee, I'm not sure what to do, this is what I wanted in the first place but I've had to come here to get it.

[gavino76]

I've just spoken to the independent garage who repaired the turbo. The told me the turbo was poorly fitted resulting in the gasket burning. So the initial installation was poor. It's not about the money, it's about the principal. I don't really need the money - or the stress of a court case. But they have handled me poorly and I'm very unhappy about it. I think I will proceed.