Paying for vehicle repairs on credit card

leapfrog_2

Can anyone help me telling me where to start with this one.To cut a very long story very short indeed, after waiting two weeks for a 3 day repair- job, my husband collected his van yesterday, after having a new (reconditioned engine) put in. Both fan belt and drive belt had been replaced as part of the repair. He did a couple of test drives, all seemed OK, and drove away. The van barely made it home -overheating, losing oil and water, power steering no longer working, heater not working etc. etc. At this stage, we are not sure whether the problem is with the part or the workmanship. We will get it looked at by our local garage and a full report early next week.

Now the crux - he paid for the repair on credit card - (NatWest Visa/Mastercard linked to a UK Advantage Gold account) over £900 - and the garage gave the engine a 3 month guarantee. Where do we start and what is the credit card company's role in this?

An added complication. "Why not go back to the garage?" I hear you ask. Because the garage is in Stratford East London and we live in Normandy, France. My husband asked at the time about how a guarantee would work, should there be a problem in France and they said they'd arrange shipment of a replacement engine and fitting locally to us, along with collection of the faulty part.

Any advice before I try to start with the credit card company (NatWest) would be gratefully received.

empfun

Contact the workshop that fixed and guaranteed your engine and get them to fix it. I don't understand why CC company should be involved unless there is a dispute.

leapfrog_2

Believe me, after the hassle we have had, we are expecting a dispute!

We want to know exactly where we stand before talking to the garage that did the repair. The steps we will be taking are to get an idea of the damage (and a price for rectifying the problem locally); contact the garage in London and see what they will do; contact the credit card company, if no joy with the garage direct. We understand that we should be covered in any case by the sale of goods act and, based on information on consumer protection on this site, that the credit card company and the garage may share a liability.

OldNelly

There was a feature on dodgy engine replacements on the BBC's Watchdog program this week. Loads of people in a similar situation to yourself, I understand the situation you are in.

Dont know if you experience was with the same company but you may find some advice here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/transport/transport_20060207.shtml

It is my understanding that you should be able to get your money back from the Credit Card company, but I am new to CCs so can not be sure.

Hope this helps.

Angie8

I've done a chargeback on my credit card so I speak from past experience.

First of all you must try and sort things out with the garage. Only if you have no joy with them should you bother contacting the credit card company.

The credit card company have equal responsiblility under the Consumer Credit Act, but they should really be your last port of call. You must try to sort your problems out with the garage first.

You really need to go back to the garage where you got the work done first. If this second (local) garage looks at it the engine, the first garage could claim they have messed with it and therefore they have botched things up. This could complicate matters even further.

leapfrog_2

Angie8 wrote:

You really need to go back to the garage where you got the work done first. If this second (local) garage looks at it the engine, the first garage could claim they have messed with it and therefore they have botched things up. This could complicate matters even further.

Thanks for the tips regarding the consumer act, Angie8, but we there's no way we can now afford to take the vehicle back to East London from Normandy! We have to get a report from a professional on the problem with the vehicle.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Something similar to this happened to a vehicle owned by a relative of mine. They paid for the AA to inspect it, which the garage agreed to, and were reimbursed with the full cost of the job. I imagine any reputable garage would agree to an AA inspection and act on the findings.