We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Garage negligence - do I have to pay the service?
The_Cardinal
Posts: 40 Forumite
in Motoring
I had my car serviced last week and the garage called me to tell me that I needed a new wiper mechanism but that they didn't have one in stock. I told them that they couldn't keep the car overnight as I needed it the following morning and that I would book the car back in for the work to be carried out (under warranty).
That evening, after dark, they returned my car. I checked the tyres as I had had them replaced and I checked for any damage to the paintwork.
The next morning at 7.30, after it had been snowing all night, my wife packed the kids into the car to take them to school. She engaged the wipers and only one of them worked. When she got out to see what the problem was she found that there was no nearside wiper mechanism on the car at all! The garage had removed it and failed to inform me. Due to this she was unable to get the kids to school and she was unable to go to work. If it hadn't snowed overnight my wife could have been on her way to school with the kids when it started snowing and she would have been stuck in a vehicle that was not roadworthy. They came out to us four hours later and took our car back to the garage to fit the wiper mechanism. They had the car for an additional two days.
I had already paid for the service using my credit card and I have written to the garage telling them that I am not prepared to pay the servicing costs, although I will pay for any parts. I intend to instruct the card company to chargeback the entire bill and pay the garage for the parts seperately.
The Sale of Goods and Services Act states that I should not have to pay for a service if the service provider is negligent.
The garage have offered me £100 off of my next service and a free MOT when it's due in January.
I don't think that I should pay anything for the service as the loss of a day's work is more than the cost of the service. If anything, I should be receiving compensation from the garage! Furthermore, why would I want to get my car serviced there again!
Am I within my rights to pursue this course of action?
That evening, after dark, they returned my car. I checked the tyres as I had had them replaced and I checked for any damage to the paintwork.
The next morning at 7.30, after it had been snowing all night, my wife packed the kids into the car to take them to school. She engaged the wipers and only one of them worked. When she got out to see what the problem was she found that there was no nearside wiper mechanism on the car at all! The garage had removed it and failed to inform me. Due to this she was unable to get the kids to school and she was unable to go to work. If it hadn't snowed overnight my wife could have been on her way to school with the kids when it started snowing and she would have been stuck in a vehicle that was not roadworthy. They came out to us four hours later and took our car back to the garage to fit the wiper mechanism. They had the car for an additional two days.
I had already paid for the service using my credit card and I have written to the garage telling them that I am not prepared to pay the servicing costs, although I will pay for any parts. I intend to instruct the card company to chargeback the entire bill and pay the garage for the parts seperately.
The Sale of Goods and Services Act states that I should not have to pay for a service if the service provider is negligent.
The garage have offered me £100 off of my next service and a free MOT when it's due in January.
I don't think that I should pay anything for the service as the loss of a day's work is more than the cost of the service. If anything, I should be receiving compensation from the garage! Furthermore, why would I want to get my car serviced there again!
Am I within my rights to pursue this course of action?
0
Comments
-
So they told you the wipers didn't work, you refused to let them keep the car and your surprised to find the wiper mech missing?
Am I missing the point here?“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
Well, you certainly don't have any rights to claim compensation for lost day's work IMO. £100 off service and free MOT seems fairly generous to me and I'd accept. You might not have had a good experience this time, but I'd be surprised if they didn't try extra hard to ensure their work is better next time.0
-
But you knew the wipers didn't work properly, as they told you it needed a new wiper mechanism.
If they had put it all back together, chances are it wouldn't have worked anyway. And if it worked fine previously, why did it need a new mechanism?0 -
I could be wrong, but I have images of the OP demanding their car back despite being told it needed a wiper mechanism replacing? Im not sure why/how you think you can complain about this???
Logistics across the country is pretty messed up right now due to the weather, parts aren't so easy to get hold of and for a garage/dealership to stock every single part for every car they sell would require a warehouse the size of a football pitch.
I'd also love to know what this has to do with the service cost....... It's an unrelated item!“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
When the car was taken to the garage the wipers did work. I was not told that the wiper mechanism had been removed. I was simply told that it needed to be replaced. I did not demand the car back. It was returned by the garage.0
-
Strider590 wrote: »I'd also love to know what this has to do with the service cost....... It's an unrelated item!
The garage was negligent in that they returned an unroadworthy vehicle to me. in fact, their driver shouldn't even be driving the car without a wiper on it and they certainly shouldn't be expecting me to drive the car in that state.
My wife was forced to miss a day at work becuae of the negligence of the garage. How is that not related?0 -
Those were the days. I remember when I was a lad that Mann Egerton in Norwich did have a warehouse the size of a football pitch. Walk in off the street and pick up a set of valves and guides and some obscure trim fittings. Couldn't do that now.Strider590 wrote: »................ and for a garage/dealership to stock every single part for every car they sell would require a warehouse the size of a football pitch.
0 -
I think Strider was refering to the Service. That looks to he been done correctly.0
-
They took the car away for a day to perform a service. They remove the wiper mechanism without informing me then return the vehicle in an unroadworthy state.
Subsequently, and as a direct result of their negligence during the service, they have to take the car for another two days to fix it.
How did they perform the service correctly and within the agreed time?0 -
The_Cardinal wrote: »
How did they perform the service correctly and within the agreed time?
Is the removal and replacement of a wiper motor part of a routine Service?
No.
Was there a problem with tasks such as the oild and filter changes, checking of tyres and brakes?
No.
Therefore the Service was done correctly.;)0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.3K Spending & Discounts
- 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 601.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.6K Life & Family
- 259.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards