Disputed Invoice

doublinedancer

I an a newby to this forum so please forgive any errors in protocol.
I have a lawnmower which was serviced by the local agent. He quoted £150 plus parts and some service parts would be included in that price however I was charged for everything and ended up with a bill for over £350.00. The mower then broke down and wouldn't start after 1 hours work. To make matters worse a split pin failed (or wasn't fitted) which caused further damage. The machine was collected again and repaired and i received another bill for £160.00.
I have lodged a complaint disputing the second invoice as this was solely caused by the service team in the first place, however i have reluctantly paid the first invoice.

It seems that they will put this into the hands of a debt collection agency but i find the saga very objectionable and if i have a good legal stance from which to fight i would like to do so.

Could someone assist with what the legal position is and do i have reasonable grounds to defend the case without involving expensive solicitors.

Thanks to anyone who can assist.

InsideInsurance

Ideally you needed the machine inspected by a 3rd party, ideally an independent engineer, before they did the second repair.

The question comes down to if the second set of damage was caused by their poor service or if it is purely coincidental that the breakdown occurred immediately after. You'd need to refer that to an expert on these things to get an opinion.

What was the flow of the conversation after it went back for the second repair though? Presumably they said before fixing it that they would be charging you for it rather than doing it as a warranty repair and you authorised it?

doublinedancer

Thanks for the reply II and apologies for the delay, had to go out yesterday afternoon.

The part that failed had been replaced. This is a ride on mower that came with the house that I've just purchased. The mowing unit under the machine is supported by a mounting bar that is fixed to the chassis by a pin which in turn is held in position by a locking split pin. This locking pin was either not fitted or broke but this allowed the the whole affair to fall apart and drop to the ground, which in turn shredded the driver belt which is what they are charging for along with the labour charge.

After recieving the mower back the first time i jumped on it and started mowing. After about 30/40 minutes it conked out which i found unusual as the previous owner had been using it just prior to my moving in. I called the service company who told me to try again as it may be flooded. After several futile attempts i asked them to visit site and take a look to which they replied they'd pick it up and take it to their workshop. I then received a call telling me that there was water in the fuel which was causing the engine to keep stopping. I said i found that hard to believe that the cause was at my end as i hadn't touched the machine at all and the previous owner had been using it without problem. I also commented that it had been washed by them as it was much cleaner. I asked for a sample of the fuel to be sent to me when they brought it back but they failed to do so and presented me with their second invoice for parts, labour and collection/delivery.

bod1467

You can safely ignore any debt collection agency ... unless they have a high court writ of enforcement (which means there will have been a preceding court case) then they are completely toothless. They won't be visiting your property - anything will be my mail only, which you either ignore or respond to them to say the debt is denied and to refer it to their client.

The service company would need to raise a small claims court action to try and force you to pay, at which point you could defend yourself. As small claims are based on the balance of probabilities, if you can prove (or otherwise demonstrate) that the company washed the mower during the first service then it would be entirely reasonable to surmise that water in the fuel occurred at that time.

doublinedancer

Thanks for that Bod, puts mind mind at rest.
Proving they washed it will be a bit of a challenge as its now 1 month ago. I've been trying to find out where i stand in the meantime eventually trying MSE. My letter to them included a description of the circumstances and the following paragraphs:

Finally I would add that after seeking advice I am advisedthat the second Invoice is in contravention of the Supply of Goods and ServicesAct 1982, part of which states in section 4 (2A) “For the purposesof this section and section 5 below, goods are of satisfactory quality if theymeet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, takingaccount of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and allrelevant circumstances.

Lastly may I draw you attention to your own website whichstates:
“We pride ourselves on ourfast efficient customer service and the quality of our product.

It's when things go wrongwe can really shine as our engineers are fast, efficient and above allhonest. When you go to your mower and it doesn't work you need to know that youare leaving the job in the hands of a professional.

At Michaels Mowers all our repairs are carried out in-house so we can makesure the quality of the repair is first class.”

I would contest that I have not received that which isadvertised above. Certainly had the locking pin been fitted the cutting boxwould not have fallen down and wrecked the drive belt and if it was fitted,there should be an expected lifespan of more than 30 minutes.
Thanks to any contributors.