Car garage fitted aftermarket part against my request

domdeath

Hello

I recently took my car to a local garage for an MOT and to change the brake discs and pads. When I did this I requested that the discs were changed with a like for like part, in this case a "cross-drilled" disc.

The MOT went fine however when I collected my car I noticed the discs had been fitted with a plain disc. (Had I known they were to fit a plain disc, I would not have asked them to do the work). I made this clear at the time however he forced me to pay and insisted he had spoken with the car manufacturer and it is the correct disc for the car. Despite the part being visibly different, I was not informed a different (non standard) part was being fitted.

I later went to a specialist dealer and he confirmed the plain disc was not a standard part for the model of car I have (it was a standard part for a previous model of the same car so the part does fit and does work however it is not the part I was expecting to be fitted).

I later brought this up with the car garage however they insisted it is the correct part and will only give me a refund (of the parts only) if I prove it is faulty.

I believe I have been misled into purchasing a product I did not want so I think I am due a full refund of both the parts and the labour (totalling £320). I tried to use the ombudsman however the garage refused to accept their Ts and Cs.

I think my next course of action is to make a claim with the small claims court however I realise there can be some (fairly) significant costs with this so don't want to do it unless I am fairly confident I will win. Can anyone here give me any advice on whether I have a good case to make? I can provide further details if needed.

Thanks in advance,

Dominic

wealdroam

domdeath wrote: »

Hello

I recently took my car to a local garage for an MOT and to change the brake discs and pads. When I did this I requested that the discs were changed with a like for like part, in this case a "cross-drilled" disc.

The MOT went fine however when I collected my car I noticed the discs had been fitted with a plain disc. (Had I known they were to fit a plain disc, I would not have asked them to do the work). I made this clear at the time however he forced me to pay and insisted he had spoken with the car manufacturer and it is the correct disc for the car. Despite the part being visibly different, I was not informed a different (non standard) part was being fitted.

I later went to a specialist dealer and he confirmed the plain disc was not a standard part for the model of car I have (it was a standard part for a previous model of the same car so the part does fit and does work however it is not the part I was expecting to be fitted).

I later brought this up with the car garage however they insisted it is the correct part and will only give me a refund (of the parts only) if I prove it is faulty.

I believe I have been misled into purchasing a product I did not want so I think I am due a full refund of both the parts and the labour (totalling £320). I tried to use the ombudsman however the garage refused to accept their Ts and Cs.

I think my next course of action is to make a claim with the small claims court however I realise there can be some (fairly) significant costs with this so don't want to do it unless I am fairly confident I will win. Can anyone here give me any advice on whether I have a good case to make? I can provide further details if needed.

Thanks in advance,

Dominic

How did you pay? Hopefully with a credit card?

If so, read MSE's Section 75 article and make a claim against your card company. Be aware that they too might want proof that the garage has done something wrong, but it costs nothing to make the claim.

domdeath

Ah ha, perfect, thank you wealdroam! I did pay by credit card (one habit I am glad I have picked up!) so will try claim against them under "You were persuaded to buy goods or services on the basis of incorrect information".

Hypothetically, to save me having to come back at a later date if this isn't successful, would I have a reasonable case for the small claims court?

wealdroam

domdeath wrote: »

Ah ha, perfect, thank you wealdroam! I did pay by credit card (one habit I am glad I have picked up!) so will try claim against them under "You were persuaded to buy goods or services on the basis of incorrect information".

Hypothetically, to save me having to come back at a later date if this isn't successful, would I have a reasonable case for the small claims court?

If the cc co do not agree with you, your next step would be to follow their complaints process and if necessary complain to The Financial Ombudsman Service. Again, that costs you nothing.

The FOS decision is binding on the credit provider but you can still take them to court if you wish. Be careful with that, because by that time you have had three organisations, the garage, the cc co and the FOS, already disagree with your point of view, so you should think hard about going further.

But first, get your evidence that the garage has done wrong and present that evidence to the garage.

shaun_from_Africa

domdeath wrote: »

Hypothetically, to save me having to come back at a later date if this isn't successful, would I have a reasonable case for the small claims court?

Do you have any written proof of what has happened?
If not, it might be worth sending an e-mail to the garage, again asking for a refund on the basis of them fitting an incorrect part. If/when they reply, depending on what they state, keep a copy of the e-mail as it may well help in your case.

Legal action can be done online:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/520203/money-claim-online-user-guide.pdf
The initial fee will be £35 and you can add this to the amount you are claiming from the garage.


See if you can print out something that shows your car should have drilled disks as standard as anything other than this would technically be a modification from the manufacturers spec, something that could affect your insurance policy, and make sure that you mention this on the claim.

CKhalvashi

domdeath wrote: »

Hypothetically, to save me having to come back at a later date if this isn't successful, would I have a reasonable case for the small claims court?

You're more than welcome to come back, we're very friendly here, but I'm not 100% sure that a judge would rule in your favour on this.

The issue of being whether it was an aftermarket/previous model part, and the other of being whether the car was safe with this part on it.

As an example, my car uses 215/45 R17 tires, and when they were changed, I specifically requested Pirelli tires fitted (no idea what it had on it before). That was in a written instruction, and formed part of the paperwork when the car was taken in.

If you've simply authorised the pads to be changed then you may be in a bit more of a difficult position if/when they decide to defend the claim, and as long as they haven't left the car unsafe, it may not be possible for you to win.

Lomast

The other problem I can see is if he can prove the Manufacturer confirmed its the correct part as per your opening post then that can form quite a strong defense

domdeath

I do have written proof of all of my complaints and their responses. They have only offered to refund the part if I can prove the part is faulty.

I do not yet have it in writing that the plain disk is not standard, I will ask the manufacturer to provide something. I think the point that it could affect my insurance policy could be very useful in forming a case, thank you.

domdeath

CKhalvashi, it wasn't a fear of having to come back, it was more for my peace of mind knowing how far I can continue pursuing this.

When they did the work, they didn't tighten the nuts on one of the wheels and the car was unsafe to drive (I only noticed when I got onto the motorway when I felt a vibration. I checked the wheels when I got home and realised all of the nuts on one of the wheel was only finger tight) however I assume the judge would see this as a separate issue and doesn't relate to the disks themselves being unsafe.

I think the car is technically safe with these disks on however the brakes aren't as efficient and don't last as long, hence I wanted a like for like replacement.

CKhalvashi wrote: »

You're more than welcome to come back, we're very friendly here, but I'm not 100% sure that a judge would rule in your favour on this.

The issue of being whether it was an aftermarket/previous model part, and the other of being whether the car was safe with this part on it.

As an example, my car uses 215/45 R17 tires, and when they were changed, I specifically requested Pirelli tires fitted (no idea what it had on it before). That was in a written instruction, and formed part of the paperwork when the car was taken in.

If you've simply authorised the pads to be changed then you may be in a bit more of a difficult position if/when they decide to defend the claim, and as long as they haven't left the car unsafe, it may not be possible for you to win.

domdeath

Wealdroam, I had not considered going to the ombudsman about the credit card company if they hadn't accepted my case, thank you for the suggestion. I wanted to use the ombudsman as I have found them a very useful organisation in the past however the garage refused to co-operate.

If the ombudsman doesn't side with me at this stage then I know it's not worth progressing further and wouldn't go to the small claims court.

wealdroam wrote: »

If the cc co do not agree with you, your next step would be to follow their complaints process and if necessary complain to -LINK REMOVED-. Again, that costs you nothing.

The FOS decision is binding on the credit provider but you can still take them to court if you wish. Be careful with that, because by that time you have had three organisations, the garage, the cc co and the FOS, already disagree with your point of view, so you should think hard about going further.

But first, get your evidence that the garage has done wrong and present that evidence to the garage.

bris

It's nonsense tbh, the brakes are safe and unless you can prove you requested the exact part then you don't stand a snowballs chance in hell.


All this over brake discs that to me if I was hearing the case I would think your out for a freebie.


Your issue about safety and voiding your insurance is nonsense, if that was the case 99% of our cars on the roads would be death traps with void insurance as everyone fits compatible discs.