Any advice appreciated.

Roadrider

Hi,
The following was the initial email I sent to Halfords in Manchester;


My son's 2005 Ford Focus developed a slight steering fluid leak from a pipe which he got checked out by our mechanic. As he couldn't get the car booked in for a few days, he was advised to keep the system topped up until it was fixed, as it was only a minor leak.

He was advised to use ATF to top it up by the mechanic.

On Wednesday the 3rd of May my son called in to Halfords at White City, Manchester and also contacted me to confirm which fluid to buy and I advised him as did our mechanic to purchase ATF. As he is not experienced with cars, I told him to check with one of the staff to ensure that he purchased the correct product.

My son asked one of the staff members who asked him for the registration number of his car and told him that it wasn't ATF he needed but MVCHF central hydraulic fluid. My son told him what I and the mechanic had advised regards ATF and the staff member told him in no uncertain terms that the mechanic was wrong and his advice was to use the MVCHF. My son took his advice and used the MVCHF. The leak worsened and consequently damaged the fluid pump. The mechanic confirmed that he was given the wrong advice to purchase the wrong fluid, which has damaged the pump, which was working fine when he examined it. As a result the mechanic had to replace the pump and flush the whole system out to clear the wrong fluid.

The pump had to be replaced which cost £150 plus the extra labour to flush the system out, the bill coming to £250.00.

My son doesn't earn much and as a result of following the wrong advice given by your staff member is now out of pocket to the tune of £200.00, which I have had to pay!

I hold your staff member and ultimately Halfords liable for the damage to the pump and extra labour as a result of providing the wrong advice and would like to be reimbursed for this.

I filled in a claim form Halfords sent me and included a report from the mechanic stating that in his opinion that the wrong fluid supplied caused damage to the pump.


Halfords have finally admitted to supplying my son with the wrong fluid but stated that the pump could only be damaged after 'prolonged' use with the wrong fluid and only offered a refund on the 2 bottles of fluid purchased at £20. My son had in fact used the car for 5 days and as he works as an estate agent, also uses his car to drive to viewings etc. thereby causing damage to the pump through continual topping up whilst covering a fair few miles.


Halfords are not prepared to enter into any further correspondence, leaving me considering either taking legal action or trying to get some compensation for their mistake through the small claims court. Not having dealt with a civil matter such as this, I'd be grateful for any advice on whether it's worth pursing and by what means.
Thanks

docmatt

The pump was fooked to start with which is why it leaked but yes the wrong fluid didnt help though.

You've tried your best and got a refund on the fluid. It's not worth going further and getting stressed over £200

payandisplay

I would swallow it and move on. Legal action takes time and money.

AndyMc.....

I don't think you can prove the pump wasn't faulty before you went to Halfords so don't waste any money taking them to court.

Advice is don't use them again.

EdGasketTheSecond

Best to research what you need on the internet or use the car handbook that should have the fluids specified for your car listed in it. Failing either of those, a Haynes manual lists fluids.

waamo

Best advice is never, ever, ever use Halfords. The same applies to Kwik Fit. As others have said the pump was faulty anyway so legal action may cost more than you recover.

Geoff1963

the pump could only be damaged after 'prolonged' use with the wrong fluid

The leak worsened and consequently damaged the fluid pump.

It sounds more as if the leak worsened ( as they do ) and then the pump was damaged by having not enough fluid for a while, rather than that it was the wrong fluid. If the pump is still available you could have it checked by the manufacturer to confirm either way, but that would probably cost much more than £200, and then you only have a possibility of getting back a much larger amount. They would probably claim "betterment", as the vehicle is only designed for 10 years and was 12 years old.

Did Halfords explain how the wrong fluid was offered ? Did they misunderstand which part of the car it was for, mistype the registration number etc. ?

m_c

Mk1 (98-05) focus's use ATF, Mk2 (04-11) use CHF.


It's highly unlikely the fluid itself would of caused the leak to worsen, or the pump to fail. It's far more likely the leak got worse, and the pump got run dry.

Geoff1963

Update from me, after some more thought.
The Halfords web-site clearly says that MVCHF must not be mixed with ATF. You might have a very hard time proving it damaged the pump ; but the flushing was needed as a direct consequence of putting in the ( "mis-sold" ) fluid, so it might be worth asking for the mechanic's labour cost and "rinsing" agent.

If a garage forecourt pump dispensed petrol instead of Diesel, and a customer filled up, they can avoid engine damage by not starting it. However, they would still need a "fuel doctor" to empty and flush the tank. I think we'd all expect the garage to foot that bill.

Roadrider

Thank you all for your advice and I guess I'd best put it down to experience and take the £20 they have offered.


Halfords.....never again!

Retrogamer

Roadrider wrote: »

Thank you all for your advice and I guess I'd best put it down to experience and take the £20 they have offered.


Halfords.....never again!

Since the leak seems to have vanished when the mechanic has changed the power steering pump. i'm assuming the original power steering pump was leaking and regardless of the flue Halfords gave him, it would need to have been replaced anyway.