Should I pay for wrong diagnosis?

karen10101p

Hi
Needing advice on what others think before contact the garage.
2 months ago my car was leaking oil. The garage admitted they did not know what was wrong with it and simply topped up the power steering oil. 3 days later the exact same problem was happening. the garage then replaced the power steering pump. I now question if they were just stabbing in the dark (referring back to the fact they admitted they did not know what was wrong with it and admitedly stated that they couldnt find any obvious fault with the pump)
I paid the invoice, thinking problem solved.
3 weeks ago the exact same problem arose. The garage stated they needed to change the pipe, as that was the problem. They have invoiced me for this work.
My issue is, the initial work was not completed satisfactorily.

If it is the pipe, then the pump was replaced unecessarily
If it was both, why was the pipe not replaced at the time.
I emphasise, it was the exaact same problem with the exact same noise and the same oil spill as the last time. Im thinking the garage didnt have a clue what they were doing the first time.
Barclays have stated I can issue a chargeback, to be quite honest, the whole thing makes me angry but at the same time, I'm not a person who likes confrontation. I want to hear other's opinions before I contact the mechanic.
Regardless of the outcome, there is no way Im returnig to this mechanic. I dont trust him and I feel he's pretty much incompetent.
Shame I left my garage I used to use simply becasue it was too far out of the way - I had complete trust in them

Wig

Such is the problem that motorists have.

As far as I know you just have to put up with and pay for works done to try to fix a problem even if they don't fix it, then the garage moves on to the next possibility and you pay for it as well.

I would be interested to see any replies from anyone who has managed to get a refund on a previous repair that did not fix the problem. The best you can hope for is a discount on the next repair.

sevenhills

karen10101p wrote: »

Hi
Needing advice on what others think before contact the garage.
2 months ago my car was leaking oil. The garage admitted they did not know what was wrong with it and simply topped up the power steering oil. 3 days later the exact same problem was happening. the garage then replaced the power steering pump. I now question if they were just stabbing in the dark (referring back to the fact they admitted they did not know what was wrong with it and admitedly stated that they couldnt find any obvious fault with the pump)
I paid the invoice, thinking problem solved.

So you gave the go ahead for the work?

angrycrow

What make and model of car was it. My initial thought is mk1 focus as power steering pipe ruptures are a common issue that if not fixed quickly causes the pump to fail.

It quite possible the pump had failed and was leaking and then 5 weeks later the pipe fails as a second unrelated fault. Impossible to prove either way.

karen10101p

Ive read through loads of these posts tonight

karen10101p

He told me the pump needed replacing so I said do it (obviously - he said thats what needed done and I trusted him as the mechanic to do it)
Barclays earlier stated they would raise a chargeback for the initial invoice as faulty repairs/goods/services delivered/supplied and they got the whole story Re pump and pipe. But I need to contact him first and get his reply to a refund request from the initial repair that did not work.

karen10101p

"What make and model of car was it. My initial thought is mk1 focus as power steering pipe ruptures are a common issue that if not fixed quickly causes the pump to fail.

It quite possible the pump had failed and was leaking and then 5 weeks later the pipe fails as a second unrelated fault. Impossible to prove either way."


Ford Focus - the issue is - he admitted at the first insepction point he did not find any fault, topped it up and had to take it in again 3 days later. I dont think he knew what he was doing and thought it'll likely be the pump, cause I cant find anything else wrong. I should have been suspcious at that point - fool on me

force_ten

repair by trial and error keep throwing parts at it and keep hitting the customer with big bills because the garage has no idea what they are doing and hopefully they will find the right part eventually and everybodys happy apart from the poor person paying the bills

sorry cant offer any advice but i feel your pain

karen10101p

force_ten wrote: »

repair by trial and error keep throwing parts at it and keep hitting the customer with big bills because the garage has no idea what they are doing and hopefully they will find the right part eventually and everybodys happy apart from the poor person paying the bills

sorry cant offer any advice but i feel your pain

A lot of posts are stating these are common situations. I think I will call trading standards tomorrow, see what they say, then no doubt have to call the garage, get my confrontation over with, then raise a charge back with Barclays. I can see me ending up havng to pay anyway based on the other posts I've read, but at least I'll be happy that I fought it. I cannot simply accept that the garage can get away with this without at least doing all i can to argue that I shouldnt be paying twice for a repair that should have been done properly in the first place. I'm not taking it to court, if I lose I'll be the one that has to pay the court fees.

welfayre

It's quite possible you've just been unlucky and had two power steering faults develop close together.

A leaking pipe would be very obvious and I can't see how replacing the pump would stop a pipe leaking for 3 weeks before it started up again.

angrycrow

You can not go directly to trading standards any more, you have to go via citizens advice. T's are unlikely to take any action on this and will just note it on file unless they have had other similar complaints against the garage.