Car Damaged During MOT

BCS1995

I took my car in to Halfords for an MOT a few weeks ago. I picked the car up when it was done and once I had got home noticed that there was a dent in my bonnet which had caused the paintwork to crack. I logged a complaint straight away with the Customer Service team. They requested photos which I sent and also requested that I go back up to the Halfords centre for the manager to inspect the damage which I did (this is now 2 weeks later).

After then waiting 3 more days for them to get back in touch with me they advised that as the crack had started rusting the damage was caused well before the car had been brought in for the MOT. I disproved this straight away as a quick internet search advises that rust can begin to set in within a matter of days. Following this Halfords simply advised that if I cannot prove it was them who damaged my car they will not do anything about it.

I was just wondering where I stand with this, they know I have no way of proving this unless I was actually there whilst they were carrying out the MOT and had video evidence of them damaging the car.

I understand people will try and claim for damage on their car that was not caused by the company, but believe me there is a lot worse damage on my car than a dent in my bonnet. Obviously due to the crack in the paintwork the whole bonnet will need repainting which is going to cost hundreds of pounds and I am going to persist as I do not believe that a huge company like Halfords should get away with this disgraceful customer service and their actions.

Can anyone offer any advice?

TonyMMM

Get a bodyshop to quote for the repair (and get them to give an opinion on how new the damage is ...would be useful).

Send Halfords a Letter before Action giving them 14 days to pay.

Issue Small Claim through MCOL.

Never go to Halfords for anything more complicated than a bulb ( and even then don't let them fit it)

BCS1995

Thank you. I have gone to 3 or 4 repair shops this morning for quotes and sent them pictures. I will certainly ask them as well how old they think the damage is.

Would I have any right asking for Halfords to provide CCTV footage of my car?

And I certainly won't be using Halfords ever again, to say they are a huge company claiming to offer great service this has caused my sleepless nights worrying about the cost to have this repaired and the fact that they are suggesting I am being deceitful is even more upsetting.

DoaM

BCS1995 wrote: »

but believe me there is a lot worse damage on my car than a dent in my bonnet.

So why are you so fixated on this? If the car is as you describe then how can you be sure that this issue wasn't pre-existing and coincidentally appeared at the MOT? (Did they wash your car as part of the service they provided?)

An alternative may be a replacement bonnet from a scrapyard.

BCS1995

I am fixated on this because the damage has been caused by them and is not my fault so why should I have to pay for a company damaging my car whilst carrying out a service that I had also paid for. I have other scrapes on my car which I have caused myself and ones other people have caused whilst my cars been parked in a car park and they have simply drove off. This damage however has caused a crack in my paintwork which is causing rust on my bonnet - this can become a major problem in the future.

And no the dent was not there prior to taking the car in for the MOT and I had just washed the car the week before. They don't wash the car either.

Also there was no damage to my bonnet. There is a scrape on my bumper on on the rear of my car. There was never any damage to the bonnet. I know my car.

Warwick_Hunt

BCS1995 wrote: »

I took my car in to Halfords for an MOT a few weeks ago. I picked the car up when it was done and once I had got home noticed that there was a dent in my bonnet which had caused the paintwork to crack. I logged a complaint straight away with the Customer Service team. They requested photos which I sent and also requested that I go back up to the Halfords centre for the manager to inspect the damage which I did (this is now 2 weeks later).

After then waiting 3 more days for them to get back in touch with me they advised that as the crack had started rusting the damage was caused well before the car had been brought in for the MOT. I disproved this straight away as a quick internet search advises that rust can begin to set in within a matter of days. Following this Halfords simply advised that if I cannot prove it was them who damaged my car they will not do anything about it.

I was just wondering where I stand with this, they know I have no way of proving this unless I was actually there whilst they were carrying out the MOT and had video evidence of them damaging the car.

I understand people will try and claim for damage on their car that was not caused by the company, but believe me there is a lot worse damage on my car than a dent in my bonnet. Obviously due to the crack in the paintwork the whole bonnet will need repainting which is going to cost hundreds of pounds and I am going to persist as I do not believe that a huge company like Halfords should get away with this disgraceful customer service and their actions.

Can anyone offer any advice?

I think you know the answer.

BCS1995

Instead of posting unhelpful answers just to try and make yourself sound condescending. I have asked if anyone could offer any advice to help me out. Simply highlighting what I have already said is not helpful. If you read my second comment;

Would I have any right asking for Halfords to provide CCTV footage of my car?

k3lvc

BCS1995 wrote: »

Instead of posting unhelpful answers just to try and make yourself sound condescending. I have asked if anyone could offer any advice to help me out. Simply highlighting what I have already said is not helpful. If you read my second comment;

Would I have any right asking for Halfords to provide CCTV footage of my car?

Of course you can ask but everyone seems to be struggling on what you're trying to achieve on this - you've already painted a far from pretty picture of the state of your car and are looking for recompense for another bit of damage with limited if any financial loss.


Here's your CCTV opportunity but as you read it's footage of you, not an object belonging to you


Personally I'd take it as a lesson and not use Halfords in future - or if you do then do a vehicle condition check when dropping off/collecting the vehicle

bris

The forum can't just tell you what you want to hear, the facts are facts.


Rust does indicate old damage, how old is for you to prove not them.


The fact you said it's been days also proves you didn't notice this straight away, so anything could have happened in those days when you had the MOT.


You don't have a strong case here. No point in thinking otherwise, but keep pushing and maybe they will give in.

BCS1995

Not really limited financial loss as Halfords have already advised that its 'hundreds of pounds worth of repair'. The other scratches may look worse but wouldn't cost as much to repair as they have not removed all the paintwork down to the metal and started rusting.

I have just read up on your comment above on the Information Commissioner Officers website;
'The Data Protection Act gives you the right to see information held about you, including CCTV images of you, or images which give away information about you (such as your car number plate).' So I do have a right of the footage of the object belonging to me.

And no I put that I noticed the damage as soon as I got home and contacted Halfords straight away. It was them who took days to respond and request for the photos. Not going to complain about something thats not there as soon as i get back from the MOT am I?

DoaM

k3lvc wrote: »

you've already painted a far from pretty picture of the state of your car and are looking for recompense for another bit of damage with limited if any financial loss.

Hence why I also suggested looking at a replacement bonnet from a scrappy - it might be lower cost to implement than a paint job.

Ultimately the OP may need to go semi-legal on this ... send Halfords a Letter Before Action to recover the cost to rectify the damage "caused by Halfords", with the threat of legal action (MCOL) if necessary. (Whether you should actually raise a claim is debatable).

Halfords may think you're serious and take the pragmatic approach of offering a resolution simply to avoid potential court action ... it would likely be cheaper to accept your claim than incur the cost of defending. This wouldn't mean you were right and they were wrong - it just means they'd made a business judgment and taken the least-cost approach.