Garage didn't diagnose or fix fault no refund offered

Paul10012

My car has left me stranded twice in a week due to non-starting away from home. I booked it in to a small garage this morning. The mechanic rang later in the morning and said he had started it, driven it and couldn't find anything wrong with it except wires to the fuel pressure solenoid rubbing against a pipe. I had mentioned to him that the OBD2 had registered an error with this solenoid the first time it broke down but I cleared it and it had not returned. 

The garage rang hour later and said the car is ready and it'll be £150 please, he's reattached a connector to the fuel pressure solenoid. Very disappointing for a £5 connector easily accessible in the engine bay. I was suspicious so when I fetched the car I asked if it was guaranteed and he said he's confident he fixed it because the solenoid wires "Came off in his hand". I drove it away and half an hour later I was stranded again with the same problem. The recovery truck mechanic started it with a jump starter and tested the battery as okay so diagnosed an alternator fault which makes sense because the battery is run down as I drive but not being charged by the alternator therefore I get stranded away from home.

So, I am £150 down with the same problem and asked the garage for a partial refund which he refused. I do not want to take the car back to that particular garage, which has a bad reputation, because I don't want to be ripped off any more than I have already. Can I claim a chargeback or make  small claim for services not received?

Aylesbury_Duck

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

Paul10012

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

The garage's explanation of work done from the receipt:

carry out diagnostic
Diagnose and rectify intermittent non start
carried out diagnostic for expected fuel pressure related faults, no faults found suspect cleared.
carry out extended road test no fault found. Investigated potential low pressure fuel pump fault, no low pressure fuel pump fitted to this model.
Investigate under bonnet found wiring error to fuel pressure control solenoid carry out repair with new connectors.

Diagnostic 1 x £40

Investigate and rectify 1.5 x £55 = £82.50

 I am an engineer myself I diagnose and fix machines, and I know technical sophistry when I see it. This seemed fishy from the moment he rang and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He is negligent because any mechanic should test the starting system when there is a starting fault, all he tested was the fuel system.

Aylesbury_Duck

But if he provided all the things he's itemised on the receipt, then what are you disputing?

I don't see anything fishy there, and since you're an engineer, you'll know that fuel pressure is part of the starting system.  I agree he's missed the alternator problem and arguably should have tested the battery level and charging system, but he hasn't charged you for that.

greyteam1959

All sounds pretty fair to me.
If you had used a main dealer you would be looking at double that cost or more.

sheramber

My main delaer charges £90 for a diagnostic test.

SiliconChip

Paul10012 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

 I am an engineer myself I diagnose and fix machines, and I know technical sophistry when I see it. This seemed fishy from the moment he rang and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He is negligent because any mechanic should test the starting system when there is a starting fault, all he tested was the fuel system.

Why didn't you diagnose and fix this machine yourself then? Or are you in fact not technically competent to do the job on a car, which is why you there is a need for you to pay someone else to do it?

Paul10012

SiliconChip said:

Paul10012 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

 I am an engineer myself I diagnose and fix machines, and I know technical sophistry when I see it. This seemed fishy from the moment he rang and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He is negligent because any mechanic should test the starting system when there is a starting fault, all he tested was the fuel system.

Why didn't you diagnose and fix this machine yourself then? Or are you in fact not technically competent to do the job on a car, which is why you there is a need for you to pay someone else to do it?

I am fixing it myself. Minus £150 taken by an incompetent, dishonest mechanic. There really are some low lives out there who give the industry the bad reputation it deserves.

powerful_Rogue

Paul10012 said:

SiliconChip said:

Paul10012 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

 I am an engineer myself I diagnose and fix machines, and I know technical sophistry when I see it. This seemed fishy from the moment he rang and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He is negligent because any mechanic should test the starting system when there is a starting fault, all he tested was the fuel system.

Why didn't you diagnose and fix this machine yourself then? Or are you in fact not technically competent to do the job on a car, which is why you there is a need for you to pay someone else to do it?

I am fixing it myself. Minus £150 taken by an incompetent, dishonest mechanic. There really are some low lives out there who give the industry the bad reputation it deserves.

That's extremely harsh. I fail to see what the garage has done wrong.

Paul10012

powerful_Rogue said:

Paul10012 said:

SiliconChip said:

Paul10012 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Depends on what you asked for and what was provided.  A chargeback will fail because work was carried out.  How long was spent on checking the car over and what was the labour charge?  I suspect you're entitled to some of the £150 back, but not all of it.

If your contract with them was "we'll find and fix the problem or no charge is due" then you'd be entitled to a full refund.

 I am an engineer myself I diagnose and fix machines, and I know technical sophistry when I see it. This seemed fishy from the moment he rang and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He is negligent because any mechanic should test the starting system when there is a starting fault, all he tested was the fuel system.

Why didn't you diagnose and fix this machine yourself then? Or are you in fact not technically competent to do the job on a car, which is why you there is a need for you to pay someone else to do it?

I am fixing it myself. Minus £150 taken by an incompetent, dishonest mechanic. There really are some low lives out there who give the industry the bad reputation it deserves.

That's extremely harsh. I fail to see what the garage has done wrong.

Extremely harsh? They've charged me £150 for a £3 connector and the car is in no better state. The car wouldn't start intermittently. He couldn't find the fault but instead of passing the job up replaced a £3 electrical connector and charged me £150. I doubted they had really fixed the problem and asked if the work was guaranteed, the husband and wife directors said it didn't need to "they have never failed to fix a car in all their 7 years." I drove the car away and it broke down three miles up the road with the same problem. The faulty part was and still is the alternator, as diagnosed by the breakdown truck mechanic at the side of the road. So the garage charged me £150 to diagnose the problem which they didn't do and to fix the problem which they didn't do. My complaint is of poor service. 

RefluentBeans

There’s a few things that don’t make sense in your story. 

1. You say your ‘normal dealer charges £90’ but you didn’t go to them. You went to a ‘small garage’ at nearly double the price. Is this because you were not at home? 

2. You say, in your last post, that this garage has a bad reputation. Why did you book it in if it had a bad reputation? I’d get it if it was the closest and it was towed there but you booked it in. 

3. You say you’re an engineer. Given that the term is quite broad in specialisation, are you qualified to say the work was incompetent? In your line of work, if you thought you fixed a problem and then the client reports the same problem, I’m sure you’d be rather taken aback from them calling you ‘incompetent and dishonest’ without letting them trying to attempt to fix their work. 

As a mechanic, you are likely aware that intermittent issues, without a route to reproduce them, are often some of the hardest to diagnose. You haven’t let the mechanic try to rectify the work, and thus I don’t actually think your rights have been violated.

It’s also worth considering that when you know a little bit about a topic, your knowledge to yourself may appear more in depth. I understand how computers work more than most people in my immediate workplace, but I also don’t profess to knowing more than the IT department. Giving someone a bit of slack is often more conducive than accusing them of being incompetent and dishonest. After all, catch more flies with honey than vinegar. 

If you feel your rights have been violated, formally complain explaining your case, then letter before action then small claims. You’d likely be claiming under the services component of the CRA, which says services should be carried out with reasonable care and skill. I personally don’t think your case is strong.