Claim back cost of work carried out by a garage

pjs493

I recently had some work done on my car to replace a stater motor. Subsequently, it has transpired that it didn’t need a new start motor at all and the garage essentially changed it without doing proper diagnostics etc to figure out the problem. They’ve also refused to take the car back to do the work that actually needs doing to make amends, which is probably for the best anyway. Given my experience with them so far.

However, I’m now £500 out of pocket. I’m waiting for a manager to call me back about a refund but I’m not holding my breath. Is this something that I’m covered for through charge back or whatever it’s called? I paid using my credit card but I’ve never had to make a claim for anything like this before. Obviously the work was done, but it was the wrong work. 

Any advice or guidance would be gratefully accepted. 

Nasqueron

If you do a chargeback, the money is taken off the seller by your card provider, the seller can dispute it and take it back

S75 covers breaches of contract but it's hard to advise given your limited information.

You booked it in for this work - why? Did you tell them you wanted it based on another diagnosis or did they do it because you wanted them to? Who decided it needed doing?

MorningcoffeeIV

pjs493 said:

However, I’m now £500 out of pocket. I’m waiting for a manager to call me back about a refund but I’m not holding my breath. Is this something that I’m covered for through charge back or whatever it’s called? 

Potentially, but if the retailer disagrees, it will simply be reversed.

And if they don't disagree, easier to get the refund directly from them.

There's potentially s75, but that's going to be a long and arduous process for something like this.

born_again

Well a chargeback is odds on failure. As they did the work they charged your for.

S75 would need a 3rd party report. But this sounds like one of the situations where it's could be anything causing the problem. So start with the cheap & work from there.

pjs493

Nasqueron said:

If you do a chargeback, the money is taken off the seller by your card provider, the seller can dispute it and take it back

S75 covers breaches of contract but it's hard to advise given your limited information.

You booked it in for this work - why? Did you tell them you wanted it based on another diagnosis or did they do it because you wanted them to? Who decided it needed doing?

My car wouldn’t start so I called the AA. 

The garage came recommended from a friend (and it’s within walking distance of my house) so I asked the AA to recover the vehicle to the garage. 

The garage was aware of the AA diagnosis which was that it ‘might’ be the starter motor. 

I asked the garage to take a look at the car. They called me the next day and told me they also thought it was the starter motor, gave me a quote over the phone, and asked if I was happy for them to proceed. I said I was (on the assumption they knew what they were doing and had correctly diagnosed the issue and I was happy with the price quoted).

In other words I didn’t call the garage and ask them to replace the starter motor (like I might do for say an oil change or new tyres). I asked them to look into why my car wouldn’t start and they concurred with an AA engineer and said it needed a new starter motor. 

pjs493

born_again said:

Well a chargeback is odds on failure. As they did the work they charged your for.

S75 would need a 3rd party report. But this sounds like one of the situations where it's could be anything causing the problem. So start with the cheap & work from there.

It’s been looked at by the call out team from the main dealer garage for the brand of car I have and they’ve suggested it is immobiliser and was never the starter motor at all. The car is now at the main dealer and they’re going to do a diagnostic check in the next few days. 

It seems as if the garage just went off what the AA guy said and didn’t actually look into the car properly. When I asked them directly on the phone today they didn’t answer the question and instead replied with a deflective response. 

I’ve asked for a manager to call me back to discuss a refund, but I’m not holding my breath for them to return my call. My suspicions were raised when they refused to take the car back to go over their work and actually look into other possibilities. I got the impression it was easier for them to just refuse to take the car back and keep my £500 than to do a proper job and consider that they did the wrong thing at first. 

So potentially a report from the main dealer may be a solution. 

It was really more of a thought than anything else. I always put purchases on my credit card just in case because of the built in protections, but I’ve never actually had to use them. 

Mr.Generous

It’s been looked at by the call out team from the main dealer garage for the brand of car I have and they’ve suggested it is immobiliser and was never the starter motor at all. The car is now at the main dealer and they’re going to do a diagnostic check in the next few days.

So they don't know yet either and have just guessed? Diagnostic checks don't always find the problem, and sometimes a number of components are changed by main dealers in an attempt to pinpoint a problem. Out of interest did they give the car back saying "There you go, new starter motor, no change it still won't go - that's £500 please" or was it working. Intermittent faults can be a !!!!!!.

oldagetraveller1

When you write "My car wouldn’t start so I called the AA.", did the engine turn over by the starter motor and not run, or did nothing happen?

My, possibly incorrect, understanding is that if it is the immobiliser, the starter will turn the engine over but it will not fire up?

It could probably help the more knowledgeable posters if the make/model/year of car was divulged.

If nothing happened then I would initially suspect a failing starter motor too. Which in no way is trying to excuse the garage fitting it without carrying out a proper diagnosis.

Olinda99

this is a subset of the often reported problem that I called someone out because x wasn't working and they replaced y but it wasn't necessary it was an incorrect diagnosis

for me, you would have to prove the garage was negligent or in some way unprofessional because unless you have a crystal ball you have to go replacing things until you find the fault. 

it sounds like any reasonable mechanic would assume from the symptoms that it was a faulty starter motor. you could ask them to put the old one back but you would still be liable for the labour etc of replacing it originally and then putting the old one back again.

it's all about what a reasonable professional qualified competent mechanic would reasonably do in the circumstances presented to them - not whether they get it exactly right every time.

born_again

pjs493 said:

born_again said:

Well a chargeback is odds on failure. As they did the work they charged your for.

S75 would need a 3rd party report. But this sounds like one of the situations where it's could be anything causing the problem. So start with the cheap & work from there.

It’s been looked at by the call out team from the main dealer garage for the brand of car I have and they’ve suggested it is immobiliser and was never the starter motor at all. The car is now at the main dealer and they’re going to do a diagnostic check in the next few days. 

It seems as if the garage just went off what the AA guy said and didn’t actually look into the car properly. When I asked them directly on the phone today they didn’t answer the question and instead replied with a deflective response. 

I’ve asked for a manager to call me back to discuss a refund, but I’m not holding my breath for them to return my call. My suspicions were raised when they refused to take the car back to go over their work and actually look into other possibilities. I got the impression it was easier for them to just refuse to take the car back and keep my £500 than to do a proper job and consider that they did the wrong thing at first. 

So potentially a report from the main dealer may be a solution. 

It was really more of a thought than anything else. I always put purchases on my credit card just in case because of the built in protections, but I’ve never actually had to use them. 

Crux here is. Did the car start & run after they put a new starter motor on?

Nasqueron

Olinda99 said:

this is a subset of the often reported problem that I called someone out because x wasn't working and they replaced y but it wasn't necessary it was an incorrect diagnosis

for me, you would have to prove the garage was negligent or in some way unprofessional because unless you have a crystal ball you have to go replacing things until you find the fault. 

it sounds like any reasonable mechanic would assume from the symptoms that it was a faulty starter motor. you could ask them to put the old one back but you would still be liable for the labour etc of replacing it originally and then putting the old one back again.

it's all about what a reasonable professional qualified competent mechanic would reasonably do in the circumstances presented to them - not whether they get it exactly right every time.

I agree in part - if there is a fault and garage believe it is the motor and put it in that is fine - the labour/diagnostics is a fair expense, but it doesn't resolve the issue, I would dispute charges to either remove it or paying for a part that was not necessary. If the part isn't needed, the garage can use it on another job and should put the old one back in. After that, labour charges for further diagnostics or parts are reasonable too.

Certainly the company I work for, if we fit parts that can be removed again without issue, we don't charge for them if swapping this doesn't solve the problem