Car repairs and my rights under the Consumer rights act

duck1000

10 weeks ago I called out the RAC when I couldn't get my car in gear (its a Citroen Grand Picasso 2014, semi auto). The RAC confirmed that it had a gearbox fault, which was pretty obvious given the fault signals on the dash! He couldn't say exactly what the problem is but advised that I should have it properly diagnosed by someone with the correct diagnostic tools.

I then called a mobile mechanic service, whom I had used previously and was pretty impressed with.
He turned up the following day (not the same guy he came out first time I used them), and confirmed that it was a gearbox fault and that it could be serious, but the only way to be sure was to have it taken to his workshop to have a proper look.
I agreed to this and paid a vehicle transport company to take it to his workshop.

After a couple of days he said that the gearbox was trashed as it had lost all its fluid and had to be replaced. He said that to replace it would be between £2000 and £3000 depending on parts availability. I did a quick check and found that these prices were ball park considering it is a big job. So I gave him the go ahead. A day or so later he said he had sourced a refurbished gearbox and would crack on with it, that was 10 weeks ago.

At the start I had a few updates, but as time went on these dried up. He has not returned my calls
or answered my texts, with the exception of when I caught him out by using my wife's phone to call him. Now his phone is turned off completely.

I expected that the repair would take two or three weeks and allowing this amount of time was reasonable. But now it is 10 weeks and I have no idea what is happening with my car and all communication has dried up, also because of this I have incurred significant car hire costs.

I have discussed this with the RAC legal team and they agreed that the time that has passed is not reasonable and given the lack of communication I should send a 'Letter before action' which gave 14 days to respond, and quoted my rights under the CRA (along with the relevant sections within it). The recorded delivery letter was sent but (as expected) it wasn't signed for. So on 3rd October I will be filling in the relevant forms to take him to court.

As a side note: Today I drove (in my latest hire car) to his premises just to check, The gates were locked, there were quite a few cars in the yard (but not mine). I was accosted by another tenant enquiring what I was doing, he told me that the owner was on holiday and that I was not the only one looking for their car. So I have no idea where my car is.

I know it is a bit of a long story, but I am just looking for confirmation that I am doing the right thing by taking legal action.

Thanks in advance

Mark_d

Yes you are absolutely doing the right thing.  Not sure there is anything else you could do tbh.

Aylesbury_Duck

Yes, you are.  Have you paid anything for the repair so far, or is it just your car that's "at risk"?

A 10 year old Picasso with a broken gearbox is probably worth very little.  A working car would seem to be worth £2-4k depending on mileage and condition, so it's possible that it's not worth spending £2-3k on it, anyway.  How much would you be claiming in court?

By the way, you needn't have sent the letter recorded delivery.  In fact, it's better not to because the intended recipient can turn it away.  If you send a letter and get free proof of postage, it's legally deemed to have been received.

Hoenir

Resend the letter unrecorded. You need to serve notice. 

duck1000

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Yes, you are.  Have you paid anything for the repair so far, or is it just your car that's "at risk"?

A 10 year old Picasso with a broken gearbox is probably worth very little.  A working car would seem to be worth £2-4k depending on mileage and condition, so it's possible that it's not worth spending £2-3k on it, anyway.  How much would you be claiming in court?

By the way, you needn't have sent the letter recorded delivery.  In fact, it's better not to because the intended recipient can turn it away.  If you send a letter and get free proof of postage, it's legally deemed to have been received.

Thanks
I haven't paid anything yet apart from the diagnostics and and the vehicle recovery, so it is just the car that is at risk.
The car itself is high spec and low mileage and excellent condition, so probably worth around £6-£7k. But I guess it all depends on the condition when it is returned. At least there is no finance on it.
I will take on board what you say about the letter and send it again tomorrow and get proof of postage, although I have sent copies both via email and attached to a text, apparently this is good enough, but better to be safe.