Is using chargeback worthwhile in this case

johnweir123

I paid with my credit card for a repair to some electronic equipment. 

The company I used had a diagnostics fee of around £350 to investigate and perform testing.  That was then followed by a repair fee which is charged according to what work had to be done and this was aprox £900. 

They diagnosed the equipment, said it was faulty and I paid them their full invoice. 

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.  

1. Either they diagnosed incorrectly and found a fault where none existed and so went on to perform repairs in good faith 

or 

2. They performed unnecessary work so they could issue an invoice 

The company has responded by saying they are confident in their procedure and that perhaps there were two faults.  That would be a convenient coincidence. 

I have asked for a refund on the basis that their testing procedure seemed to be at fault if they went ahead and repaired functioning equipment unnecessarily. 

At this point they got all uppity and said they didn't want any further discussion on it. 

So I'm left wondering now if I should use chargeback or not.  If indeed that would be possible or appropriate?  What do people think. 

DullGreyGuy

johnweir123 said:

I paid with my credit card for a repair to some electronic equipment. 

The company I used had a diagnostics fee of around £350 to investigate and perform testing.  That was then followed by a repair fee which is charged according to what work had to be done and this was aprox £900. 

They diagnosed the equipment, said it was faulty and I paid them their full invoice. 

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.  

1. Either they diagnosed incorrectly and found a fault where none existed and so went on to perform repairs in good faith 

or 

2. They performed unnecessary work so they could issue an invoice 

The company has responded by saying they are confident in their procedure and that perhaps there were two faults.  That would be a convenient coincidence. 

I have asked for a refund on the basis that their testing procedure seemed to be at fault if they went ahead and repaired functioning equipment unnecessarily. 

At this point they got all uppity and said they didn't want any further discussion on it. 

So I'm left wondering now if I should use chargeback or not.  If indeed that would be possible or appropriate?  What do people think. 

The chargeback is likely to fail, in my opinion. Chargeback is a basic tool with strict rules that dont reflect consumer rights etc because its only ment as a basic tool not as the solution to all problems.  They said they'd do X for £900 and they've done X 

The whole "fixed something that didnt need fixing" outside of straight fraud is a merky area. The company must exercise due skill so were you to get another engineers report that shows it was clearly X that was wrong and there is no reason why anyone would reasonably think its Y then you may have a claim but these things aren't always that clear and depending on the problem it could be one of multiple things and therefore it isn't unreasonable of starting with the cheapest or most likely cause. 

Ordinarily you'd give it back to them with the other identified cause of the original problem and hope for them to deal with the second issue at a preferential rate. 

johnweir123

DullGreyGuy said:

johnweir123 said:

I paid with my credit card for a repair to some electronic equipment. 

The company I used had a diagnostics fee of around £350 to investigate and perform testing.  That was then followed by a repair fee which is charged according to what work had to be done and this was aprox £900. 

They diagnosed the equipment, said it was faulty and I paid them their full invoice. 

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.  

1. Either they diagnosed incorrectly and found a fault where none existed and so went on to perform repairs in good faith 

or 

2. They performed unnecessary work so they could issue an invoice 

The company has responded by saying they are confident in their procedure and that perhaps there were two faults.  That would be a convenient coincidence. 

I have asked for a refund on the basis that their testing procedure seemed to be at fault if they went ahead and repaired functioning equipment unnecessarily. 

At this point they got all uppity and said they didn't want any further discussion on it. 

So I'm left wondering now if I should use chargeback or not.  If indeed that would be possible or appropriate?  What do people think. 

The chargeback is likely to fail, in my opinion. Chargeback is a basic tool with strict rules that dont reflect consumer rights etc because its only ment as a basic tool not as the solution to all problems.  They said they'd do X for £900 and they've done X 

The whole "fixed something that didnt need fixing" outside of straight fraud is a merky area. The company must exercise due skill so were you to get another engineers report that shows it was clearly X that was wrong and there is no reason why anyone would reasonably think its Y then you may have a claim but these things aren't always that clear and depending on the problem it could be one of multiple things and therefore it isn't unreasonable of starting with the cheapest or most likely cause. 

Ordinarily you'd give it back to them with the other identified cause of the original problem and hope for them to deal with the second issue at a preferential rate. 

That's one view.  I take your various points.  Not sure if anyone else has any other views on it. 

km1500

I know it is probably a silly question but what makes you think there wasn't a fault and that they didn't fix it? 

yes there was another fault in another piece of equipment down the line but it does not mean to say that repair was not necessary as above.

for example my car won't start they diagnose the problem and it requires a new battery so they replace the battery and I pay the invoice. it then seems in fact it's a starter motor that needs replacing. That does not mean that the battery was not faulty as well.

born_again

The company I used had a diagnostics fee of around £350 to investigate and perform testing.  That was then followed by a repair fee which is charged according to what work had to be done and this was aprox £900. 

They diagnosed the equipment, said it was faulty and I paid them their full invoice. 

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.

So you paid £900, but the item was still faulty?  

How did the actual fault come to light & what was the cost for fixing that?

TBH, I can't see it working, as company will contest on the basis work was actioned as quoted. If they don't then they still have legal route to claim the owed funds.

boingy

I think you don't stand any chance of a chargeback working. They charged you for the work that they did. You don't dispute what they did and you, presumably, agreed to the repair after the diagnostics.

One thing you have not given details of are timescales. When they returned the repaired item did you test it before paying the invoice? How long after that did the other fault come to light?

If you deal with them regularly, or if they hope to do more business with you in future, they may agree to a partial refund, unless you've already fallen out with them! Talk to them and explain why you are unhappy.

DullGreyGuy

johnweir123 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

johnweir123 said:

I paid with my credit card for a repair to some electronic equipment. 

The company I used had a diagnostics fee of around £350 to investigate and perform testing.  That was then followed by a repair fee which is charged according to what work had to be done and this was aprox £900. 

They diagnosed the equipment, said it was faulty and I paid them their full invoice. 

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.  

1. Either they diagnosed incorrectly and found a fault where none existed and so went on to perform repairs in good faith 

or 

2. They performed unnecessary work so they could issue an invoice 

The company has responded by saying they are confident in their procedure and that perhaps there were two faults.  That would be a convenient coincidence. 

I have asked for a refund on the basis that their testing procedure seemed to be at fault if they went ahead and repaired functioning equipment unnecessarily. 

At this point they got all uppity and said they didn't want any further discussion on it. 

So I'm left wondering now if I should use chargeback or not.  If indeed that would be possible or appropriate?  What do people think. 

The chargeback is likely to fail, in my opinion. Chargeback is a basic tool with strict rules that dont reflect consumer rights etc because its only ment as a basic tool not as the solution to all problems.  They said they'd do X for £900 and they've done X 

The whole "fixed something that didnt need fixing" outside of straight fraud is a merky area. The company must exercise due skill so were you to get another engineers report that shows it was clearly X that was wrong and there is no reason why anyone would reasonably think its Y then you may have a claim but these things aren't always that clear and depending on the problem it could be one of multiple things and therefore it isn't unreasonable of starting with the cheapest or most likely cause. 

Ordinarily you'd give it back to them with the other identified cause of the original problem and hope for them to deal with the second issue at a preferential rate. 

That's one view.  I take your various points.  Not sure if anyone else has any other views on it. 

Lots of people will have views, were I a betting man I'd say most are going to be similar to mine but you're naturally free to go with whatever view you prefer. 

At the end of the day there is no harm in attempting a chargeback, worst case scenario is that it's rejected, I'd just budget on the assumption it will be rejected. 

johnweir123

boingy said:

I think you don't stand any chance of a chargeback working. They charged you for the work that they did. You don't dispute what they did and you, presumably, agreed to the repair after the diagnostics.

One thing you have not given details of are timescales. When they returned the repaired item did you test it before paying the invoice? How long after that did the other fault come to light?

If you deal with them regularly, or if they hope to do more business with you in future, they may agree to a partial refund, unless you've already fallen out with them! Talk to them and explain why you are unhappy.

I feel that part of their work which was a separate cost was to diagnose.  If they had diagnosed correctly they would not have gone on to undertake further repairs.  I would have only paid the diagnostics fee.  This was all done very quickly, within a week. 

To answer one of the other questions above... how do I know there wasn't two faults?  The system was working perfectly before the fault occurred.  The third party has performed a repair on one component which was then refitted.  It had zero impact on resolving the issue.  i.e. the fault with the system overall has not been impacted at all by the repair they have performed.  The manufacturer actually has a technical bulletin describing the fault with the same symptoms and recommend an alternative remedy which costs around £20.  - I just didn't know about this sooner or I would not have assumed the other component was faulty. 

km1500

don't forget chargeback is not the end of the matter it's simply like stopping a cheque or whatever

the debt will still be owed according to the company and they may take enforcement action

eDicky

johnweir123 said:

It turned out the repair had been unnecessary as a different fault with another part of the system was found to be at fault.  

Was found to be at fault by whom..?

johnweir123 said:

boingy said:

I think you don't stand any chance of a chargeback working. They charged you for the work that they did. You don't dispute what they did and you, presumably, agreed to the repair after the diagnostics.

One thing you have not given details of are timescales. When they returned the repaired item did you test it before paying the invoice? How long after that did the other fault come to light?

If you deal with them regularly, or if they hope to do more business with you in future, they may agree to a partial refund, unless you've already fallen out with them! Talk to them and explain why you are unhappy.

The third party has performed a repair on one component which was then refitted.  It had zero impact on resolving the issue.  i.e. the fault with the system overall has not been impacted at all by the repair they have performed. 

So after the diagnosis and repair, and your payment of the invoice, was it returned to you non-functioning..?