Dealer Trouble - Help!!
Discussion
Any advice from a lawyer or someone who may have experienced a problem like this before would be greatly appreciated.
Not gonna go into great detail but here's the basic facts;
Cousin breaks down a couple of months ago and gets towed to the dealer he's used and knows. Problem turns out to be an expensive and lengthy job. After many weeks, cousin pays for the job over the phone as no one could take payment (Several £0000's!) on the Saturday when he can pick the car up.
Turns up and finds out the car is not running right and couldn't believe after all the money and time that it was obvious the car wasn't fixed correctly by just firing it up. Mechanic is on the phone and tells one of the guys there that the car needs petrol!!! “Don’t mug me off” he told them. Takes the car to another dealer (dealer B) to get a second opinion who confirms that it has definitely not been fixed properly so he takes the car back to the dealer.
He’s furious as he's wasted a whole Saturday and weekend and waited months to get the car back.
Dealer calls him the following week, apologises but said he thought the car was fine but my cousin was right, there is a problem with it. Offers some compensation, "how about we refurbish your wheels for you", cousins accepts.
Get's a phone call on a Friday a few weeks later saying the car was ready and an invoice for the wheel refurbs at an extortionate rate!
Turns up the next day to find the dealer owner expecting full payment for the wheels, cousin refuses as the mechanic had agreed to do this for free. Takes the car only to find out that there is still a problem with the setup!! Dealer B confirmed again that the car still has not been fixed properly.
Now to get the job fixed by dealer B could potentially cost close to £1k and it is so blatantly obvious that the original dealer does not know what they are doing even though they specialise in these cars and their website states very clearly the services they offer.
This is a joke and if I was to write all the things the owner said to my cousin the day he picked the car up for the second time, well you’d be as furious as he is right now.
I reckon the dealer is not going to play ball as they obviously do not know how to fix the car even though they have taken his money. My cousin knows for a fact that the mechanic called dealer B to get some help and even asked dealer B whether he could do the job for them!!!!!!
He's left a voice message with them to call him first thing on Monday so will wait to see what happens then but in case they don't wanna know, where does my cousin stands on this? If they are not going to help on this which I reckon will happen then can anything be done legally?
He just wants the car fixed but has no faith in that they can resolve this issue and is just thinking about paying the additional possibly £1k with dealer B so he can sleep at night!!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks…..T
Not gonna go into great detail but here's the basic facts;
Cousin breaks down a couple of months ago and gets towed to the dealer he's used and knows. Problem turns out to be an expensive and lengthy job. After many weeks, cousin pays for the job over the phone as no one could take payment (Several £0000's!) on the Saturday when he can pick the car up.
Turns up and finds out the car is not running right and couldn't believe after all the money and time that it was obvious the car wasn't fixed correctly by just firing it up. Mechanic is on the phone and tells one of the guys there that the car needs petrol!!! “Don’t mug me off” he told them. Takes the car to another dealer (dealer B) to get a second opinion who confirms that it has definitely not been fixed properly so he takes the car back to the dealer.
He’s furious as he's wasted a whole Saturday and weekend and waited months to get the car back.
Dealer calls him the following week, apologises but said he thought the car was fine but my cousin was right, there is a problem with it. Offers some compensation, "how about we refurbish your wheels for you", cousins accepts.
Get's a phone call on a Friday a few weeks later saying the car was ready and an invoice for the wheel refurbs at an extortionate rate!
Turns up the next day to find the dealer owner expecting full payment for the wheels, cousin refuses as the mechanic had agreed to do this for free. Takes the car only to find out that there is still a problem with the setup!! Dealer B confirmed again that the car still has not been fixed properly.
Now to get the job fixed by dealer B could potentially cost close to £1k and it is so blatantly obvious that the original dealer does not know what they are doing even though they specialise in these cars and their website states very clearly the services they offer.
This is a joke and if I was to write all the things the owner said to my cousin the day he picked the car up for the second time, well you’d be as furious as he is right now.
I reckon the dealer is not going to play ball as they obviously do not know how to fix the car even though they have taken his money. My cousin knows for a fact that the mechanic called dealer B to get some help and even asked dealer B whether he could do the job for them!!!!!!
He's left a voice message with them to call him first thing on Monday so will wait to see what happens then but in case they don't wanna know, where does my cousin stands on this? If they are not going to help on this which I reckon will happen then can anything be done legally?
He just wants the car fixed but has no faith in that they can resolve this issue and is just thinking about paying the additional possibly £1k with dealer B so he can sleep at night!!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks…..T
volvos70t5 said:It was paid by debit card over the phone.
Did he pay the bill via credit card? If he did, then got on to the credit card company.
It amazes me the number of people who pay for service/work without verifying that it is OK first.
In hindsight, yep, should have checked it out first, but that's history now and they were a reputable specialist company
Ok,
Not a lawyer, but have a little idea maybe..
Firstly, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (I think) requires the provision of services to be done to a reasonable standard, sooo get Garage B to put in writing the car was not fixed (for the second time) and then advise Garage A you want your money back for breach of contract.
Secondly, check to see if there is anything they have charged you for which they haven't done. This is theft. Advise them they may be prosecuted.
Not a lawyer, but have a little idea maybe..
Firstly, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (I think) requires the provision of services to be done to a reasonable standard, sooo get Garage B to put in writing the car was not fixed (for the second time) and then advise Garage A you want your money back for breach of contract.
Secondly, check to see if there is anything they have charged you for which they haven't done. This is theft. Advise them they may be prosecuted.
jasandjules said:Thanks for that, hope that's correct, are there any lawyers on here that may be able to confirm this???
Ok,
Not a lawyer, but have a little idea maybe..
Firstly, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (I think) requires the provision of services to be done to a reasonable standard, sooo get Garage B to put in writing the car was not fixed (for the second time) and then advise Garage A you want your money back for breach of contract.
Secondly, check to see if there is anything they have charged you for which they haven't done. This is theft. Advise them they may be prosecuted.
How about speaking to the CAB??
(its an Alfa) I had similar issues with Audi. A quick phone call to the complaints department at Audi UK, and it was all sorted out. The dealer bent over backwards to accomodate my interests.
Dealers don't like having their franchaises brought into question - head office coming down hard on them gets action, I find.
Dealers don't like having their franchaises brought into question - head office coming down hard on them gets action, I find.
Hi BigT
Sorry to hear about your problems. They give the industry a bad name. All is not lost however. A complicating fact is that if the car was taken for a number of prblems and some were fixed in a satisfactory manner, these would now be seen as completed. For the unfixed items I would think about this:
Dealer B seems like they are playing ball with you keep them on your side.
The wheels were offered as compensation for messing you around which you have accepted, although the whole fiasco about asking you to pay sounds even worse!
I would write a strongly worded letter explaining that they have now had two chances to complete the work you have already paid for, and that you are still unhappy, and have had the same work checked independantly.
State that they have two options: Either refund what you have paid (so you can go to dealer B for a fix) or pay Dealer B to complete the work. They have 7 days to get back. Use recorded delivery.
Explain that the only alternative to this is that you will report the problems to trading standards and take immediate legal action without warning.
This legal action would be filling out a simple form at Money Claim Online which starts the legal process. If they ignore it the judgement will go your way, and you can then instruct the court to get bailiffs to get your money.
In your claim (which can be up to £5000) include the amount to be repaid, any other costs you have encountered, ie going back and forth, Dealer B's costs if they charged you, your time taken off work to sort it out and any out of pocket expenses such as phone calls and postage. As well as of course the cost to start the claim which should be about £75.
95% of these cases win and are settled before court as the defendant basically knows they are guilty and pays up. This way you will at least cover some of your own costs for your trouble
If you do go to court it is common practice to defend yourself as the case is quite simple. I would also ask at this stage if dealer B does not mind appearing as a witness to confirm that the work was not done, and even more damning that dealer b was called and asked how to do it. This would easily show the incompetance.
Im not a professional, but have a good understanding of the law. I would recommend Money Claim Online to anyone, especially in getting refunds from shop or call centres if they dont play ball as they should. You will get you money within a couple of weeks plus your reasonable expenses.
Sorry to hear about your problems. They give the industry a bad name. All is not lost however. A complicating fact is that if the car was taken for a number of prblems and some were fixed in a satisfactory manner, these would now be seen as completed. For the unfixed items I would think about this:
Dealer B seems like they are playing ball with you keep them on your side.
The wheels were offered as compensation for messing you around which you have accepted, although the whole fiasco about asking you to pay sounds even worse!
I would write a strongly worded letter explaining that they have now had two chances to complete the work you have already paid for, and that you are still unhappy, and have had the same work checked independantly.
State that they have two options: Either refund what you have paid (so you can go to dealer B for a fix) or pay Dealer B to complete the work. They have 7 days to get back. Use recorded delivery.
Explain that the only alternative to this is that you will report the problems to trading standards and take immediate legal action without warning.
This legal action would be filling out a simple form at Money Claim Online which starts the legal process. If they ignore it the judgement will go your way, and you can then instruct the court to get bailiffs to get your money.
In your claim (which can be up to £5000) include the amount to be repaid, any other costs you have encountered, ie going back and forth, Dealer B's costs if they charged you, your time taken off work to sort it out and any out of pocket expenses such as phone calls and postage. As well as of course the cost to start the claim which should be about £75.
95% of these cases win and are settled before court as the defendant basically knows they are guilty and pays up. This way you will at least cover some of your own costs for your trouble
If you do go to court it is common practice to defend yourself as the case is quite simple. I would also ask at this stage if dealer B does not mind appearing as a witness to confirm that the work was not done, and even more damning that dealer b was called and asked how to do it. This would easily show the incompetance.
Im not a professional, but have a good understanding of the law. I would recommend Money Claim Online to anyone, especially in getting refunds from shop or call centres if they dont play ball as they should. You will get you money within a couple of weeks plus your reasonable expenses.
Justin,
That's a great help, many thanks for that information and taking time to post it, much appreciated.
The dealer spoke to my cous today and are offering to get the car sorted out AGAIN!!
He got a call from dealer B saying that they called him AGAIN!! Dealer B will give them advice if need be so that's a big big help.
If not then the route you have suggested will be taken.
It's sickening cos it's not 500 quid we're talking here!!
Keep you posted.....T.
That's a great help, many thanks for that information and taking time to post it, much appreciated.
The dealer spoke to my cous today and are offering to get the car sorted out AGAIN!!
He got a call from dealer B saying that they called him AGAIN!! Dealer B will give them advice if need be so that's a big big help.
If not then the route you have suggested will be taken.
It's sickening cos it's not 500 quid we're talking here!!
Keep you posted.....T.
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