Low value dispite and the small claims court
Discussion
I am currently in the process of attempting to get a refund of money I paid to a franchised dealer ( just over £70) for a diagnosis of a problem with my car.
They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
In reality, no. But...
Maybe persist a bit more. On a Saturday, go to the showroom before opening time, and "accidentally break-down" just inside the entrance (their private property), with the unfortunate side effect that it prevents would-be buyers from entering their car park.
Leave someone in the car (is there a little old lady with some knitting that you could borrow?) and go into the showroom to negotiate for the full refund.
Maybe persist a bit more. On a Saturday, go to the showroom before opening time, and "accidentally break-down" just inside the entrance (their private property), with the unfortunate side effect that it prevents would-be buyers from entering their car park.
Leave someone in the car (is there a little old lady with some knitting that you could borrow?) and go into the showroom to negotiate for the full refund.
sugerbear said:
I am currently in the process of attempting to get a refund of money I paid to a franchised dealer ( just over £70) for a diagnosis of a problem with my car.
They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
Did you specifically agree that if they were not able to diagnose the problem that you would not have to pay?They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
I had this with BMW Mini, EML reappeared a week later, I asked for the printout of the first diagnostics, studied both in the waiting room not having a clue what i was looking at! lol
I then saw there was the same fault code on both diagnostics, so got the repair and a refund of the 2nd diagnostics!
I then saw there was the same fault code on both diagnostics, so got the repair and a refund of the 2nd diagnostics!
JustinP1 said:
sugerbear said:
I am currently in the process of attempting to get a refund of money I paid to a franchised dealer ( just over £70) for a diagnosis of a problem with my car.
They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
Did you specifically agree that if they were not able to diagnose the problem that you would not have to pay?They reset the warning without telling me what the problem was (in their words, they said they couldn't see anything) and the warning light/error message re-appeared the following week. I found someone that could connect to the pollution ecu and they diagnosed the problem instantly.
They dealer is reluctant to offer a full refund because they have (in their words) done nothing wrong. Though they have offered me a free MOT. For obvious reasons I have no intention of using them ever again. I have asked for the logs from their diagnostic machine to prove/disprove their claim of no fault being present.
But for seventy quid it seems a rather low amount to go chasing through the small claims court.
Are there any alternatives?
I don't live in the location of the garage ( near to parents) so returning for a second diagnostic wasn't an option.
The garage have told me that the hard drive was changed in September so they can't provide a printout. Convenient eh.
Quite simple. I took the car to the garage to have the problem diagnosed, I was very specific about that.
The garage didn't diagnose the problem they reset the warning and the fault remained.
Or do you think on the balances of probability the warning light problem wasn't registered in the ecu and that the fault that occurred a week later was unconnected?
The garage didn't diagnose the problem they reset the warning and the fault remained.
Or do you think on the balances of probability the warning light problem wasn't registered in the ecu and that the fault that occurred a week later was unconnected?
sugerbear said:
Quite simple. I took the car to the garage to have the problem diagnosed, I was very specific about that.
The garage didn't diagnose the problem they reset the warning and the fault remained.
Or do you think on the balances of probability the warning light problem wasn't registered in the ecu and that the fault that occurred a week later was unconnected?
It's a semantic issue here, but interesting.The garage didn't diagnose the problem they reset the warning and the fault remained.
Or do you think on the balances of probability the warning light problem wasn't registered in the ecu and that the fault that occurred a week later was unconnected?
In effect your argument is that you paid for this garage to perform a service - specifically running a diagnostic check to see if there was an underlying fault that caused the car to display a DPF system warning.
This they did. There's no dispute they actually ran the diagnostic check. Their machine was too primitive to actually detect the root cause of the warning light. Instead, in its ignorance, it decided nothing was wrong.
The garage chose to believe their machine, presumably on the basis that it did a superficial check and found nothing. Assuming the warning light to be erroneous, they reset it.
Now my (totally unqualified) opinion is that the garage did perform the service you requested. They have fulfilled that aspect of the contract, such that it exists.
Your issue is with the quality of their service. Quite how a small claims court would deal with that I don't know. They've done what was asked, just not to the standard you required.
OP, MagneticMeerkat above has picked up what I'm getting at.
You paid the garage to complete work to a reasonable standard. There was no contract to fix or come up with a particular outcome.
You will go to court and argue someone else a different day got a different result. They will argue that the results they got were correct. After all, it stands to reason if they found a fault, they could presumably give themselves some more business fixing it.
You paid the garage to complete work to a reasonable standard. There was no contract to fix or come up with a particular outcome.
You will go to court and argue someone else a different day got a different result. They will argue that the results they got were correct. After all, it stands to reason if they found a fault, they could presumably give themselves some more business fixing it.
I can see the point that you are both making.
It rankles with me but ultimately the garage are the losers as you have pointed out, I "lost" £70, and I know that the garage had the right equipment to diagnose, my usual garage didn't have the pollution diagnosis computer, hence why it had to go a main dealer.
They also missed another issue (engine was blowing past the injector and causing a smell inside the car) which they admitted as a common problem, but they did find that one of the rear springs was corroded.
Both those issues would have cost in the region of £300-£600 to fix at a main dealer, money they have lost to another garage.
It rankles with me but ultimately the garage are the losers as you have pointed out, I "lost" £70, and I know that the garage had the right equipment to diagnose, my usual garage didn't have the pollution diagnosis computer, hence why it had to go a main dealer.
They also missed another issue (engine was blowing past the injector and causing a smell inside the car) which they admitted as a common problem, but they did find that one of the rear springs was corroded.
Both those issues would have cost in the region of £300-£600 to fix at a main dealer, money they have lost to another garage.
You have to prove that the service was not carried out with reasonable care and skill.
To chase it through the courts you will have to pay £25 to lodge the claim and another £25 to drive it to a hearing, I think. I went through this issue a few months ago.
They might roll over if you send them a letter before action (google it), but on the other hand they might not - the garage have to prove they've made reasonable efforts to settle the matter with you, which it sounds like they have.
The whole thing seems so marginal it's not worth the hassle. If you want some satisfaction, a snotty letter to the dealer's HQ might give you a warm fuzzy feeling instead.
To chase it through the courts you will have to pay £25 to lodge the claim and another £25 to drive it to a hearing, I think. I went through this issue a few months ago.
They might roll over if you send them a letter before action (google it), but on the other hand they might not - the garage have to prove they've made reasonable efforts to settle the matter with you, which it sounds like they have.
The whole thing seems so marginal it's not worth the hassle. If you want some satisfaction, a snotty letter to the dealer's HQ might give you a warm fuzzy feeling instead.
BertBert said:
If they have offered some recompense in the form of a free MoT which you can't use, then ask them for something you can use (like some money or some engine oil or something) and move on I reckon.
Bert
This.Bert
No worth the hassle over £70. I am one who likes to fight these type of things but seeing that it would be very tricky to prove, its better to accept their compensation and move on.
Had an experience at a main dealer where I was duped into changing brake pads that was about 50% worn. I complained with evidence and they gave me £100 off my next service. I accepted it but that didnt stop me from escalating it to HQ.
Mine is slightly differeny ftom yours as there is something to show for money spent. With yours, the £70 would have been better spent on some lines.
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