Discussion
Used an online company to book a mobile mechanic to come out and perform an Oil and Filter change on my alfa.
I had e-mailed to ask them just before booking if they would reset the oil service interval as it was showing a big red warning light and error messages continuously. I would have changed the oil and filter myself obviously if I could have reset this service interval, however knew you needed to plug it in.
So the mechanic came out, changed the oil and filter, couldn't reset the counter and left.
I contacted the company and they point blank refused to help me get it sorted or give even a partial refund.
Have phoned around and only the local Main Dealer can reset an alfa, however they will only do so if they have done the oil & filter change themselves, understandably.
It's not a lot of money, but I have time on my hands and the principle of it. Should I go online small claims court?
I had e-mailed to ask them just before booking if they would reset the oil service interval as it was showing a big red warning light and error messages continuously. I would have changed the oil and filter myself obviously if I could have reset this service interval, however knew you needed to plug it in.
So the mechanic came out, changed the oil and filter, couldn't reset the counter and left.
I contacted the company and they point blank refused to help me get it sorted or give even a partial refund.
Have phoned around and only the local Main Dealer can reset an alfa, however they will only do so if they have done the oil & filter change themselves, understandably.
It's not a lot of money, but I have time on my hands and the principle of it. Should I go online small claims court?
Terminator X said:
Google how to reset it? My car will reset without a laptop if you know the right buttons to press.
TX.
TX.
stupidbutkeen said:
service menu, key to MAR, side lights on press + and - pressed and keep pressed, after 5 seconds lights off, 5 seconds lights on. Magico hey presto reset to 12000 miles before service
may not work on a newer 156 though but got from alfa sites
I wish, simply can't be done on a 159. Needs plugging in.may not work on a newer 156 though but got from alfa sites
Steffan said:
Outright deliberate misrepresentation. I hope you paid with a credit card in which case resolution is simple. Complain to the cc company who will refund in full. If you paid direct best of luck with the litigation. You should be aware that litigation may result in a court decision in your favour but actually getting any money from the brigands may be difficult. Many deliberate misrepresenters have form and will structure their businesses to avoid effective action. Be aware of this you may not even get costs. Cc's are the best protected payment method.
debit card unfortunately. I didn't think about it at the time.It isn't a great amount of money, but like I said, it's all about principle!
I have used moneyclaimonline before, so know the pitfalls of the system
Martin_M said:
Does your local newspaper have anyone you can write in to for these types of things?
The Sunday Mail in Scotland has one - 'The Judge' who helped me out with something similar once.
not a bad idea, but I don't want to ruin them, it may be a one off, just get my money back The Sunday Mail in Scotland has one - 'The Judge' who helped me out with something similar once.
ging84 said:
only if you honestly believe there's no other way to get that service light reset without paying the dealer to change it again
If you can find a better way, please let me know. I have searched the internet high and low for a solution.If I had been able to find out how to do this I would have done the oil and oil filter change myself, it's a pretty easy job to do.
Strangely Brown said:
May I ask why you paid them in advance of the work being done?
it's an automated system, you give details when you book, then it should come out on the day, only the mechanic had to postpone a few days, so payment came out.heebeegeetee said:
Is it an oil change light or is it a service light?
it's an oil service message/warningnot the full service warning, just an oil one
balls-out said:
op said:
Used an online company to book a mobile mechanic to come out and perform an Oil and Filter change on my alfa.
I had e-mailed to ask them just before booking
Sounds like when the scope of work was agreed and a contact entered into you didn't mention the the reset. I had e-mailed to ask them just before booking
You then increased the scope of supply and they offered it as free good will gesture.
Yes - I think you are wrong.
Edited by balls-out on Monday 16th June 10:19
I e-mailed them prior to booking and asked if they could reset the oil service interval. they said they could. so I booked with them the next day.
I have these e-mails, I have my booking receipt. I would not threaten small claims court if I did not have proof of this.
bradjsmith88 said:
As far as I can remember EU law makes it illegal for only Alfa to be able to reset the lights.
What MY make and model is your car - I will have a look what Autodata says tonight if I have it.
It may be a computer is needed, but I would be very VERY surprised if only Alfa can do it!
It sounded odd to me too, but I have phoned around maybe 20 auto electricians, everyone I could find in the area.What MY make and model is your car - I will have a look what Autodata says tonight if I have it.
It may be a computer is needed, but I would be very VERY surprised if only Alfa can do it!
all have said no!
Cheers for the help everyone.
Wasn't sure if I was being a bit over the top, but seems to be largely in agreement here.
I get the point about weighing up the time/effort. Fortunately I have lots of time, and know the process well, for various reasons have been to court quite a few times, though never on the wrong end of the dock
so off to MCOL it is!
only wish I could name and shame here, still if you were to google: mobile mechanic, the site would come right at the top.
Wasn't sure if I was being a bit over the top, but seems to be largely in agreement here.
I get the point about weighing up the time/effort. Fortunately I have lots of time, and know the process well, for various reasons have been to court quite a few times, though never on the wrong end of the dock
so off to MCOL it is!
only wish I could name and shame here, still if you were to google: mobile mechanic, the site would come right at the top.
it's ok zzz and justin, have already sent an e-mail to them advising of "notice before action" and all that jazz. gave them 28 days to respond, to which they have ignored.
There had been quite a long e-mail chain in which they repeatedly refused to do anything, not phone as I realised I should keep it documented.
There had been quite a long e-mail chain in which they repeatedly refused to do anything, not phone as I realised I should keep it documented.
mikesalt said:
Pick up an adapter for less than £10, and reset it yourself.
I would need the £50 version of the software, and even then it wouldn't be guaranteed not to balls up the car.It is quite annoying how hard this is to do, but that's where i'm at!
Hi All
so could do with some help again on this one!
I did file this through moneyclaimonline to the small claims court, and after an acknowledgement of service a lawyer has finally replied with two points which I could do with knowing roughly where they/I stand on this
firstly they say:
"your claim has no basis in law because the contract is not with ClickMechanic. The contract to undertake the work on your car was with the particular mechanic, xxxxx of xxx. This is because a contract in law is made between parties which exchange 'consideration' (i.e. the legal term for a price paid, and the service rendered). As you will see fro your invoice, you paid consideration to the mechanic, the person with whom you were in contract."
which they also say is in their terms:
"A Booking represents a contract between you and the Mechanic. By using the Website to request the services of a Mechanic, you authorise ClickMechanic to collect payments relating to the Booking on behalf of a Mechanic, including any discretionary charges stated in this Agreement. You accept that ClickMechanic bears no liability for any services performed as part of a Booking, or for any warranties or assurances given."
The second part of the defence revolves around whether they had said they would reset the oil service counter or not. Though I would be willing to see what a Judge says on this one.
So what do you guys think?
so could do with some help again on this one!
I did file this through moneyclaimonline to the small claims court, and after an acknowledgement of service a lawyer has finally replied with two points which I could do with knowing roughly where they/I stand on this
firstly they say:
"your claim has no basis in law because the contract is not with ClickMechanic. The contract to undertake the work on your car was with the particular mechanic, xxxxx of xxx. This is because a contract in law is made between parties which exchange 'consideration' (i.e. the legal term for a price paid, and the service rendered). As you will see fro your invoice, you paid consideration to the mechanic, the person with whom you were in contract."
which they also say is in their terms:
"A Booking represents a contract between you and the Mechanic. By using the Website to request the services of a Mechanic, you authorise ClickMechanic to collect payments relating to the Booking on behalf of a Mechanic, including any discretionary charges stated in this Agreement. You accept that ClickMechanic bears no liability for any services performed as part of a Booking, or for any warranties or assurances given."
The second part of the defence revolves around whether they had said they would reset the oil service counter or not. Though I would be willing to see what a Judge says on this one.
So what do you guys think?
trashbat said:
I think you're claiming against the wrong entity, as they suggest.
How much of the advice in this thread did you follow?
depends on which bits you mean.How much of the advice in this thread did you follow?
I would get this if they had just put me in contact with him, but they arranged brokered the work to be carried out.
They told the mechanic what work to carry out, I didn't ask him to do a thing, he just did what they asked him to do.
I was also in a contract as soona s I booked through their website, not when the mechanic turned up, therefore I had assumed the contract was with them
The mechanic also used a clickmechanic app on his phone to take payment.
Of course, I am no lawyer
trashbat said:
I'm not a lawyer either, but what they say about consideration is correct. You only have a contract with the person you paid. Depending on how it works, the mechanic might have a contract with the website company to advertise his services and act as a booking agent, but that's immaterial to you.
well this says a legal contract is "The next step is for someone to accept the offer. This is the moment when the contract is created."http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/consu...
with ABTA it's a bit different because you are told of whom you have the contract with; i.e. which plane company.
In this case I had no links to the mechanic at all.
I have checked a few other resources, and all talk about offer and acceptance. i.e.: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Offer-and-acceptan...
As for resolution, we exchanged e-mails for a while; (I wanted to keep it documented), and asked for them to help, get another mechanic out, just pay for the additional work to be done elsewhere, and partial compensation.
The amount isn't much, just over £100
In this case I had no links to the mechanic at all.
I have checked a few other resources, and all talk about offer and acceptance. i.e.: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Offer-and-acceptan...
As for resolution, we exchanged e-mails for a while; (I wanted to keep it documented), and asked for them to help, get another mechanic out, just pay for the additional work to be done elsewhere, and partial compensation.
The amount isn't much, just over £100
Edited by Efbe on Wednesday 16th July 21:59
JustinP1 said:
With regards to the first bit, their terms actually state that you *do* have an agreement with them, and in fact you need to tick a box to ensure that you understand the agreement.
It is not as clear cut as they make out. Simply because terms state 'We don't have a contract', that does not mean that in law the circumstances prove the same. Indeed, on the face of it, you have more of a contract with the people you paid the money to than the actual mechanic. It could be interpreted on the facts that in fact they are merely subcontracting the work. The very best case scenario for them is that it is interpreted that they are an agent of the mechanic, and they would still have a liability in their agency.
Finally, do the terms *they supplied to you* actually state what they've said? This is vitally important, as it doesn't matter what their terms state unless they have introduced them. The terms on their site, by my scan reading are not the same.
Thanks Justin.It is not as clear cut as they make out. Simply because terms state 'We don't have a contract', that does not mean that in law the circumstances prove the same. Indeed, on the face of it, you have more of a contract with the people you paid the money to than the actual mechanic. It could be interpreted on the facts that in fact they are merely subcontracting the work. The very best case scenario for them is that it is interpreted that they are an agent of the mechanic, and they would still have a liability in their agency.
Finally, do the terms *they supplied to you* actually state what they've said? This is vitally important, as it doesn't matter what their terms state unless they have introduced them. The terms on their site, by my scan reading are not the same.
Edited by JustinP1 on Thursday 17th July 16:10
The only terms supplied are those on the website. As it is all booked online, the only other terms are those in the e-mail receipt:
[i]"Thank you for requesting a booking using ClickMechanic!
We are now arranging for a mobile mechanic at the specified time. You will receive a confirmation email with the mechanic's name once it has been scheduled.
In the rare instance that none of our mechanics are available at your chosen time, we'll contact you immediately to find an alternative that works for you.
...
Payment & booking info
...
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Read more about how ClickMechanic works, our term and conditions, and our booking policies at http://www.clickmechanic.com/terms . In particular please note that £20‒£40 charge may apply (at our discretion) when cancelling or rescheduling less than 24 hours before the earliest arrival time.
If you have any queries please contact us at mail@clickmechanic.com"[/i]
so you think they are either subcontracting, or acting as an agency. That helps, gives me some stuff to go away and look at.
The reason I thought I had the contract with them and not the mechanic, is because even at this stage I do not know who the mechanic is, they essentially saying one has yet to be assigned. Let me know if I am wrong here.
The payment bit is awkward. You give them your card details before you book, then I assume they do a pre-payment authorisation, then you pay when the mechanic has finished the job, using their click mechanic app on the mechanics phone.
As Mikeveal was nicely saying though, if I do turn out not to have a case, I will back down, I do not want to waste the courts time!
JustinP1 said:
Efbe said:
The only terms supplied are those on the website. As it is all booked online, the only other terms are those in the e-mail receipt:
[i]"Thank you for requesting a booking using ClickMechanic!
If they've not introduced those terms for you to accept, then there is the argument that they are not part of the contract.[i]"Thank you for requesting a booking using ClickMechanic!
The wording is somewhat ambiguous, as it sounds at that point that there is no contract in place. What happens if you were to pull out at that point? Would they charge you?
With regards to pulling out, you have to look at the whole picture.
If you don't withdraw, they have a litigation risk. They *might* lose. Judges can be random, and see things differently to either party. So, after they invest more than the amount of the claim on sending an employee, they might be doubly down.
For this amount, I'd be surprised if they didn't look to settle if you stood your ground at 50-100% of the claim. It's be cheaper for them to do this than come to court and win.
Yes, I would be charged at that part if I cancelled the booking. does that mean I am in contract at that point?
And I would be happy for them to settle. I don't really need my day in court, but I do hate companies that treat the customer like dirt
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