Where do I stand, legally?

[Billy Hunt]

(not a question about where I can legally stand)

Approximately a month ago I bought a reconditioned gearbox from a reputable independent parts supplier for £300 with a £100 surcharge on my old box.
Once fitted I found that the gearbox would pop out of 4th on over run / off the accelerator. I talked to the supplier and they asked to see the car which was not reasonable for me to do as they are 2 hours away and would mean me taking time of work.
To resolve the issue I sent back my original gearbox which they rebuilt and sent to me. I then re-fitted my original (now rebuilt) gearbox and sent back their faulty unit last week.

When they phoned to arrange collection I asked about my surcharge to which I got a remark somewhere along the lines of "You've had £700 worth of gearboxes out of but yes we'll refund it to you". (I have not had £700 worth of gearboxes as I've sent one back!)

It's a week since the box was returned and my surcharge has not been refunded. Obviously I am going to phone them tomorrow to ask again for my £100 back but if they refuse where do I stand legally?

I was not overly impressed with the attitude of the supplier, whenever I talked to them I always ended up getting "yes yes yes ok yes bye". I was always polite to them and fitted the gearbox twice (approx half a days work each time) with no argument.

I'm not after any money off I just want my surcharge back!

[lexusboy]

Well technically, going by you're post, you've had your old gearbox which has now been rebuilt so I would be surprised if they did give you anything back

[CYMR0]

So to clarify - the price was £300 but you paid an extra £100 on the understanding that this would be refunded when you returned your old, dead gearbox?

They then gave you a faulty gearbox, so you swapped, send their faulty one back, and they rebuilt yours and gave it back to you?

So essentially you paid them £300 to rebuild your gearbox and should have exchanged their faulty one against the £100 surcharge...

[Billy Hunt]

True but they have the first gearbox they sent back so they can repair and sell that one again.

Edit:
Yes CYMR0
The price of the gearbox was £300 plus £100 which was to be returned once they received my box.

The one they sent to me was faulty, they then rebuilt my original gearbox and I sent back their faulty unit.

Edited by Billy Hunt on Wednesday 18th July 21:29

[Trevor450]

The way I see it:

Gearbox cost £400 or £300 if you send back the broken one.

They sent you a broken one which you are entitled to have exchanged. You should get the deposit back. It's not your fault they didn't rebuild the first 'box they sent you properly. You kept your part of the deal.

[CYMR0]

Trevor450 said:

The way I see it:

Gearbox cost £400 or £300 if you send back the broken one.

They sent you a broken one which you are entitled to have exchanged. You should get the deposit back. It's not your fault they didn't rebuild the first 'box they sent you properly. You kept your part of the deal.

Agreed unless the OP is a trader, dealing in the course of business, etc. and they have valid exclusion clauses.

[McSam]

CYMR0 said:

Trevor450 said:

The way I see it:

Gearbox cost £400 or £300 if you send back the broken one.

They sent you a broken one which you are entitled to have exchanged. You should get the deposit back. It's not your fault they didn't rebuild the first 'box they sent you properly. You kept your part of the deal.

Agreed unless the OP is a trader, dealing in the course of business, etc. and they have valid exclusion clauses.

+1, the OP is legally fully entitled to receiving the surcharge back as he has given the supplier "a gearbox" back for them to recondition.

[tbc]

seems you are entitled to the £100 back as they sent you a faulty one to begin with, and although they exchanged it you are entitled to the initial charge back

worth fighting for

but i feel the words 'blood' and 'stone' come to mind when talking about a dealer

[Billy Hunt]

I'm not a dealer although I did have the gearbox sent to me at work.

You all seem to have the same opinion as me, we'll see how I get on today.

[LeeMad]

youre probably entitled to it, but id write it off as a loss if it was me in your position

[McSam]

LeeMad said:

youre probably entitled to it, but id write it off as a loss if it was me in your position

It's an extra 33% on the cost of the gearbox! You'd have to be mad, especially as you're in the very strong position of having had to do the damn job twice because they sent you a crap one, if anything they should be giving you £200 back! What if you'd been paying a mechanic to do the work?

[sday12]

OP, what did they say?

[T.K]

Unless there are some things you aren't telling us (perish the thought), I would say you are self evidently in the right and are contractually entitled to a refund of your deposit based on a common sense intepretation of the contract.

[sday12]

Still waiting.

[Billy Hunt]

Sorry for my delayed reply I've been pre-occupied for the last few days.

In the end they gave me the surcharge back, when I asked about it they said they were 'waiting for the mechanic to come in' so they could tell me what was wrong with it. They seemed quite surprised when I told them I wasn't interested and I only wanted my surcharge back.

[sday12]

All's well that's ends well.