Where do I stand - any lawyers out there?
Discussion
Finally got my car going again after a 2 year semi-restoration hooray! BUT it's all started to go a bit pear shaped, she needed a new windscreen and the injection setup looking at so I decided to take her to a well known local TVR specialist which has a good rep (I won't name here as that's against the rules I would imagine). I expected as you would that the job would be done expertly and the bill was to reflected this, I don't mind paying well for a good job. Well I settled back and whilst the car was at garage moved house some 100 miles down the road. Very excited to be told the following weekend the car was ready and was running great apart from a little lumpy at cold so I set off with wife and 2 little kids to collect the S - a 3 hour round trip. However upon getting to the 'specialist' I was shocked, the car certainly runs OK but the windscreen installation was awful; the silicone is a right state with edges of the screen exposed and oozed into the cabin, the vinyl was hanging down from above the screen, the edges of the vinyl at the sides was damaged and the interior of the car which I've just finished re-upholstering in cream leather and looked fantastic (ask Leebee he's seen it) is covered in oily smudges and marks all over! I had no choice but to take the car and immediately wrote to the owner with pics etc. To his credit he has asked me to take the car back in but what sort of compensation should I be asking for (I'm not very good at this sort of thing), do I get them to collect the car at their expense or shall I try to get my petrol costs covered as we are talking about potentially 2 cars doing 400 miles and 6 hours of travelling to return/re-collect the S...
It was great to drive her again and she runs fine but I'm sooooo p$ssed off!!
Simon
It was great to drive her again and she runs fine but I'm sooooo p$ssed off!!
Simon
First step - speak to the owner - tell him calmly how bitterly dissapointed you are - do not get angry it will not help the situation.
It is worth writing down what you want to discuss with him on some paper so you don't miss anything when you are on the phone. Make sure you mention the travel etc.
Get the lawyers involved if this doesn't work.
You do have to give them the opportunity to put it right first I feel.
Chris
It is worth writing down what you want to discuss with him on some paper so you don't miss anything when you are on the phone. Make sure you mention the travel etc.
Get the lawyers involved if this doesn't work.
You do have to give them the opportunity to put it right first I feel.
Chris
Edited by Barkychoc on Sunday 28th October 18:04
I'm not a lawyer but I did a bit of research when I was in a similar position.
Chris is absolutely right, your fist step should be to speak to the garage owner (which I thnk is what you are planning to do). Put your claim together, ie what you want him to do and/or reimburse you for and include the travel costs in this. Then negotiate with him. If he's reputable he should be prepared to talk it through with you and hopefully you will be able to agree a settlement. I had a harangue with a garage once and we settled it amicably this way.
The next step would be arbitration. This will mean getting an independant "expert" that parties agree will be able to arbitrate. He will listen to both sides and give his opinion. As he is independant, he will be unbiassed.
The next step will be litigation but a court will consider you're wasting its time if you haven't been through the steps above.
I always think that any comany can get thigs wrong, it's how they react when things do go wrong that demarcates a good company from an indifferent one.
Hope you get it sorted quickly.
Chris is absolutely right, your fist step should be to speak to the garage owner (which I thnk is what you are planning to do). Put your claim together, ie what you want him to do and/or reimburse you for and include the travel costs in this. Then negotiate with him. If he's reputable he should be prepared to talk it through with you and hopefully you will be able to agree a settlement. I had a harangue with a garage once and we settled it amicably this way.
The next step would be arbitration. This will mean getting an independant "expert" that parties agree will be able to arbitrate. He will listen to both sides and give his opinion. As he is independant, he will be unbiassed.
The next step will be litigation but a court will consider you're wasting its time if you haven't been through the steps above.
I always think that any comany can get thigs wrong, it's how they react when things do go wrong that demarcates a good company from an indifferent one.
Hope you get it sorted quickly.
Edited by profstoff on Monday 29th October 07:16
You also have to weigh up what all this would cost - sorting it amicably is by far the best option.
If things don't work out you will obviously be very peed off, wanting to engage matters of prinpiple etc etc but financially you may find the cheapest thing to do is to walk away and get it fixed elsewhere.
Sad but true.
Chris
If things don't work out you will obviously be very peed off, wanting to engage matters of prinpiple etc etc but financially you may find the cheapest thing to do is to walk away and get it fixed elsewhere.
Sad but true.
Chris
S3Paulo said:
Your TVR Specialist isn't in the West Midlands by any chance...sort of Worc. way...?
No south and west of there...I've sent a letter and had a reply asking me to bring the car back in so now my blood has a cooled a bit I'll give the guy a ring tomorrow and try to negotiate a resolution. thanks for all the advice just needed to vent some steam somewhere and realised it wouldn't help to have a real go over the phone
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