Lat year I bought a car privately which had been damaged, I found a garage to undertake the work - drew up a work agreement after the garage owner had inspected the car twice. He signed this as did the owner, it outlined the work and the how much he would be paid. He had been permitted to use quality used parts including airbags.
To keep this short I collected the car in a hurry as I was behind schedule to leave for Europe, he assured me all the work has been done to the last detail. On the road I noticed the steering stiff and by the time I arrived at my destination there was a short in the horn.
On changing the wheels the mechanic noticed the wheel base was uneven. The first operation on the work list was to check the alignment which was clearly not done!
I returned the car to the garage having notified him of the problems as soon as they occurred. he fixed the horn - reluctantly changed a shock absorber and made it clear he wasn't going to do anything else. I again left for Europe and on arriving took the car to a main dealer and spent 拢200+ on a report which stated that a figure ~ Euro 5000 would have to be spent to put it right the airbags are inoperative! The dealer deemed the car as un-roadworthy. I believe he spent no more than a couple of hundred pounds where as he was paid more than a couple of thousands!
I have sent the garage owner a registered letter outlining the problems and indicating I am about to start legal action. Can someone please advise of the actual complaints I can register. UK only.What charges can I bring?
Doethine is correct. The small claims courtis the route you should take.
The application can be made on line and will cost you 拢35 which you can add to the amount claimed.
You will need to use your work agreement as proof of the work that was required to be carried out.
Your invoice and receipt will show how much you were charged for the work, (and how much was paid).
The main dealer report will sjhow what work is required to bring the car up to standard.
Check this report and you should be able to claim back any items that are on your initial work agreement.
Explain to the garage what you are doing, in writing, and give them the opportunity to put the vehicle right or refund some of your money.
In doing so set a time limit for the garage to respond and if they do not respond the go ahead with the claim.
www.moneyclaim.gov.uk is the site you need to use to make the claim.What charges can I bring?
I'm in the U.S. but our laws are similar. You can take the mechanic to court and get your money back. If the second mechanic can't appear as your witness, you will need something from him that states exactly what he found that was not done as promised by the first mechanic. In addition, if you had to miss work etc. because of the first mechanic, you may be able to be compensated for that.What charges can I bring?
Fraud.
You had a detailed list of what work needed to be completed on the car yet it turned out you had to take it elsewhere and found that the work paid for was not done. That is fraud.
Take it to small claims and sue for work that was paid for and not done, like the value of the wheel alignment. Do not ask for more than you are entitled to.What charges can I bring?
There's a lot of this going on. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/72602
This is a civil matter and the place to bring it is the small claims court at your local County Court. The staff will help you draft your statement of claim and the judge will give assistance to you if you are unrepresented. The garage owner was negligent in not carrying out the work to the standard you would expect of an experienced mechanic and your application is for damages consisting of the money you paid for shoddy work and the extra expense you were to as the result of his negligence. It is hard to say how much money you have lost in terms of the former value of the car and its present value, but you can claim for the difference between what you paid and its present (scrap?) value and hope for the best.
