Removing deposit and parts from car garage
Discussion
Looking for advice on how to proceed with this issue that’s dragged on for nearly a year now.
8th September last year I dropped my Discovery 3 off at a Land Rover specialist who had agreed to take on it’s recommissioning work after being off the road for 3 years.
I had spoken to them at a land rover show in September 22 about it and they had said it was well within their ability to sort it.
I wrote down the full list of stuff I wanted sorted and told them to give it a once over for any other issues I hadn’t picked up.
They did have a queue of cars going into the workshop so it was going to be a couple of weeks before it would have its turn. Which I was fine with.
Got a message on the 25th September that it was going in the workshop and they had a quote for everything to be sorted and the car to be spot on, reliable again and ready for use.
They were also aware I wanted the car fixed and returned by the 8th December as that was when my son was due to be born and I really wanted this Disco to be the car to bring him home.
They wanted a 50% deposit so I transferred £3440 to them and waited for the work to start.
Which according to the text message I got, was the 2nd October.
I would get a further message to say it was finished and ready.
Which never came…
So I called asking for an update mid November as it was starting to get close to due date. Car wasn’t ready.
They missed the 8th deadline, and so did my son.
He arrived the 21st and the car wasn’t done.
Called back and was told it would be end of December.
Which didn’t happen.
I was then told it would be end of January/start of February.
So I let the insurance policy run out on my Freelander 2 that I was using and gave it to miss A.J.M to use as her new car as it was better than the Polo she had.
I got put on the insurance policy of my dads E Pace and i used that as my car as i was expecting the disco to arrive, as i had seen pictures of it in the workshop on their social media.
February came and went. The disco didn’t arrive.
Same with March…
Then April showed it on the ramp and the body and chassis split for them to do the rust repairs and dinitrol treatment.
It’s already way past the timeframe we had agreed by this point.
I had been calling every week or so trying to get an answer on what was going on. And kept getting told “it will be finished for next Friday” which wasn’t the case.
On May the 2nd a mate messaged me to call the garage about my car.
It turned out the body was rotten from years of Scottish climate and was beyond repair due to how bad it was.
So the car was toast, they had proposed getting a donor car and swapping the parts from mine into it.
Which i initially agreed to.
But when it was at the end of June and we were no further forward, I had pretty much had enough of it.
I was still using my dad’s car at this point.
On the 9th July I called and said I was cancelling the project. It clearly wasnt going to happen and I needed a car. I was going to send a list of the parts I wanted to keep off the car as it had several grands worth of off road equipment on it and they had good resale value.
The garage owner said I would also be due a refund on the deposit.
I made the list up and messaged the garage owner with the list on the 17th July.
I bought a Discovery 4 on the 21st so a lot of the kit can be fitted to that.
I called the garage last Monday to ask how they were getting on with sorting the parts out.
The owner stated they hadn’t even looked at my car, nothing was off it and they hadn’t worked out my refund.
As it stands today, this is the same position I’m in.
The big issue has been the garage is 136 miles from home.
And with a baby, it’s not been possible to go down and see them directly.
Now.
They have clearly been messing me about this full time.
I’m beyond sick of it and just want my parts back and the money I’m owed.
So what options do I have to get what money I’m owed returned to me and also the parts I’ve asked for.
The owner claims the bodyshell is still on a ramp.
The chassis is still in the yard, minus its engine and autobox. But is a rolling chassis from the last picture I’ve seen.
Can I go small claims court?
Or is this a case of tough s
t and good luck?
8th September last year I dropped my Discovery 3 off at a Land Rover specialist who had agreed to take on it’s recommissioning work after being off the road for 3 years.
I had spoken to them at a land rover show in September 22 about it and they had said it was well within their ability to sort it.
I wrote down the full list of stuff I wanted sorted and told them to give it a once over for any other issues I hadn’t picked up.
They did have a queue of cars going into the workshop so it was going to be a couple of weeks before it would have its turn. Which I was fine with.
Got a message on the 25th September that it was going in the workshop and they had a quote for everything to be sorted and the car to be spot on, reliable again and ready for use.
They were also aware I wanted the car fixed and returned by the 8th December as that was when my son was due to be born and I really wanted this Disco to be the car to bring him home.
They wanted a 50% deposit so I transferred £3440 to them and waited for the work to start.
Which according to the text message I got, was the 2nd October.
I would get a further message to say it was finished and ready.
Which never came…
So I called asking for an update mid November as it was starting to get close to due date. Car wasn’t ready.
They missed the 8th deadline, and so did my son.
He arrived the 21st and the car wasn’t done.
Called back and was told it would be end of December.
Which didn’t happen.
I was then told it would be end of January/start of February.
So I let the insurance policy run out on my Freelander 2 that I was using and gave it to miss A.J.M to use as her new car as it was better than the Polo she had.
I got put on the insurance policy of my dads E Pace and i used that as my car as i was expecting the disco to arrive, as i had seen pictures of it in the workshop on their social media.
February came and went. The disco didn’t arrive.
Same with March…
Then April showed it on the ramp and the body and chassis split for them to do the rust repairs and dinitrol treatment.
It’s already way past the timeframe we had agreed by this point.
I had been calling every week or so trying to get an answer on what was going on. And kept getting told “it will be finished for next Friday” which wasn’t the case.
On May the 2nd a mate messaged me to call the garage about my car.
It turned out the body was rotten from years of Scottish climate and was beyond repair due to how bad it was.
So the car was toast, they had proposed getting a donor car and swapping the parts from mine into it.
Which i initially agreed to.
But when it was at the end of June and we were no further forward, I had pretty much had enough of it.
I was still using my dad’s car at this point.
On the 9th July I called and said I was cancelling the project. It clearly wasnt going to happen and I needed a car. I was going to send a list of the parts I wanted to keep off the car as it had several grands worth of off road equipment on it and they had good resale value.
The garage owner said I would also be due a refund on the deposit.
I made the list up and messaged the garage owner with the list on the 17th July.
I bought a Discovery 4 on the 21st so a lot of the kit can be fitted to that.
I called the garage last Monday to ask how they were getting on with sorting the parts out.
The owner stated they hadn’t even looked at my car, nothing was off it and they hadn’t worked out my refund.
As it stands today, this is the same position I’m in.
The big issue has been the garage is 136 miles from home.
And with a baby, it’s not been possible to go down and see them directly.
Now.
They have clearly been messing me about this full time.
I’m beyond sick of it and just want my parts back and the money I’m owed.
So what options do I have to get what money I’m owed returned to me and also the parts I’ve asked for.
The owner claims the bodyshell is still on a ramp.
The chassis is still in the yard, minus its engine and autobox. But is a rolling chassis from the last picture I’ve seen.
Can I go small claims court?
Or is this a case of tough s
t and good luck?Mad Maximus said:
If they are still planning on treating you fairly...
I don't see any signs of fair treatment in the above saga.OP, they are messing you about royally and you know it. I would also suggest they're in breach of contract as they didn't get the car ready by the agreed date. If you can evidence the story then I would go Small Claims for sure (you need to write them a letter before action first). I think you've been far too patient. You may not have to go to court but even if you do I think it would be worth the effort.
The mistake you made, of course, was in paying a huge deposit. No reputable company would do that. It's low-rent trademan stuff. They have your money and very little incentive to complete the work.
Simpo Two said:
I don't see any signs of fair treatment in the above saga.
OP, they are messing you about royally and you know it. I would also suggest they're in breach of contract as they didn't get the car ready by the agreed date. If you can evidence the story then I would go Small Claims for sure (you need to write them a letter before action first). I think you've been far too patient. You may not have to go to court but even if you do I think it would be worth the effort.
The mistake you made, of course, was in paying a huge deposit. No reputable company would do that. It's low-rent trademan stuff. They have your money and very little incentive to complete the work.
Tend to share this view especially on the deposit and I’m sorry to read your tale. OP, they are messing you about royally and you know it. I would also suggest they're in breach of contract as they didn't get the car ready by the agreed date. If you can evidence the story then I would go Small Claims for sure (you need to write them a letter before action first). I think you've been far too patient. You may not have to go to court but even if you do I think it would be worth the effort.
The mistake you made, of course, was in paying a huge deposit. No reputable company would do that. It's low-rent trademan stuff. They have your money and very little incentive to complete the work.
Does going the small claims court cost much money to do but assuming not that must be the way to go.
Good luck.
I can’t get my head round why you haven’t been down. You gave them £3,500 of your own money and they have completely mugged you off from start to finish. Time to get formal and head down the legal route, which is going to end up costing you more time and money the going down originally.
Get down to the garage and have a face to face before going the legal route. That gives them reasonable chance to sort it (all be it very very late).
Just diving into legal now may mean they put the "shutters up" and it will be more turmoil.
136 miles isn't that far....use a days holiday if you have to......it's £3,500 plus parts !!
Just diving into legal now may mean they put the "shutters up" and it will be more turmoil.
136 miles isn't that far....use a days holiday if you have to......it's £3,500 plus parts !!
Steve Campbell said:
Get down to the garage and have a face to face before going the legal route. That gives them reasonable chance to sort it (all be it very very late).
Some people feel uncomfortable about confrontation though, and even then the OP might get 'turned' by more false promises. 'The part's due in on Monday, we'll have it done by the end of next week' etc. Either way I doubt they'll give him £3,500 out of the till. A letter before action still gives them a chance to sort it out before it goes legal.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Similar thing happened to me.
Ended up trying the police (not interested), insurance (not interested), bailiffs (you get the message), solicitors (guess)
Had offers of 'muscle' coming to help, but guess who would get in trouble?
I had to pay to get the car back, in which the engine immediately failed, but luckily a very kind neighbour re-built it for me.
The two clowns supposedly emigrated to Canada - I feel sorry for them (the Canadians, not the twos who took my money)
Similar thing happened to me.
Ended up trying the police (not interested), insurance (not interested), bailiffs (you get the message), solicitors (guess)
Had offers of 'muscle' coming to help, but guess who would get in trouble?
I had to pay to get the car back, in which the engine immediately failed, but luckily a very kind neighbour re-built it for me.
The two clowns supposedly emigrated to Canada - I feel sorry for them (the Canadians, not the two
s who took my money)Edited by JohnnyUK on Wednesday 14th August 18:48
I haven’t turned up as I know they will simply spin more bullst and false promises at me.
They have been doing that the full year so why break the habit?
I want something legal that they can’t ignore and if they do try to ignore it.
There are consequences for that.
I want this ended.
As clearly they can and are happy to ignore me and my requests to get my stuff and my money back.
t and false promises at me.They have been doing that the full year so why break the habit?
I want something legal that they can’t ignore and if they do try to ignore it.
There are consequences for that.
I want this ended.
As clearly they can and are happy to ignore me and my requests to get my stuff and my money back.
A.J.M said:
I haven’t turned up as I know they will simply spin more bullst and false promises at me.
They have been doing that the full year so why break the habit?
I want something legal that they can’t ignore and if they do try to ignore it.
There are consequences for that.
I want this ended.
As clearly they can and are happy to ignore me and my requests to get my stuff and my money back.
I'm sorry - please read my post abovet and false promises at me.They have been doing that the full year so why break the habit?
I want something legal that they can’t ignore and if they do try to ignore it.
There are consequences for that.
I want this ended.
As clearly they can and are happy to ignore me and my requests to get my stuff and my money back.
The car was like this when I cancelled the project.
The car still remains in this condition.
They split the body to do rust repairs and after a lot of cutting back, the found it was rotten and the welder guy called quits on being able to fix it.
So I can’t drive the complete car onto a trailer and bring it home.
I could get the chassis onto a trailer and bring that home as some of the parts I’ve asked for are still on it.
Other parts have been removed to get the body split.
I don’t really know how to proceed with this legally.
Is it citizens advice or do I find a legal firm to use?
The car still remains in this condition.
They split the body to do rust repairs and after a lot of cutting back, the found it was rotten and the welder guy called quits on being able to fix it.
So I can’t drive the complete car onto a trailer and bring it home.
I could get the chassis onto a trailer and bring that home as some of the parts I’ve asked for are still on it.
Other parts have been removed to get the body split.
I don’t really know how to proceed with this legally.
Is it citizens advice or do I find a legal firm to use?
A.J.M said:
I could get the chassis onto a trailer and bring that home as some of the parts I’ve asked for are still on it.
Other parts have been removed to get the body split.
I don’t really know how to proceed with this legally.
Is it citizens advice or do I find a legal firm to use?
The vehicle is yours so you're entitled to take it back. Collect it first while you're still on good terms, then you can send the letter before action for the deposit. How much is it worth?Other parts have been removed to get the body split.
I don’t really know how to proceed with this legally.
Is it citizens advice or do I find a legal firm to use?
By all means go to the CAB first - it's free - but if you want your deposit back I think Small Claims will be their answer. Small Claims is nothing to be afraid of; it's designed to be a simple user-friendly process for the general public. No solicitors or legal jargon needed. If it goes to court - and it may not - the judge will allow for the fact you're not a KC
JohnnyUK said:
I absolutely wish the OP luck, but legal threats, letters etc did nothing for me. I was told to fk off.
I know you had a sh&% time with your experience, I followed your thread and felt bad for you - occasionally a legal threat with a clear "this is what I want to make it go away" can work and costs £0 lawyer fees.k off.vaud said:
JohnnyUK said:
I absolutely wish the OP luck, but legal threats, letters etc did nothing for me. I was told to fk off.
I know you had a sh&% time with your experience, I followed your thread and felt bad for you - occasionally a legal threat with a clear "this is what I want to make it go away" can work and costs £0 lawyer fees.k off.
JohnnyUK said:
vaud said:
JohnnyUK said:
Did you read my post? There's not much you can do - sorry
There is - a letter before action costs nothing and might prompt them to engage. I stress might.k off.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff