Feel like I got skanked, do I have to pay?

ZENER

Where would the OP stand if he brought the spare key, left what he felt was a reasonable amount for the work he requested and drove the car away ? What recourse do the garage have ?

Ken

working fool

Right
First thing tomorrow . Go round to the garage before it opens .
Clean there windows " do a good job now "
When they come in , present them with a bill for €200 .
And when they say they dident ask for it !
You know the rest ?

kildare.17hmr

ZENER wrote: »

Where would the OP stand if he brought the spare key, left what he felt was a reasonable amount for the work he requested and drove the car away ? What recourse do the garage have ?

Ken

His car so none, they would have to go legal to get their bill paid id imagine

Merch

Can a garage legally hold your keys/car if you havent paid though?

in the case as above if a certain amount of work is requested but more is done? and give you the line its unsafe/needs to be done etc

Surely if its unsafe and you demand your keys, then the onus is on the owner for whatever happens. Whereas 9/10 its a cock and bull story to extort extra money.

(even if the work requested is a bit vague, ie personally Id never go to a garage to ask to resolve a noise, unless it was a car under warranty or in good new/enough condition and there was a serious racket out of it, in which case I would stop driving it pronto).

On the other hand garages could have people demanding their cars back and never see them or any money if they didnt say this? the idea they'd have to resort to legal action everytime to get paid is a bit ott too.

So anyone know

riverrock1

One solution to your problem would be to agree to pay the bill as long as the car passes its NCT first time.If it doesn't then they fix the fail items FOC.

One bit I don't get is fixing the slow punctures.How did they know the tyres had slow punctures in the first place?Most mechanics would just put the correct pressure in the tyre and leave it at that

actuallylike

Right, back with the car at last!!!

Didn't get everything I asked for unfortunately. Firstly before anything was said, the price was dropped to €200 even. I said thank you and I'd just like to pay to get my car back. I asked for the original bill of €300 and was point blank refused. Seemingly I'm not entitled to it cause it doesn't exist seeing as though I was never charged it. I said I was charged it and it was reedited as I never paid it. I then asked for a break down on the labour and a full technical write up on what the 'fixing of the leak' entailed, it'll be posted out to me.

Finally I asked for the initial write up when I first handed the car in. I simply told them what I wanted when I handed it in so I asked was what I said written down for instructions and if so I'd like a copy for at home. This didn't go down well at all and got a little bit heated. I kept my cool and kept insisting all I wanted are these three documents, in the end I've only been promised one that's been posted out to me. He also said it wasn't been kept for ransom, I mentioned I never said ransom and he said it was implied.

Oh, and on the bill when it said vacuum and clean inside? Nope (not that I asked for that but it's on the bill). The carton of Orange Juice I left in the back is expired too but the new wiper is the dogs bolloks

Big Nasty

So you ended up paying €200 then?

€100 says you never get that letter from them.

Glad you have it back anyhow!

Our man in Havana

I then asked for a break down on the labour and a full technical write up on what the 'fixing of the leak' entailed, it'll be posted out to me.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for that.

You can still proceed to court without it, as they will have to provide it as evidence in their defence.

Tallon

Seriously, wtf?

If they're constantly getting 'heated' with you every time you speak to them and refusing to give you details, receipts, information or whatever then go to the gardai or small claims

Seriously!

actuallylike

Tallon wrote: »

Seriously, wtf?

If they're constantly getting 'heated' with you every time you speak to them and refusing to give you details, receipts, information or whatever then go to the gardai or small claims

Seriously!

Gardai would be a bit much I think, but am bringing the bill (with the names edited out) along with the story of exactly what happened to other mechanics to see what they say. If out of the 3 dealers I go to, they confirm it's ridiculous, actuallylike is going to court!

Tallon

I think holding your car ransom is a bit much tbh

And making you pay for stuff you didnt ask for, or want!

Would you mind posting the edited bill here?

actuallylike

Tallon wrote: »

I think holding your car ransom is a bit much tbh

And making you pay for stuff you didnt ask for, or want!

Would you mind posting the edited bill here?

Edited bill is posted in one of my last posts

Grolschevik

It couldn't have been something as simple as miscommunication, could it?
Like you say, "oil change and check the engine, it's a bit noisy".
They hear "full service". Given that it said "full service" on your invoice?

On an aside, I had mine serviced recently. He noticed the rear brakes were nearly gone and went ahead and replaced them without asking me. But if he had asked me, I'd have said "go ahead", so it didn't bother me.

For comparison, here's a breakdown of my bill:

Rear brake linings -- parts 24.50 -- labour 65.
Service -- parts* -- 67.25 -- labour 90.

*Parts used in service:
Air filter - 9.57
Oil filter - 6.10
Oil (something illegible) 4L - 28.88
Plugs - 19.20
Battery terminal (was corroded and I asked him to do it) 3.50.

He also rotated the tyres, put on new front wiper blades, fixed my remote control key (it wasn't just the battery; I'd tried that already), and changed a blown bulb at no extra charge (or at least, at no charge that was independently itemised).

Total, including VAT, was 280, and I thought that was reasonable enough.

actuallylike

Grolschevik wrote: »

It couldn't have been something as simple as miscommunication, could it?
Like you say, "oil change and check the engine, it's a bit noisy".
They hear "full service". Given that it said "full service" on your invoice?

When we were discussing the bill I raised the point about have I been charged for a service and I was reassured, 'no, not at all'.

Grolschevik wrote: »

On an aside, I had mine serviced recently. He noticed the rear brakes were nearly gone and went ahead and replaced them without asking me. But if he had asked me, I'd have said "go ahead", so it didn't bother me.

If he had rang me, I would have said 'no' as I can replace the wipers myself and my mate said he'd help me out with my tyres if I needed it.

copeyhagen

this is what should have happened in this thread op.

step 1. ring solicitor.
step 2. /thread

_Kaiser_

Is this an independent garage or a main/franchise dealer/chain out of curiosity?

(EDIT: and who have you been dealing with? The service guy or the owner/MD?)

no1beemerfan

Hopefully you have learnt something from this. But please don't let it go now that you have your car back. No harm in trying the small claims court and it will teach the garage a lesson too hopefully.

Glad I do all my own work on my cars though!

actuallylike

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Is this an independent garage or a main/franchise dealer/chain out of curiosity?

(EDIT: and who have you been dealing with? The service guy or the owner/MD?)

To reduce narrowing down the playing field, I'll keep the type of garage to myself for the moment, also I was dealing with the owner.

RoboRat

step 1. ring solicitor.
step 2. /thread

OP says money is tight so I wouldn't go down that route as it can be costly, and to be honest if you think that mechanics fleece you, wait until you deal with a solicitor*

I would still go to the small claims if you have the time as it stinks of a rip off - dropping the price by 100 when challenged, refusing to provide the 'original' bill, not being able to provide a breakdown of the work done etc. I for one have started to make a stand and I wont let people blatantly try to rip me off.. Im not saying that I am some sort of moral warrior and I don't threaten action on a whim but if there is a serious case of piss taking, I wont let it drop.

Finally, contacting the guards is not an option as stated in this thread. They are busy enough without having to deal with this; they wouldn't deal with it anyhow and they wont thank you for wasting their time either. This is a civil action and should be treated as such.

*From my personal experience!