Quote Originally Posted by Squashed_Fly
Just a side note - the garage/shop doesn't have any liability unless you notice a problem before driving it away.

My dad had a similar problem with his car. One garage did a service on it. He noticed a problem with it after driving it and took it to another garage. They basically said the part in question (can't remember what it was now but principle the same) had been taken off, and over tightened when put back and the entire part had to be removed and replaced costing over £500!!! Dad called a solicitor and they said no point pursuing it as the garage can claim that the damage was done after it left their premises and you have no way of proving otherwise. So he was left having to pay a costly bill for someone else mistake...
I'm no lawyer and accept I might be wrong, but my thinking would be they are breaching their contract under the Sales of Goods Act over the service they have agreed to provide of satisfactory quality and to standard.

Maybe more importantly, they have also breached their legal responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 - specifically under Section 3.

Agreed, somethings can be difficult to prove, but that doesn't mean the legal liability is not there. Sometimes when you start to use such terminolgy, in a controlled and confident way they cave. I have used this tactic on several occasions always to good effect so far.