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.Originally Posted by BMWGraeme
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.
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You're right, but so long as you realise when you pick the vehicle up, or within minutes of leaving. The moment you get home and do anything that involves spanners etc, you could be deemed to have caused the issue yourself, then it becomes a long drawn out battle of trying to prove they did the bodge job, not you (or another garage) after leaving.
The solicitors my dad spoke to, said he was within his rights to pursue the matter under the laws you mentioned, but it would expensive for him, and would almost certainly be pointless unless he could prove that it was the work the garage did that caused the issue. And of course he had no way of doing so as they had signed the work off as complete and ok, and they are 'trained professionals' (I use the term loosely!)
It was very bitter (and expensive) pill to swallow....[/quote]
So the solicitor did say he could pursue it after the event then? Of course it's easier if you know there's a problem whilst on the premises, but you still maintain your rights and they maintain their liability after you leave. I agree it becomes more difficult but the laws don't change once you drive off the forecourt.
As an example, how could you be expected to tell that as part of a service and one which is itemised on an invoice, they have changed an oil filter and put in 4L of Castrol's finest? Thats the point - you can't. And you cannot be expected to know and a judge would take that into consideration as part of any litigation if your engine blew 100 miles later.
Of course, if you have stripped the engine down yourself in the meatime you're screwed....[/quote]
B_M - im a solicitor (although not a litigator) but I can get one of my colleagues to give you a call tomorrow for a bit of initial freebie advice if you like to see if it's worth pursuing? PM me your number if you would like me to pass your details on
lol