Hello,
Unsure if he's the right place to write but thought I'd try for some advice.
About 2 weeks ago on Wednesday our car was due an MOT. It failed for a few faults so the garage fixed them and then passed the MOT. We got the car back on the Friday and on Sunday after driving it for, I'd say, a total of about 3 hours since getting it back, the suspension arm ball joint came loose while we were turning a roundabout. The car shuddered, my husband immediately stopped the car as quickly as he could and we were stuck. We couldn't move the car at all. We were at a roundabout and the police had to cone off the lane we were in, as they couldn't move it either, while we waited for recovery.
When the tow truck came, he told us the suspension arm ball joint came apart and that's what caused the car to stop. Basically, we were lucky we were going slowly around a roundabout and not going 60mph or something on the motorway, otherwise we could have caused or been in a serious accident. The garage was closed, so we left the car and when I came home I had a look at our receipt from the MOT and what they had done. It said specifically on the MOT fail about the arm ball joint, so for them to have passed the MOT I'm assuming they fixed or replaced this.
When my husband spoke to the garage on the Monday, they apologised and said the part they put must have been faulty. They replaced it for no cost, but we were hoping for the cost of recovery as well. The fact is, if the part was good, was fitted properly and was checked, we wouldn't have needed a tow truck in the first place, but now we are £385 out of pocket paying for something we shouldn't have had to pay for, just 2 days after having the car supposedly fixed. We've been waiting over a week for a response and have spoken to the garage twice, both times them saying their boss hasn't been in yet to go over the paperwork and both times saying they can't guarantee he'd pay for it. I feel like they're just putting us off and hoping we forget it.
My step dad is saying to take them to a small claims court if they refuse to pay for recovery because they were at fault in this. Would we have a leg to stand on if we did that? I've a feeling the garage won't pay so if we have a chance at court I'd take it. Thanks for any help
Unsure if he's the right place to write but thought I'd try for some advice.
About 2 weeks ago on Wednesday our car was due an MOT. It failed for a few faults so the garage fixed them and then passed the MOT. We got the car back on the Friday and on Sunday after driving it for, I'd say, a total of about 3 hours since getting it back, the suspension arm ball joint came loose while we were turning a roundabout. The car shuddered, my husband immediately stopped the car as quickly as he could and we were stuck. We couldn't move the car at all. We were at a roundabout and the police had to cone off the lane we were in, as they couldn't move it either, while we waited for recovery.
When the tow truck came, he told us the suspension arm ball joint came apart and that's what caused the car to stop. Basically, we were lucky we were going slowly around a roundabout and not going 60mph or something on the motorway, otherwise we could have caused or been in a serious accident. The garage was closed, so we left the car and when I came home I had a look at our receipt from the MOT and what they had done. It said specifically on the MOT fail about the arm ball joint, so for them to have passed the MOT I'm assuming they fixed or replaced this.
When my husband spoke to the garage on the Monday, they apologised and said the part they put must have been faulty. They replaced it for no cost, but we were hoping for the cost of recovery as well. The fact is, if the part was good, was fitted properly and was checked, we wouldn't have needed a tow truck in the first place, but now we are £385 out of pocket paying for something we shouldn't have had to pay for, just 2 days after having the car supposedly fixed. We've been waiting over a week for a response and have spoken to the garage twice, both times them saying their boss hasn't been in yet to go over the paperwork and both times saying they can't guarantee he'd pay for it. I feel like they're just putting us off and hoping we forget it.
My step dad is saying to take them to a small claims court if they refuse to pay for recovery because they were at fault in this. Would we have a leg to stand on if we did that? I've a feeling the garage won't pay so if we have a chance at court I'd take it. Thanks for any help
