Hi all, wondering what you think, Took my car to a garage yesterday who told me the part needed would take a week to come in. As i really needed the car this weekend for work i phoned another garage who checked and said their supplier could get the part to them by tomorrow. Explained this to first garage who said it was fine they had no objection to me taking it to the other place, as they were unable to do it as quickly. Before taking it to 2nd garage i phoned again to check part was definately available and was told 'yes, they have 3 on the shelf'. Took the car there this morning and have just had call from 2nd garage to say the supplier doesn't have the part after all and that the supplier had 'given them wrong info'. They said the only way to get part before weekend is to buy a manufacturer part for £150 more than their own part, which they said i'd have to pay for. I'd agreed on the promise from the 2nd garage to do additional work this weekend, which is now not going to be possible. I suggested to the 2nd garage that they should as a gesture of goodwill fit the manufacturer part and absorb the extra cost themselves, or take it up with their supplier, but they said no. My question is, 1) did they enter into a contract with me to supply and fit the part by tomorrow as they said they would? nothing in writing, just verbal, 2) can they argue that by not fitting the more expensive part they have still done everything reasonably possible to complete their part of the contract? and 3) do i have any claim against them for the lost earnings this weekend? Sorry its so long winded! any thoughts gratefully received. I live in Scotland. Dave
If they said it would be done by this weekend and for x price it was a contract. The reality is that you have no evidence that would hold up in court. Which is why it is always best to get it in writing. There is a few possible solutions but without anything in writing its a tricky he said she said. I would approach them by going there asap with a friend who's ok with witnessing. And telling them that they breached the initial contract and starting from scratch to do the job using the more expensive part. Then sue them for breach of contract and get 150 back. *Im not an attorney, that's just how i would handle it.
You would need to look at their standard terms of service which most likely will stipulate that all timescales are estimates and that they are not responsible for consequential losses. Given it is a car..... do they not have a courtesy car they could lend you so you don't have to miss out on the work? Whilst they arent the greatest things in the world (I know, I've been in one for a month now) they will get you from A to B. You could also do some phoning round for the part yourself and see if anyone has something suitable in stock that you could bring to them to fit (I assume the car is stripped down or something) Approaching them rationally will generally get you a much better response than threatening to sue in true american style. Hence VW doing a £6,000 repair job for free on my car and the trauma of the courtesy car. What is the total repair cost? An extra £150 may not be a lot on a job close to £10k but is a lot if the job is only £100