The consumer’s issue:
The consumer took their compact SUV to the garage for its annual MOT, and the brake fluid was also changed at the same time. Shortly after the consumer left the premises, their car suffered a loss of power. The consumer managed to return to the garage, and the repairer discovered that the driveshaft was loose, so they tightened up the bolts. Just over a month later, the same thing happened with the driveshaft, leading to damage being caused to the car.
There was therefore a dispute about what the garage had said and done when they tightened the bolts on the driveshaft. The consumer explained that they had been informed by the garage that all bolts and threads had been cleaned up, had applied a bonding product, and torqued the bolts to the recommended setting. The business equally told The Motor Ombudsman in their response, that the consumer had said that they had the CV boots replaced about 800 miles earlier by another garage.
The consumer was claiming for the cost of repairing the damage to settle the dispute. In response, as a gesture of goodwill, the garage tightened up the bolts at no cost, and advised the customer to take the car back to the business that initially carried out the CV boot repairs.
The case outcome:
On reviewing the complaint, it was noted that there was a difference of opinion as to what the consumer had been told by the garage, meaning it was difficult for The Motor Ombudsman to determine which version of events was correct.
Indeed, both parties agreed that the garage had tightened the bolts on the driveshaft, whilst the evidence also showed the garage were the last people to work on this component before it came loose and damaged the SUV.
It was therefore concluded that the work was not completed with reasonable skill and care, and the ombudsman’s final decision saw the consumer awarded the full cost of the repairs to the car, as per the customer’s initial request.
Key learning point:
It is important that any work is clearly documented by a business, and this is especially true when it is a gesture of goodwill and the consumer still needs to take further action to resolve the outstanding issues.
