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my mechanic admitted lying to me...to my face
Hello all...
just looking for opinions/advice on what action is correct to take in my circumstances. In August i had a replacement engine put in my car (it was second hand). Parts and labor were paid for and the mechanic returned the car stating it was running perfectly. He informed me "he would not guarantee the engine BUT would put right any fault caused by his workmanship, should any arise, at no cost to me". Within 1-2 days the engine warning light came on for the first of many times. Each time i return the car he says he has done work on it and when i pick it up the warning light has gone off (as a note it is possible to simply switch the light off without doing any work on the vehicle). Inevitably within 1-2 days the light comes on again and the car goes back to him when i am next off work. The car has been returned to him between 10-15 times and he has been unable to find the problem that is causing the light to continuously come on. Since the initial payment for the work carried out he has fitted 2 more parts at a cost of £160...none of which made any difference. In December he finally admitted he was struggling and agreed to have the car seen to by a specialist garage. He phoned me in December telling me the appointment was on 04/01/13. During conversations about the appointment i became slightly suspicious that something wasn't right about what he was telling me (he didn't seem to know the location of the garage yet he was a local man...i'm not a mechanic...but i knew where he was saying he was going to take the car). The specialist garage is a little under 12 miles from his garage in terms of a return journey. When i dropped the car off to him on 04/01 in the morning i recorded the mileage on my car. I left it with him and he phoned me later that day to say the car was back and the issue was still unresolved. The following day i went to collect my car and had an in depth conversation with him about what the mechanic at the specialist garage had done, said and recommended. The conversation lasted 5-10 minutes and ended with an apology from him saying he was doing everything he could to fix the problem and that he felt terrible that i had to keep coming back. I took my keys after agreeing a further appointment at a larger specialist garage. On returning to my car i noted the milometer again. It hadn't moved. (no...the car wasn't taken on a pick-up...it is perfectly drivable). I immediately re-entered the garage and asked him for the phone number of the specialist garage...the name of the mechanic...and a copy of the report they produced. After some walking back and forward and playing with his mouse pretending to look up something on his computer he openly admitted he had lied to me and that the car had not gone to the garage at all...he said he had been too busy. I took my keys and told hime he would be hearing from me. I have subsequently found out that he wasn't "too busy"...and that an appointment had never been made in the first place. He has therefore lied to me in December when he told me about the appointment...lied to me about a service that he said was carried out and wasn't...and in admitting to this lie...has lied about the reason he didn't take it.
I am in the process of trawling the internet to find out the correct process i should follow to sort this out. I believe he has breached the contract he entered into with me when he did work on my car. I have quite understandably lost all faith and trust in a) him and b) his ability to fix my car. Any advice on where i stand and especially on what my next move should be would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read my tale of woe.
Dom
just looking for opinions/advice on what action is correct to take in my circumstances. In August i had a replacement engine put in my car (it was second hand). Parts and labor were paid for and the mechanic returned the car stating it was running perfectly. He informed me "he would not guarantee the engine BUT would put right any fault caused by his workmanship, should any arise, at no cost to me". Within 1-2 days the engine warning light came on for the first of many times. Each time i return the car he says he has done work on it and when i pick it up the warning light has gone off (as a note it is possible to simply switch the light off without doing any work on the vehicle). Inevitably within 1-2 days the light comes on again and the car goes back to him when i am next off work. The car has been returned to him between 10-15 times and he has been unable to find the problem that is causing the light to continuously come on. Since the initial payment for the work carried out he has fitted 2 more parts at a cost of £160...none of which made any difference. In December he finally admitted he was struggling and agreed to have the car seen to by a specialist garage. He phoned me in December telling me the appointment was on 04/01/13. During conversations about the appointment i became slightly suspicious that something wasn't right about what he was telling me (he didn't seem to know the location of the garage yet he was a local man...i'm not a mechanic...but i knew where he was saying he was going to take the car). The specialist garage is a little under 12 miles from his garage in terms of a return journey. When i dropped the car off to him on 04/01 in the morning i recorded the mileage on my car. I left it with him and he phoned me later that day to say the car was back and the issue was still unresolved. The following day i went to collect my car and had an in depth conversation with him about what the mechanic at the specialist garage had done, said and recommended. The conversation lasted 5-10 minutes and ended with an apology from him saying he was doing everything he could to fix the problem and that he felt terrible that i had to keep coming back. I took my keys after agreeing a further appointment at a larger specialist garage. On returning to my car i noted the milometer again. It hadn't moved. (no...the car wasn't taken on a pick-up...it is perfectly drivable). I immediately re-entered the garage and asked him for the phone number of the specialist garage...the name of the mechanic...and a copy of the report they produced. After some walking back and forward and playing with his mouse pretending to look up something on his computer he openly admitted he had lied to me and that the car had not gone to the garage at all...he said he had been too busy. I took my keys and told hime he would be hearing from me. I have subsequently found out that he wasn't "too busy"...and that an appointment had never been made in the first place. He has therefore lied to me in December when he told me about the appointment...lied to me about a service that he said was carried out and wasn't...and in admitting to this lie...has lied about the reason he didn't take it.
I am in the process of trawling the internet to find out the correct process i should follow to sort this out. I believe he has breached the contract he entered into with me when he did work on my car. I have quite understandably lost all faith and trust in a) him and b) his ability to fix my car. Any advice on where i stand and especially on what my next move should be would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read my tale of woe.
Dom
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