Warranty Company refusing to pay for repairs

[CaptainChaos]

Hi (again).

4 months ago, I bought a nice car & paid for a 12 month warranty (just in case).

2 months after I bought it, the car refused to start, so I phoned Green Flag who couldn't repair it roadside and said they'd pick it up 2 days later to take it to a garage. I went to a local garage who said I needed to take it to a specialist garage because the car was too complicated for them to work on!

So, I got Green Flag to take the car to a nearby specialist garage & they fitted a new starter motor - parts & labour £450 (approx).

I sent the invoice & request for reimbursement & the garage said that because I hadn't got authorisation from them, they wouldn't pay. I then wrote to the warranty company who said exactly the same.

The warranty agreement which the garage said that I signed (I have no copy of that & only remember signing for the purchase of the car) apparently says that I HAVE to take the car back to them or they won't pay out.

I couldn't get the car to them, needed it asap& got the work done at the specialist garage.

Is this a learning curve & I've lost out, or is there a way of getting the cost of the start motor at least (not the 4 hours labour)?

[R0b]

Evening,

As far as I am aware, the general terms of car warranties are that you must notify the company before any work is carried out. Presumably to check that the work is covered under the warranty and that they can log your claim as well as the garage who is going to be carrying out the work. Assuming the terms of your warranty is something along these lines, then you are probably out of luck (from a legal perspective anyway) but might be worth getting a copy anyway and checking the specifics.

Always best to keep the paperwork like the warranty with the rest of the vehicle documents so that you can refer to it in cases like this.

[CaptainChaos]

I am going to write to the Warranty Company saying something along the lines of "I am not looking for full reimbursement for the labour costs, but a starter motor would be X amount regardless of where it was done" ....

Is there a better way of wording that?

[Phaeton]

No idea of the answer, but if the garage failed to give you copied of all documentation are liable, you could ask the warranty company for a copy of your signed documents