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Hi all
I am a newbie to the forum so I hope I am proceeding correctly.*This is a little lengthy so I do apologise, but I want to be as precise as I can.
**
On 24 Dec 2019 circa 5pm I put approx £18 of petrol in my partners diesel car. I called my Breakdown Insurance (this comes with my Nationwide Flex Plus Bank Account) and also called the car insurance company (SAGA). The weather was lousy - wind and rain, and the quality of my Skype telephone calls were poor, I had to call two or three times.*
After a couple of calls I understood the breakdown insurance would be contacting a specialist company to remove the fuel from the vehicle whilst it was at the petrol station. The phone calls were poor quality but I managed to comprehend from the breakdown insurance that there may be an additional charge from the specialist company.
Soon after my phone call a van arrived and the operative explained what the process would be. He took some information from (name ,address etc) and asked me how I would pay. I said it would have to be a credit card but I explained I did not wish to proceed until I was aware of what the cost would be. I told him both the breakdown insurance and the car insurance companies had confirmed they could recover the vehicle and deliver it to a location of my choice if I that was what I wanted to do, rather than have the fuel drained there and then.
The operative said he would need some information (how much diesel fuel had been in the car, how much petrol I had put in, the size of the fuel tank) and asked to open the bonnet so he could look at the engine. I repeated my request for confirmation of costs. He said he would and he proceeded to insert, very vigorously, a variety of metal braided hoses down the filler pipe of the vehicles fuel tank, explaining that the method of removal could impact on how much the cost would be. He told me it was proving difficult to getting a pipe into the fuel tank, explaining it was getting jammed in the anti-siphon device and this was likely due to not having the exact correct size of braided pipe. I sat back in the vehicle to explain what was happening to my wife. When I got out the operative had disconnected the fuel pipe within the engine compartment and was connecting a pipe to it. He was on his mobile phone at this time and after a few moments he told me that he had received a confirmation there would be no charge for this job. I asked him to confirm this to me again and he said the cost had probably been settled by the people who had arranged for the call-out (ie the breakdown insurance) then I told my wife the good news -our assumption was that the cost was being met by our breakdown insurance. Obviously I was more than happy for the fuel to be removed.
After removing the fuel the operative said that £10 of correct fuel would be provided but as I was so pleased I personally did not have to pay, I offered to pay for this fuel and he could keep the £10 as a gratuity.*
A week or so later I noticed that it was difficult to put fuel into the car with the fuel pump nozzle correctly inserted, every few seconds the pump shuts off. The only way to fill up is to partially withdraw the nozzle but even then the filler pipe intermittently shuts off. This did not happen before and I suspect the attempts to insert the braided metal pipes into the fuel tank have caused this problem and damaged the anti-siphon mechanism.*
However, I have since received a notice before proceeding letter from AFF Holdings Limited dated 9th January 2020.
It says:
''I am informed by our Operations Department that on the 24th December 2019 we carried out a Fuel Drain at your request to* *vehicle.reg No xxxxxx. It has come to my notice this remains unpaid and as we have no record of complaint from yourself, we feel that this must have been an oversight on your part.* * Can you please now arrange to make payment of £174.00 within the next 5 days: if you fail to do so, then Legal Proceedings will be commenced against you without any further notification**(their bold letters, not mine). There was no Reply Form or Information Sheet with the letter.
As my post is being redirected to a friend at the moment, I have only just received this letter (on 14th January 2020). The letter does give a contact number and bank details for payment, and ''a copy of the invoice attached for your convenience''*
I was not given any invoice on 24 December 2019 nor any other invoice before receiving this 'Notice Before Proceeding'.
My partner is quite worried about the prospect of legal proceeding, but I am frustrated as I was clearly told there would be no charge. I know if they were going to apply a charge, they would have insisted on payment there and then.
I have contacted the breakdown insurance and as far as they are aware, they have not made a payment to AFF Holdings and tell me they do not pay such invoices, they just request the call out. Their understanding is that if I agreed to the price AFF quoted me, then I would pay as agreed.
I appreciate it looks like AFF might be out of pocket but then again, I would not have agreed to pay £174 since I would have taken the option to have the vehicle recovered at no cost* -* the vehicle is not essential and the rectification work could have been completed at my leisure.
Also, might they saying 'no charge' to people so they agree to have the work done, and then later hit them with the invoice?
I was not given any invoice at the time nor since.
Any suggestions as to what I should do would be greatly appreciated.
*
I am a newbie to the forum so I hope I am proceeding correctly.*This is a little lengthy so I do apologise, but I want to be as precise as I can.
**
On 24 Dec 2019 circa 5pm I put approx £18 of petrol in my partners diesel car. I called my Breakdown Insurance (this comes with my Nationwide Flex Plus Bank Account) and also called the car insurance company (SAGA). The weather was lousy - wind and rain, and the quality of my Skype telephone calls were poor, I had to call two or three times.*
After a couple of calls I understood the breakdown insurance would be contacting a specialist company to remove the fuel from the vehicle whilst it was at the petrol station. The phone calls were poor quality but I managed to comprehend from the breakdown insurance that there may be an additional charge from the specialist company.
Soon after my phone call a van arrived and the operative explained what the process would be. He took some information from (name ,address etc) and asked me how I would pay. I said it would have to be a credit card but I explained I did not wish to proceed until I was aware of what the cost would be. I told him both the breakdown insurance and the car insurance companies had confirmed they could recover the vehicle and deliver it to a location of my choice if I that was what I wanted to do, rather than have the fuel drained there and then.
The operative said he would need some information (how much diesel fuel had been in the car, how much petrol I had put in, the size of the fuel tank) and asked to open the bonnet so he could look at the engine. I repeated my request for confirmation of costs. He said he would and he proceeded to insert, very vigorously, a variety of metal braided hoses down the filler pipe of the vehicles fuel tank, explaining that the method of removal could impact on how much the cost would be. He told me it was proving difficult to getting a pipe into the fuel tank, explaining it was getting jammed in the anti-siphon device and this was likely due to not having the exact correct size of braided pipe. I sat back in the vehicle to explain what was happening to my wife. When I got out the operative had disconnected the fuel pipe within the engine compartment and was connecting a pipe to it. He was on his mobile phone at this time and after a few moments he told me that he had received a confirmation there would be no charge for this job. I asked him to confirm this to me again and he said the cost had probably been settled by the people who had arranged for the call-out (ie the breakdown insurance) then I told my wife the good news -our assumption was that the cost was being met by our breakdown insurance. Obviously I was more than happy for the fuel to be removed.
After removing the fuel the operative said that £10 of correct fuel would be provided but as I was so pleased I personally did not have to pay, I offered to pay for this fuel and he could keep the £10 as a gratuity.*
A week or so later I noticed that it was difficult to put fuel into the car with the fuel pump nozzle correctly inserted, every few seconds the pump shuts off. The only way to fill up is to partially withdraw the nozzle but even then the filler pipe intermittently shuts off. This did not happen before and I suspect the attempts to insert the braided metal pipes into the fuel tank have caused this problem and damaged the anti-siphon mechanism.*
However, I have since received a notice before proceeding letter from AFF Holdings Limited dated 9th January 2020.
It says:
''I am informed by our Operations Department that on the 24th December 2019 we carried out a Fuel Drain at your request to* *vehicle.reg No xxxxxx. It has come to my notice this remains unpaid and as we have no record of complaint from yourself, we feel that this must have been an oversight on your part.* * Can you please now arrange to make payment of £174.00 within the next 5 days: if you fail to do so, then Legal Proceedings will be commenced against you without any further notification**(their bold letters, not mine). There was no Reply Form or Information Sheet with the letter.
As my post is being redirected to a friend at the moment, I have only just received this letter (on 14th January 2020). The letter does give a contact number and bank details for payment, and ''a copy of the invoice attached for your convenience''*
I was not given any invoice on 24 December 2019 nor any other invoice before receiving this 'Notice Before Proceeding'.
My partner is quite worried about the prospect of legal proceeding, but I am frustrated as I was clearly told there would be no charge. I know if they were going to apply a charge, they would have insisted on payment there and then.
I have contacted the breakdown insurance and as far as they are aware, they have not made a payment to AFF Holdings and tell me they do not pay such invoices, they just request the call out. Their understanding is that if I agreed to the price AFF quoted me, then I would pay as agreed.
I appreciate it looks like AFF might be out of pocket but then again, I would not have agreed to pay £174 since I would have taken the option to have the vehicle recovered at no cost* -* the vehicle is not essential and the rectification work could have been completed at my leisure.
Also, might they saying 'no charge' to people so they agree to have the work done, and then later hit them with the invoice?
I was not given any invoice at the time nor since.
Any suggestions as to what I should do would be greatly appreciated.
*
