Dear Sir/Madam,
On the morning of Thursday 1st November, my vehicle (Reg. ---) was recovered by the RAC to your garage. It had symptoms of a slipping clutch, which was causing the car to be unable to travel over 25mph and over-rev.
The RAC patrolman and yourselves were made aware that the vehicle was fitted with a new clutch only five months prior to the breakdown. However, you diagnosed that the clutch had been fitted incorrectly and that it was necessary for it to be replaced immediately. The old components, including the clutch plate, pressure plate and cylinder were returned to me on my request. The work carried out here came to a total of £412.83.
That evening, after having picked up the vehicle from you, I travelled a mere fifteen miles on my way home, before the car broke down again; suffering from the same symptoms. The vehicle was once again recovered to your garage by the RAC at 7pm.
The following day, Friday 2nd November, I was told the problem was now that the master cylinder was faulty and that it also needed replacing. Reluctantly, I agreed to have the work done that day as I was fifty miles away from home and was missing both work and important family matters. I appreciate that I was given a courtesy car for this reason, however making two journeys a day up and down the M23 and A27 to liaise with you was not realistic. This work added an extra £75 onto the top of what I had already paid you.
After being told that the master cylinder was now the problem, I became very doubtful of your initial diagnosis, and promptly contacted the original garage who fitted the clutch five months ago. They were, and remain adamant that it is not possible to incorrectly fit the clutch, and have also stated after inspecting it that they have found no visible damage to the clutch, nor any reason for the clutch to be taken out and then removed permanently from the car. I have enclosed the original invoice for the clutch being fitted, their report and a cover letter the garage requested to be inserted.
I subsequently searched for an independent inspection of the component. NAME inspected the clutch and have written a report on their findings (please see enclosed report), and have also found the clutch to have no visible damage nor reason for it to be removed or replaced.
Upon collecting my vehicle from you the second time around, I was informed that you had done, and I quote; "an extended road test of ten to fifteen miles towards Bognor Regis". This extended road test was to ensure that the problem with the master cylinder you had diagnosed would not replicate again due to distance travelled. However, before leaving my car with you the previous night, I photographed my mileage. The two photographs enclosed with this letter, are evidence that the car only travelled less than four miles (part of which was caused by myself moving away from your garage before taking the second photograph) on the second road test, well under what you claimed to have done. The two computer screenshots attached to these photographs show the date and time the photographs were taken.
On Friday 9th November 2012, my vehicle broke down once again. Another RAC call out was used, however this time the vehicle was recovered to my usual garage. I communicated to you that the vehicle was showing problems again, and your employee made it clear the following day that you would be unable to pick up the vehicle due to my location being within the low emissions zone of London.
Within two hours of my vehicle being at the garage on Friday 9th November, the problem was diagnosed and fixed. Their findings were a hydraulic leak on the rubber seal of the slave cylinder. Since this fix, the vehicle has been showing none of the original symptoms and has been driving perfectly.
I believe the work carried out on Thursday 1st November 2012 was completely unnecessary. I also believe that had you have completed a thorough, comprehensive diagnosis on the vehicle when it was initially recovered, I would not be out of pocket to the tune of £483, the total for parts and labour of the replacement of the clutch and master cylinder. I find it entirely immoral that you should pick the most expensive and labour consuming problem first, before testing to see if the problem was arising from a more simple and accessible fault elsewhere.
For this reason, I am formally requesting the refund of the work carried out on both dates as it neither fixed the problem nor made the car any more reliable. The total of both invoices comes to £483.
If you are unwilling to cooperate on this matter, it will be my intention to make a formal complaint to both the RAC regarding your Approved Garage status, and trading standards. It will also be my intention to escalate the matter to the small claims court.
Please do not reply to this letter by telephone, instead only reply by writing.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Smith
