So they have finally come back. Not with any evidence — no reports of the damage — but they have doubled down on the ECU being the cause of the damage.
I did agree on the phone at the time for the work to be done, as I was under the misguided belief that what they were telling me was true. After having it on the forums for people to reply and speaking to other technicians, I can now see this is false. I did make a phone call shortly after to tell them to hold off on the work, but they are trying to exclude this by picking and choosing what benefits them.
My issue now is that they are threatening with a daily charge for holding the car, which is absurd, as they are trying to push me to pay. Still no evidence or information about what has actually happened.
The worst part is it is a copy-and-paste letter, as they cannot even be bothered to replace the inserted amount and insert name fields. Just pure neglect and bullying.
I appreciate all the replies so far, as they give me a lot of confidence that I can progress this to court and claim back the money if I were to pay under protest.
Thank you for your responses.
Their response in full:
To ensure absolute clarity regarding the legal and contractual position of this matter, we must reject any assertion that this work was carried out without a clear, mutual agreement.
Following the diagnosis of the initial engine issues and the discussion regarding the undisclosed ECU remap, you explicitly authorised [name removed] to source and fit a replacement engine unit at the agreed fixed cost of £5,000.
Please be advised that this conversation and your explicit verbal instructions to proceed with the work were fully captured on our secure, GDPR-compliant digital telephone recording system. We do not undertake major component replacements of this scale without verifiable customer authorisation, which we hold on file.
Relying entirely upon that legally binding verbal contract, we purchased the engine, dedicated workshop resources, and completed the installation. The vehicle is now fully repaired, tested, and ready for collection.
Our position is therefore as follows:
- Outstanding Balance: The agreed sum of £5,000 is now due. In accordance with standard automotive contract law, [name removed] is exercising a particular lien over vehicle [reg removed]. The vehicle will not be released under any circumstances until the outstanding invoice is settled in full.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): If you wish to escalate this to our ADR provider, [Insert Name, e.g., The Motor Ombudsman], we are entirely satisfied to submit our internal job logs, parts invoices, and the conclusive audio recordings of your authorisation to an independent arbitrator or a County Court judge.
- Storage Charges: The vehicle is ready for collection today. If payment is not received and the vehicle is not collected within 7 days, a daily storage charge of £[Insert Amount, e.g., 25.00] + VAT will be automatically applied to the final invoice.
