Autoglass Cambridge damaged my vehicle.

[Yukiko]

I'm in need of some help here.

 

I took my car to Autoglass at the end of August (26th, I believe it was), to have my windscreen replaced. My car was delivered to Cambridge on a trailer and I drove it the 400m to AG around 11am.

 

I walked around the vehicle with a technician who noted various scratches and dents on the vehicle, noted that the aerial was missing and that there was a dent on the bonnet, etc etc. After I've signed the PDA that the report was being compiled on, he asked me if the windscreen wiper arms had been removed recently, as this particular model can be problematic if the arms seize onto the spindles; I told him that I'd taken them off recently to spray them black as they were faded grey, so shouldn't be a problem.

 

All of that over, I walked back to work and awaited a call back. Around 1230, I got a phone call from AG saying that they wouldn't be completing work on the car unless I ran it to a dealership and had the wiper arms removed from the spindles. They told me that they'd seized on and that they ask all customers with problematic spindles to go back to a dealer and have the arms removed. I said that I wasn't prepared to do that, as my windscreen being 60% broken/shattered/opaque would almost certainly result in a tug by the police, that I wasn't prepared to drive the car without windscreen wipers and that it was Bank Holiday Monday and no Nissan dealers are open for Service calls!

 

They then demanded that I removed my car from their premises, at which time, I called Sainsbury's (My insurer) customer services, who were very nice about everything and got onto a conference call with Autoglass, Sainsbury's and myself.

AG kept interrupting and stating that it is my fault for bringing them a poorly maintained vehicle and that driving the car on the road was perfectly legal, at which point, I called my mechanic who is an MOT tester, on Facetime and showed him the car whilst on the works landline to the conference call. My mechanic told me that it was an MOT fail and that the vehicle would possibly be prohibited/seized if used on the road due to the danger it posed to other road users.

 

At this point, AG were kicked off the call as all that kept happening was repetitive nonsense.

 

I ended up getting a taxi home, which AG paid for (£124-00). The next day, AG called to say that the work on the car was complete and that one of the chaps had used WD40 to free the arms from the spindles. They advised me that my wiper mechanism was badly worn and in need of repair, but the car was serviceable and I could drive it home.

 

Gleefully, I went to the workshop and collected my car. As I arrived, I went into the office and was told the car would be brought around in a moment and that I should sign "Here, here and here". After signing Thrice, I noticed some comments in the vehicle damage report:

 

Wiper mechanism broken

Scratches on Scuttle Panel

Trim incomplete/doesn't fit

Aerial Missing

 

None of those were noted when I took the car in originally and I know that the damage to the vehicle is fresh. I also noted that I HADN'T ticked the "I accept the report to be correct" box on the paperwork.

I quizzed the technician who drew my car out to me about the damage and he said "I dunno, I just got asked to bring it round mate, but the wiper arm on the passenger side is certainly not right". At this point, the woman who was on the conference call the day before, and who took my money (The site manager), ran over and quickly ushered the employee back inside, seemingly before he said something he shouldn't.

 

I drove home, happy as larry, operated the screenwash and then I noticed the issue. The wipers squeak and drag across the screen horribly. The passenger side wiper gets dragged up the screen almost sideways and doesn't complete a single sweep without juddering. I called Sainsburys, who were great to me, they sent me a cheque for £100 and told me that they'd keep me up to date. A week later, they called me to say Autoglass were denying all knowledge of the original PDA report and to sit tight. They sent me £50 through the post to cover the phone calls and so on.

 

Autoglass tell Sainsburys that I'm a liar, and that the vehicle was in terrible condition when it was taken to them. They also said that I dumped my car in protest and that I was responsible for the wiper arms being seized on due to over tightening.

 

Autoglass send out a final response and invite me to complain to the FOS, after sending me the £124-00 cheque.

 

Where do I go from here? They've clearly caused damage to my car, treated me poorly and refused to make any good of the damaged they've caused.

 

The scuttle panel for my car is £74.00, bits in the wipers are around £80.00 + labour on both.

 

The windscreen trim which was new at the time of fitting the windscreen, doesn't fit. Yet, Autoglass claim to use manufacturer specification parts. Where do I stand here?

 

Someone please help; I have photos of the car, damage and scans of the receipt from AG showing that I didn't sign for the damages.

 

Thanks in advance.

[renegadeimp]

I walked around the vehicle with a technician who noted various scratches and dents on the vehicle, noted that the aerial was missing and that there was a dent on the bonnet, etc etc. After I've signed the PDA that the report was being compiled on,

 

 

Wiper mechanism broken

Scratches on Scuttle Panel

Trim incomplete/doesn't fit

Aerial Missing

 

None of those were noted when I took the car in originally and I know that the damage to the vehicle is fresh.

 

...

[citizenkain]

and there lies the tale...............

[Yukiko]

Sorry, I should have emitted the "Missing Aerial" from the list, as I know it was missing (I have an invoice from Nissan for a new one only a fortnight ago!)

 

But minus the aerial, the three points that have been quoted, are completely fabricated.