Not informed of charged beforehand

[sks]

Happy new year to all.
Just needed some advice please.
I had my car battery replaced under warranty (or so I thought)
The car is less than one year old and I called out the company in charge of breakdowns who advised they would come and replace the battery.
At no time was I informed this would be chargeable and hence presumed it would be covered.
When they came back to replace the battery, they only informed me after doing so that it would be chargeable as I had brought the car from an auction with some damage and hence the battery would not be covered.
They have said that there was implied consent as I had paid for the battery.
Is this all correct?
Thanks

 

[Newchodge]

Happy new year to all.
Just needed some advice please.
I had my car battery replaced under warranty (or so I thought)
The car is less than one year old and I called out the company in charge of breakdowns who advised they would come and replace the battery.
At no time was I informed this would be chargeable and hence presumed it would be covered.
When they came back to replace the battery, they only informed me after doing so that it would be chargeable as I had brought the car from an auction with some damage and hence the battery would not be covered.
They have said that there was implied consent as I had paid for the battery.
Is this all correct?
Thanks

The car is less than one year old and I called out the company in charge of breakdowns who advised they would come and replace the battery.

Where did you get the detailsof this company? Did you say that it was under warranty? Did they?

They have said that there was implied consent as I had paid for the battery.

Paid whom for the battery? The replacement battery or the original? When did you pay? Did you object?

 

[HFE Signs]

I think you're a bit stuck with this one. Had you gone to the dealer rather than the breakdown company it would have been warranty. Your best bet is to call your dealer and explain the situation and the fact it all happened while they were closed for Christmas (assuming they were?)

 

[Newchodge]

I think you're a bit stuck with this one. Had you gone to the dealer rather than the breakdown company it would have been warranty. Your best bet is to call your dealer and explain the situation and the fact it all happened while they were closed for Christmas (assuming they were?)

What dealer? The vehicle was bought at auction.

 

[HFE Signs]

What dealer? The vehicle was bought at auction.

The dealer who issue the warranty cover that came with the vehicle

 

[WaveJumper]

Agree with @HFE Signs signs here if you called out your own breakdown cover rather than seeking help from Auction House you probably going to be banging your head against the wall, speak to those who supplied car you never know goodwill may prevail.

 

[fisicx]

I had my car battery replaced under warranty (or so I thought)

What does it say on the warranty? Batteries are not normally covered as part of a warranty on second hand cars brought at an auction.

Furthermore as has already been pointed out, you didn't invoke the warranty, you called the breakdown service. The two are not connected.

 

[sks]

Where did you get the detailsof this company? Did you say that it was under warranty? Did they?


Paid whom for the battery? The replacement battery or the original? When did you pay? Did you object?

I brought the car from an online auction, it was a cat N car which had some previous, non structural accident damage and had been repaired. It is less than one year old.
It comes with a 3 year warranty and in the first year, includes mobile assist cover.
I called the manufacturer, who confirmed the battery would be covered (though they did not ask where the car was purchased or its history) and they referred me to the mobile assist, who attended and said they would come and replace the battery. They came and did this a few days later. At no time was I informed of any costs, until after they had fitted the battery. I objected, but they said I would need to contact customer services, so I paid by cc to the engineer and then raised a complaint.
I then asked them to take their battery back and return my original one, which they have not done.
I have yet to confirm from the manufacturer whether the battery is generally covered, regardless of where the car was brought.

 

[WaveJumper]

I wonder if the manufacturers warranty still stands if its been repaired due to accident damage were they aware when you spoke to them

 

[Newchodge]

I brought the car from an online auction, it was a cat N car which had some previous, non structural accident damage and had been repaired. It is less than one year old.
It comes with a 3 year warranty and in the first year, includes mobile assist cover.
I called the manufacturer, who confirmed the battery would be covered (though they did not ask where the car was purchased or its history) and they referred me to the mobile assist, who attended and said they would come and replace the battery. They came and did this a few days later. At no time was I informed of any costs, until after they had fitted the battery. I objected, but they said I would need to contact customer services, so I paid by cc to the engineer and then raised a complaint.
I then asked them to take their battery back and return my original one, which they have not done.
I have yet to confirm from the manufacturer whether the battery is generally covered, regardless of where the car was brought.

What does the warranty say?

 

[sks]

I think you're a bit stuck with this one. Had you gone to the dealer rather than the breakdown company it would have been warranty. Your best bet is to call your dealer and explain the situation and the fact it all happened while they were closed for Christmas (assuming they were?)

Hi, I did call the vehicle manufacturer and they referred me to the breakdown assist that they have in place for the first year.

 

[Newchodge]

Hi, I did call the vehicle manufacturer and they referred me to the breakdown assist that they have in place for the first year.

What does the warranty tell you to do?

 

[HFE Signs]

Hi, I did call the vehicle manufacturer and they referred me to the breakdown assist that they have in place for the first year.

Ok, and did they confirm this would be a warranty claim? Breakdown assist and warranty are two different things.

 

[sks]

I wonder if the manufacturers warranty still stands if its been repaired due to accident damage were they aware when you spoke to them

No, I did not inform them

 

[sks]

Ok, and did they confirm this would be a warranty claim? Breakdown assist and warranty are two different things.

no, they just said they would come and take a look

 

[sks]

What does the warranty tell you to do?

I will check...

 

[Newchodge]

I suggest you speak to Citizen's Advice or a consumer advice group. On this forum you will only get opinions from business owners, which is unlikely to solve your issue.

 

[sks]

What does the warranty tell you to do?

I will ask them for a copy and check, thanks

 

[HFE Signs]

no, they just said they would come and take a look

Which they did, breakdown assist doesn't cover parts - they met their obligation by coming out and getting you moving.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

You cant buy a vehicle from auction that has been in a crash and expect warranty cover on anything

Its only the 2nd day of the year people

I can see from your posts that you are a nice person that has dome the maddest thing that nice steady people dont do and purchased a salvage vehicle and expected the same service that you would have got from the dealer
I am guessing you purchased the car from Copart who dont give warranties and where most manufactures warranties are invalid

Dont do it again ??

 

[fisicx]

I will ask them for a copy and check, thanks

This makes no sense. You would have been given a copy of the warranty when you brought the car. If you didn’t get all the documents it’s possible the warranty had been voided when the car was given up for auction.

 

[ecommerce84]

If this is a warranty issued by the vehicle manufacturer then my assumption would be that the warranty would end if the car was written off within the warranty period.

Your best bet would be to find the Terms and Conditions of the warranty from the manufacturer or whoever issued it.

Volvo, for example, explicitly state that cars written off are no longer covered: https://www.volvocars.com/uk/l/volvo-warranty/terms-and-conditions/

“18. Any vehicle that has been declared a write-off will no longer be covered.”

 

[sks]

Thanks for all your replies everyone.
Agreed that there may be no warranty, however, I was always under the impression that there would be no charge as I was not informed at any time, until after they had replaced the battery.
So my point to them would be that any chargeable items should be informed beforehand.
Not sure how far I will get but will try and keep you posted!

 

[Newchodge]

Thanks for all your replies everyone.
Agreed that there may be no warranty, however, I was always under the impression that there would be no charge as I was not informed at any time, until after they had replaced the battery.
So my point to them would be that any chargeable items should be informed beforehand.
Not sure how far I will get but will try and keep you posted!

You are joking. If I ring up to get a takeaway delivered I expect to pay for it. Whether or not I have been informed before! On what basis would anyone assume they would not be charged for any service they have ordered?

 

[sks]

You are joking. If I ring up to get a takeaway delivered I expect to pay for it. Whether or not I have been informed before! On what basis would anyone assume they would not be charged for any service they have ordered?

On the basis that I was presumed (and was not told otherwise) that this was an under warranty service
I could have gone anywhere and brought a much cheaper battery or even recharged the original if I had been told the costs

 

[Newchodge]

On the basis that I was presumed (and was not told otherwise) that this was an under warranty service
I could have gone anywhere and brought a much cheaper battery or even recharged the original if I had been told the costs

Why should the organisation you asked to supply you with goods and services know that you believed you had a warranty, despite the fact you had no paperwork whatsoever to indicate that you might have?

 

[sks]

Why should the organisation you asked to supply you with goods and services know that you believed you had a warranty, despite the fact you had no paperwork whatsoever to indicate that you might have?

When I initially called them, they checked and confirmed that the vehicle was covered and that is why they sent out one of their assist vehicles. Paperwork at that stage was not required because the car was 9 months old, so they and I presumed the warranty was in place. The battery was not a part that was damaged as a result of an accident. If there was no warranty, then presumably they would have not come out in the first place?

 

[fisicx]

On the basis that I was presumed (and was not told otherwise) that this was an under warranty service
I could have gone anywhere and brought a much cheaper battery or even recharged the original if I had been told the costs

You presumed, you didn’t check. I’d also suggest even with a warranty the roadside recovery would have charged for a battery which you then claim back. Except you have no one to claim from as the auction site doesn’t care and the manufacturer will argue it’s not their responsibility anymore.

 

[Newchodge]

When I initially called them, they checked and confirmed that the vehicle was covered and that is why they sent out one of their assist vehicles. Paperwork at that stage was not required because the car was 9 months old, so they and I presumed the warranty was in place. The battery was not a part that was damaged as a result of an accident. If there was no warranty, then presumably they would have not come out in the first place?

It is a lot easier to advise if you give the whole story from the start. Your case is not that you presumed you were covered. It is that you were told that you were covered. Talk to Citizen's Advice.

 

[IanSuth]

On the basis that I was presumed (and was not told otherwise) that this was an under warranty service
I could have gone anywhere and brought a much cheaper battery or even recharged the original if I had been told the costs

But you rang and said "oi Mr Manufacturer I have a 9mth old car and it is kaputt - they said ok here is the breakdown company that does our warranty recoveries" you rang them and they said "ok here we come, we cover battery issues"

Did you say to either BEFORE they came out "oh, by the way this is a Cat N write off I bought from auction - does that alter things", or did they think this was just a standard 9 mth old car without prior known issue.

You are really asking a manufacturer (or its recovery agent) to honour a warranty on a car that an insurance company has already decided (and paid out on) being not worth repairing for that owner so has been replaced and the car flogged on via auction