General: 70: V70 Service Scam?

[iGGy]

Is the concept of keeping known service parts in stock completely out of the window these days?

Reminds me of that thread from the States where 'young Chad' (for want of a better US name) decided to road test the M3 and wrote it off 300 yards down the road. In that case there was no need for a road test...also the Porsche owner finding McDonalds wrappers in the car...the guy that actually blocked his own car in a supermarket carpark when he spotted it there and then phoned the service manager asking if he new where his service guy was? No idea, let me tell you where he is...and the list goes on. Seems to be quite difficult to trust the larger dealers when it comes to respecting your property.

[DeejayP999]

The garage are having you on. Obviously, when you take a car for a service there is an implied consent for the garage to carry out reasonable road testing but someone has quite obviously used the car for their own purposes, and technically it is twoc' ing.

The Theft Act says:

"A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without having the consent of the owner... he takes any conveyance for his own or another's use...".

Clearly you haven't consented to them driving your car 125 miles.

However, whether the police would be able to act is another matter: The problem being that the garage are bound to claim that the speedo's defective etc etc which, legally, muddies the water somewhat (and makes it, arguably, a civil dispute). There's also the practical difficulty in establishing who, exactly, drove the car.

However, it does give you a bit more leverage when asking for compensation (or at least the cost of the petrol that they've used).

All in all, not a very satisfactory situation really.

[T5JAS]

Originally Posted by bigandquick

Following that line, would unauthorised use in those circumstances constitute TWOC?
Any police officers like to comment on that one?

i have indeed commented on this in the thread and imho yes it would constitute twocing
jason
p.s. see my quote below

[T5JAS]

Originally Posted by T5JAS

name and shame them on here so others can avoid them,
also as far as i would be concerned, thats t.w.o.c.ing (taking without consent,) you allow them a reasonable amount of use to road test, not 125 miles worth. use that to your advantage, tell them if you get no satisfactory explanation or recompense, you will report the matter to the police. it may not go anywhere with plod, but worth a go. then i'd go straight to trading standards, and the motor trade federation.
good luck, let us know how you get on.
jason

here's the quote i refer to
jas

I can see I am going to have fun tomorrow ... first will be the contact with the community police officer, followed by the best stinky letter I've ever written (and I am a good stinky letter writer!) to the MD.

Rest assured, if I don't get a grovelling apology trading standards will be next, oh and the motor trade association as suggested, and then I will let all the local press know too. However, considering that the company does have a good local reputation - don't forget their "shark free zone" advertising quote, I should expect the MD to be mortified at my treatment, and heaven help him if he isn't!! He certainly seems to have a shark in his tank at the moment.

What fun - I'll let you know how I get on!

[bigandquick]

Originally Posted by T5JAS

i have indeed commented on this in the thread and imho yes it would constitute twocing
jason
p.s. see my quote below

Did you by chance read this thread out of sequence? My post was nearly four hours before yours. I've read it twice now!! Many thanks.

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by bigandquick

Did you by chance read this thread out of sequence? My post was nearly four hours before yours. I've read it twice now!! Many thanks.

what do you mean tim,....4 hours is a quick response for a copper these days...lol
cheers
jod

[DickyB V70R]

Bee, good luck with this, its been a very interesting read.
It sounds like you know what your doing...Go get um girl.

ATB, DB.

[bigandquick]

Originally Posted by jod t5

what do you mean tim,....4 hours is a quick response for a copper these days...lol
cheers
jod

Actually I called them last night when a neighbour decided to throw a tantrum on his 18th and tried to smash my car windows. Luckily no damage (that I've found yet) but they did respond quickly. Can't fault them on that one.

It might be difficult to prove TWOC as you would have to conceed you gave the car to the garage and you would expect some mileage at the end of the day. They in turn would inexcusably protest that you didn't ask them to confine any mileage. It is what is reasonable and to some degree what is expected and 125 miles is neither. As mentioned by others you MUST put everything in writing so you have a record. As I mentioned in my previous thread, diarise everything and contact a solicitor or CAB. I to would be very interested to hear of the outcome.
Good luck

Originally Posted by bee

You raise some interesting points ... particularily regarding the prospect of a speeding ticket ... in a way I hope I do get one - real proof! I think I may try telephoning the police re. the TWOC line of thought, but I suspect they may be rather busy for that sort of thing. I was told by the workshop manager that the test drive had been around 5 miles or so.

I am sure the car had been serviced during its time (you can tell with a Volvo it seems smoother etc afterwards, but maybe that's psychological!), after all it was dropped off at 8am, when I telephoned at 3pm to ask if it was ready I was told that they were still waiting for a spark plug and to come at 5pm- apparently only four spark plugs had arrived, instead of five .. which sounded suspicious to me, but another friend told me that spark plugs aren't of a universal type but vary from car to car, and they might not keep them in stock.

The top man is on holiday at the moment, but he can expect a letter to be waiting for him when he returns and perhaps a visit from Mr Policeman - if he is interested! After all, fancy filling in the arrival mileage on one form and the departure mileage on another ... made me suspicious straight away, but the explanation did seem a little plausible. Maybe I should contact Volvo UK for backup that it is impossible?!