Smith Knight Fay Body Shop in Audenshaw, Manchester

This is the situation I was left in after using this garage for repairs: I had to reject my car several times before contacting Inchcape head office, this is my correspondence.

Dear Connor,

I write to you today to let you know of the situation that I am in. I was involved in a collision a few months ago and the rear end of my bumper and tailgate was damaged. I spoke to my insurance and advised them that would like my vehicle to be repaired at a Volkswagen main dealership as this would ensure the BEST work would be carried out and genuine VW parts would be used. My vehicle has full VW service history and I will only use VW for parts and repairs. I called VW and explained to them what had happened, they put me through to “accident” office who told me to call my insurance and explain that accident exchange will be getting my car sorted and that I am only informing you for information purposes only. I followed their advice and my car was picked up and I was given a hire vehicle, this was done very swiftly and I was happy with the way Inchcape had dealt with my car. The 3rd party insurance disputed the incident and I had to claim through my own insurance. Once my car was delivered to the garage I called the assessor and explained to him that I did not want my vehicle respraying and that any dented parts should be replaced not just filled. I was told "yes Mr **** don’t worry, we will look after you, this is VW and we look after our customers etc etc”, I was very happy with the response and waited for their quote, to my dismay the assessor sent them through the quote from the 3rd party assessor and not his own assessment of the work that needed to be done! Why would he send a 3rd party biased assessment of the work that needed doing. He then did his own assessment of the work, including replacing all damaged parts and my insurance naturally said that my tailgate should be repaired as the assessor neglected to show the damage in the photos that he sent. I was assured that the tailgate will be like new and would not show any history of damage or repair. I accepted the work and trusted that Inchcape would want my best interests at heart!!! I was informed that my vehicle was ready for collection, as it was late and dark I said I would come the next day to collect my car. I turned up at the garage and was handed my keys to check my vehicle, I had a mechanic with to check the repairs. The repairs were absolutely awful, the boot lid was out of place there are parts which I have taken photos of that should have been replaced and were charged to insurance to replace but weren’t replaced. There was a repair under the boot lid that the garage hadn’t re-painted, I asked Neil what this was, he said “let me take the vehicle inside, dry it all off and I will bring it back to you so you can see properly, I sat in reception and after about 20 minutes I came back. Neil said “all done Mr ****”, I wasn’t confident that the repair could have been sorted in 20 minutes, I said "so what was that line of metal Neil”, he said “it was just polish Mr ****”, "I said are you sure Neil” he said “yes”, I said "I am going to rub the spot with my jumper, there isn’t any wet paint there Neil is there”, he said “No Mr **** of course not”. I rubbed the spot and the fresh lacquer was all over my sleeve and the repair was back to the metal again!!!! My mechanic looked underneath and showed me points of where the parts should have been replaced but hadn’t been replaced, I have photos of all the parts and repairs. I told Neil to get me the manager, Dave the assessor came and said "I told the insurance that we wouldn’t be able to repair it! I was told to take the vehicle and he would sort it out with the insurance, I would not accept the vehicle back in that condition and that because of the utter disregard for vehicle I would have to be in the hire car for another two weeks, I am told the 3rd part are responsible for the costs of the hire car but I hold Inchcape responsible for the costs as it was their work that lead to this delay. I was called back on Tuesday to see my car, the bumper was not attached so that I could see the repairs under the bumper had been completed, I was happy and was informed that my car would be ready by Thursday. I was away over the weekend and went to see my car yesterday. I was appalled to find the seals in the tailgate lights had allowed moisture into them and caused condensation, it made my car look cheap and damaged, one of the light units was replaced yet there still remains units that have moisture inside them, the tailgate is still miss aligned and there are chips on the top of the boot lid. I left the hire car and have taken my vehicle to be looked at by another body shop. I am absolutely appalled at the workmanship and utter fraudulent activity of the garage. Why would they charge my insurance for labour and parts that hadn’t been replaced? I have photographic evidence of the repairs that I have shown to my solicitor and he is happy to issue proceedings against Inchcape for the wasted time and fraudulent claims of work carried out to my vehicle. I would like this matter to be investigated thoroughly and if a conclusion is not met urgently I will instruct my solicitor to act on my behalf, I will put my situation forward to the ICHEME, of which I am a member and my situation will be posted to over 400,000 qualified engineers, I will cause Inchcape as much negative publicity as I can. I do not want my vehicle to be repaired again with VW Manchester! I want another Inchcape repair centre to complete the repairs and I would like some compensation for the wasted time and attempted fraud committed by Inchcape. My contact number is ******** should you wish to discuss the matter further. I have included photos of my vehicle.