Free Traffic Legal Advice

Late last year my car was hit by a motorcylist and the car went in for repair, but the repair centre were unable to complete all the work at the time. 

They were missing some parts, one of which is a single use item, which due to being on a long lead they re-used the old part somehow, and said when they got the part in they would have the car back in to finish the work.

Since then the insurance case is complete and any outstanding work is down the the repair centre.

They also fitted an incorrect badge and didn't refit the rear bumper properly, so those items were to be re-done too.

They eventually 'got the parts' and arrange to collect the car on 6th May 2026.

I had already asked to be informed of how long the work would take and hence when the car would be returned, but since then I have not been able to get an answer from them on that. 

On Friday last week (15th May) I tried calling, no answer left a message to call me - No response.
This Monday (18th may):

• Called 10:30 in the morning, no answer left a message to call me back, no response.
• Called 13:30, call was answered, the relevant engineer was away on lunch, they would call back in about half an hour, no call back at all.
• Called 16:30, no answer, left a message for call back, no response at all.

Tuesday (19th May):

• Called 14:00, no answer, left message, no response yet, and doubt I will get one.

I can see from the vehicle tracking that since the 6th, the car has only been moved and interacted with:

• On the day of pick-up, 6th May.
• It was moved into the workshop on 7th May at 10:33 then back out to the parking area 2 minutes later.
• Moved again on Monday 11th May into the workshop at 09:20 and back out to the parking area at 11:00.
• The car has not moved or been interacted with since 11th, so for the last 8 days.

If they continue ignoring my calls, what should I be doing?

Eventually got through to a real person, who promised to find out and call me back and they did.

They claimed they were waiting for approval to proceed from the an insurance assessor or something like that. The problem is that the work they are supposed to be doing is rework for stuff they didn't complete or did incorrectly when the actual insurance case was open.

They claim that there was damage behind the bumper that was no associated with the original accident, that prevented them from fitting the bumper properly. OK, so they didn't see this damage when they removed the bumper to perform the original repair!?

So I asked when they were expecting the decision, but they could not or would not give me an answer, suggesting it was not possible to know. You have a courtesy car you can keep using it. At the point I had to point out they had not given me a courtesy car. So they said they would call again tomorrow (now today 20th) to tell me if they had a decision and if they didn't make arrangements to return my car so I can use it pending them being ready to resume the work. 

I asked which insurance company they were talking to, but would not or could not tell me that either.

So I called my insurance company and told them everything that was going on since the accident. They had not been contacted by the garage, and said maybe the claims management company would know something. So they contacted them claims company, who were not involved either. They spoke directly to the garage and were told no insurance company is involved, the work is authorised and due to be completed for the 26th.

What a mess!