Taking the car to the workshop is, in some cases, a risky sport. That is what happened to this British woman whose car spent more than six months at the mechanic, she had no news about her vehicle and, to her surprise, when she went to pick it up she got a surprise no one expected: 24,000 extra km on the odometer. What?!!!!
What happened?
One ordinary afternoon a woman broke down on the road with her vehicle, so she asked for help from the Automobile Association (AA). Everything seemed normal, they picked up her car, took it to a shop in Deeside, near Liverpool and there they would fix it, or so she thought. From the moment the car crossed the doors of the shop, an absurd story began that stretched half a year.
Half a year waiting… with no news
From February to July, the owner of the car did not get a single clear answer about her vehicle. What should have lasted a few weeks dragged on to the point that, tired of waiting, she ended up reporting the car as stolen! Only then did the shop return it, claiming that everything had been delayed due to a missing part. A part that, apparently, took half a year to appear. How curious.
The car came back… but with 24,000 km more
The most surreal part came when she turned on the car: the odometer showed 15,000 miles more than when she left it. And if that was not enough, she also received a traffic fine of 70 pounds (about $81), even though the car supposedly had not moved from the shop according to the mechanics. To top it off, the annual inspection of the car (called MOT in the UK) had expired, which means that any trip would have been illegal. Everything wrong.
“It is worse than when I left it”
The car came back in terrible condition. According to the shop director, Antony Hutchison, they did “everything possible” but were affected by the delay of a part. As for the fine, he tried to justify himself saying the car could have been moved to another location. But about the 24,000 extra kilometers… he did not even mention it, that was magic.
It is not just a car
Cars are not always just a whim, in the case of this woman, she needed it to attend medical appointments and take care of her sick mother. She spent six months without being able to move normally, canceling commitments, appointments and depending on others for everything to be able to get around.
The compensation they offered her? 174 euros. And, with luck, the cost of the MOT. A real shame.
A case that leaves many questions
This issue has caused quite a stir in the United Kingdom, and rightly so. How can a shop return a car with 24,000 extra km, a fine and the MOT expired, and feel fine about it? And the AA, which was the one that towed the car, has nothing to say? It was not a punctual mistake, it seemed premeditated, but why would a shop want a broken car? And worse, why did they not notify the owner that they could not fix it?
How do I avoid something similar happening to me?
The best thing is to protect yourself from the first moment. Take photos of the car and the odometer before handing it over, demand a receipt with the mileage, keep all communication and, if you can, use trusted shops or those covered by your insurance.
We do not want your car to end up with extra kilometers or to disappear for months.
The trust one places in a service that is supposed to be there to help you. And once that trust is broken, there is no check that can repair it.