Experience using small claims court against Audi?

[LRB23]

Has anyone used a small claims court against Audi.

I'm trying to weigh up whether its worth going through the small claims court to recover over £3,000 in additional costs to me after my DRC failed on my RS6.

Its a bit of a long story but here goes...
I purchased a used approved RS6 from Hatfield Audi in January. Prior to collecting the car I had noted a few things that I wanted fixed before collection. Minor paint damages, wheels refurbed, tracking re-alignment.... the usuals stuff. The young Sales assistant gave the usual 'yeh mate don't worry'. I collected the car and due to my over excitement of getting my long lusted after RS6 I didn't pay close attention to the details. I was in a rush to drive back to France and it was only after an hour of driving I noted the steering still felt like it was pulling to one direction. I called Audi on my way to Folkestone and the Salesman confirmed it was all done. So I pressed on. Whilst on the Channel Tunnel I noticed that they hadn't corrected the paint work as I had asked, which was annoying but I could probably do it locally. After 10 hours of fun spirited driving through France I was convinced the steering was not right. About a week later I noticed a clunking noise coming from the rear and then the front drivers side. I emailed the original sales person and received no response. A couple of days later I called them, only to be informed the salesman had been fired. Not a great sign. Finally I was passed onto someone else where I was able to explain all the issues that were not corrected as agreed pre sale and now the issue with the suspension. Due to me being in France at the time their suggestion was to pop to a local dealer and get it diagnosed. 2 weeks after that a French Audi dealership confirmed they needed to replace all four shocks, DRC control valves and pointed out that my front brake discs were worn to their minimum and needed to be replaced. I was shocked at what I was hearing. Firstly what are the chances of all four shocks needing replacing? Why wasn't this detected in the 145 point check? And more importantly how on earth could the sell me an RS product with worn discs and pads????
Back on the phone to Hatfield Audi who first wanted it all done in France, however the French Audi wouldn't recognise the U.K warranty. The decision was made to use Audi Roadside assist and have it collected, shipped back to Hatfield, where they could sort out ALL the issues. By the time my vehicle was finally collected from France it was the last week in February. I had and driven my car for totally sum 11 days.
Audi Roadside Assistance would provide me with a hire car for 2 weeks, HOWEVER it was going to take THREE weeks to ship my car back. I asked if they were going to cover my car for the third week and they said NO. Hatfield wouldn't help either. I was blown away again that I would not be given a courtesy car for the three weeks it would take to ship the car but also whilst it was being repaired. After two weeks I was forced to hire another car at my own expense.
The RS6 returned to Hatfield after three weeks where they slowly began diagnosing the problems. Well that's what I thought. By this point it was early March and as we all know Covid-19 was causing a global crisis. Another 10 days passed and the U.K locked down, leaving may RS6 stuck at Hatfield.
I was stuck in France but still able to work, which meant I needed a car and at my expense (€2,250 for March, April and May)... Fast forward to the end of May where Audi re-opened. At no point during the lockdown did Hatfield contact me to explain what was going on with my vehicle and whether the repair had been started, when it might be completed, not a single email or phone call. Their lines were closed and countless emails went unanswered. I ended up contacting Audi U.K's Executive Office and pleaded with them to help me get in contact with Hatfield. By the end of the day I received my first email to confirm work was starting. Not sure what they did for the 11 days they had it before the lockdown. At this point the Executive Office took charge in following my case. All 4 shocks were replaced, I have in writing from the Master Tech at Hatfield the discs were worn to their minimum and would be replaced and the tracking was out. Now through all of this, at no point did anyone offered an apology. I questioned them as to why the f$%k the discs were worn but got no response. Is that a MOT failing or just an Audi standard?
Finally the time came to get my vehicle. Covid-19 meant that I couldn't easily fly back to the U.K and collect my car so I requested for it to be trucked back to me. The cost was £1,800 of which Audi Roadside Assist would only honour £1,000. The value which they believe would have cost them if I was to fly back to the U.K and stay in a hotel etc. So another £800 our of my pocket. I spoke at length with the Business Manager at Hatfield and expressed that they should make up the difference all considered. They refused. By this point I was willing to swallow the cost of the hire car because of the global pandemic and I considered myself lucky enough to still have a job. I was so pissed that they were willing to loose me as a customer over £800.

So here I am. I have my car back and have sworn never to return or to have anything to do with Hatfield Audi. A friend of mine suggested I should use the small claims court to try to recover the other costs.

Any thoughts?

Cheers guys

[Iain]

For the £105 fee to issue a claim online, I'd roll the dice.

[morski]

I think you would have to file the claim against the actual dealer and not Audi UK as they will happily wash their hands of it and say the dealers are not run by them.

[Edmond]

I'd agree it's be against the dealer but having done it elsewhere it's well worth the 100 quid. They sit up and pay attention pretty quick. About to do the same to a Land Rover dealer who still hasn't given me back my 700 quid warranty refund despite land rover warranty putting in writing that they returned it in February.. (to the dealer)

[dok77]

In my opinion, I would absolutely make a claim against them, which is likely to be against Group 1 Automotive Limited. This should be on your paperwork.

Obviously, before doing so, write to them to advise that unless your expenses are settled within 2 weeks of receipt of the letter, you will proceed to file a claim.

Sounds like a slam dunk case to me. You could also throw in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as the vehicle had to be fit for the particular purpose and be of satisfactory quality. Also, any attempt to omit material information or mislead you in respect of the condition of the vehicle is potentially a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Hope you get it sorted.

[drbru]

I would definitely do whatever is necessarily to recoup your costs in full and then something on top as compensation.....

Whilst Hatfield as a dealer may be at fault I would keep Audi UK in the same picture and give them as much headache as possible on social media etc....you be amazed at what some bad publicity can do.

I agree that you should first send them and Audi UK a letter confirming your intentions of what you are going to do but before court , maybe worth trying the motor ombudsman first off though as this route may be less of a headache for you

Ultimately it sounds like you were sold something different to what you thought you were getting and on top of that it was not road worthy. You are well within your consumer rights to recoup this back in full.

[si_b]

Wouldn’t this be better following due process first, i.e. written complaint to dealer, escalate to Audi UK, then if unsatisfactory response, take it to the Motor ombudsman?

And if that doesn’t work, file a small claim?