Is Colourworx of Newquay the World's most expensive vehicle body repair shop?
Is Colourworx of Newquay the World's most expensive vehicle body repair shop?
I took my Mercedes Sprinter to them for an estimate for very minor damage to my rear doors after somebody had hit another parked car which was pushed into the rear of my vehicle, of which I had a heavy duty towbar fitted which sustained virtually no damage, and only a few scuffs on the rear doors. I was given a verbal quote of £1200 which seemed expensive for virtually nothing more than a few scuffs, never-the-less as this was an insurance claim through a 3rd party I accepted this, and signed Colourworx terms which I was not given a copy of.
When this was posted to me some 17 days later, nowhere on this agreement does it state the £1200 I was quoted. Colourworx then seemed to be having problems getting this estimate through to the 3rd party insurers (Tesco) necessitating me having to make numerous phonecalls to both Colourworx and Tesco's insurance. During one of these phonecalls, Colourworx informed me the cost would now be around £3000 but when Tesco insurance finally received the written estimate the price had jumped up to £4659.58 which to my utter amazement, Tesco loss adjusters were prepared to pay. I then obtained a quote from another body shop for £300 to do the same work, £900 cheaper than the original quote I was given by Colourworx, and now £4359.58 cheaper than Colourworx final estimate.
I also obtained an estimate from a Mercedes dealership for the cost of new doors which including VAT would cost £1376.40, £3283 less than Colourworx final estimate to repair the rear damage to my old doors. Colourworx agreement I signed was based on the verbal quote I was given for £1200 not their final quote of £4659.58. Had a quote been inserted on the paperwork I signed I would have been legally bound by it, but it was not.
I have refused to pay their charge of £66 for giving me an estimate that I was never given, so they are now taking me to Court for that payment of £66. This is obviously due to me not going ahead with their astronomical price of £4659.58. All correspondence is available plus pictures of the almost non-existent damage that Colourworx hoped to rip me off with.
Now to add insult to injury, the Court judged in favour of Colourworx regardless that the Judge himself emphasized to the claimant that the very reason I signed to agree to pay for the estimate if they were not given the job, was based on Colourworx's estimate which the claimant openly admitted he had given me a verbal quote of £1200. So much for British justice - I am now appealing against the decision