Legal/Trading Standards Advice Needed

[Guest philgriffiths]

Apologies for the long post guys, but I need some advice:

I’ve been having some problems with a local Scuba Diving equipment store and need a bit of advice.

Firstly the background…

I needed to get the compressed air cylinder I use for Scuba Diving visually inspected and pressure tested. This has to be done periodically every few years. My dad dropped it into the local Dive shop and they took his phone number and told him it would be a couple of weeks. We were expecting it back last Thursday, but when I went into the shop to pick it up last Saturday but was told it still wasn’t back and that I should phone back in the week to check up on it.

Okay, so today…

I called the shop up today to chase up what was going on to be told it still wasn’t back. I asked them why it might be taking so much longer only to be told that it was probably because the cylinder had failed the tests and they would be carrying out the work required for it to pass. I naturally asked that if they were doing extra work would I be expected to pay extra cash. I was told by the guy on the phone that of course I would be expected to pay the extra costs. I then asked him if it would not have been a good idea to have given me (or my dad as it was his number they had) a ring to advise me of this and ask if I was prepared to pay up. The guy told me that it didn’t really matter because the work would have to be carried out in order for the cylinder to pass the test and if it wasn’t done they would have to cut the cylinder in half (Not sure if this is the regulations, but to be fair it would make sense to permanently destroy to bottle to prevent it being used, due to the dangers of breathing from, or pressure filling an unsafe cylinder. I’m currently getting this checked out by a friend of mine who is a regional coach.) I said to him that I might not want to pay for the extra work, since he had no idea what they were doing to it, or how much it would cost (but I could make an educated guess), and also to be honest as I need to get a different range of cylinder might not be better off to just write this one off and start with new ones. The cheeky git on the phone then told me that if I didn’t want to pay they would still be carrying out the work, with or without my consent, and would simply pay the costs themselves and sell the cylinder on! This is where I had to make my excuses and hang up the phone before I went totally mad.

Can a company do this? I appreciate that I would need to get the work done to use the cylinder, and it would probably be cheaper than buying a new one. But it’s the idea that they have just gone ahead with the extra work without even consulting me, just expecting me to pay up. If it was your car in for an MOT the garage would at least give you a bell before doing any work required to pass wouldn’t they? Then what about them keeping my cylinder? Surely they can’t do that, as whether it passes or fails, comes back to me in one piece or two it’s still mine. Right? Personally I’m tempted to wait until it comes back into the shop, offer them the original 20 quid for the tests and tell them I’m not prepared to pay anymore as I wasn’t consulted about extra costs and demand my property back. Where would I stand here?

Once again, apologies for the long post, any (sensible) advice offered is greatly appreciated.

[Guest nedge2k]

Only advise i could offer would be either speak to Trading Standards or go and see the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Sounds like a bit of a scam to me, they send it off knowing full well what will happen and without informing you. Its probably their easiest and cheapest way of getting new cylinders and as scuba diving isnt the most popular of passtimes the probably think people wont kick up a fuss.

The method of doing things sounds legitimate enough but not telling you the full story of what will happen should the cylinder fail is a bit dodgy imo.

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

I don't think they've actually broken any rules or regs...just given you pretty crappy customer service.

At the end of the day anyone can provide any service to you, whether they tell you what the entire service is or not. They have given you two options:

(Pay) for it to be repaired

Write it off as its damaged

Either you pay or you don't, if you don't it (apparently) has to be destroyed anyway. (If that isn't the case then the story might be different and it sounds like a scheme to get cheap "new" cylinders)

The fact they actually recover old cylinders for resale is a bit cheeky but theres no real reason they can't (assuming hte above is true), like i say the just aren't giving you particularly good CS...

[Guest Will]

It really depends on the original paperwork and agreement that was made, remember the cylinder is your property (unless this is covered in the paperwork, and due to the 'destruction' of a faulty cylinder - you MAY have signed ownership over to the repairer.)

Either way I agree with Mono that the way they have handled it is not the best, but they may have a 'we will spend upto £xx to make the cylinder pass before they contact you for permission/choice of spending more.

Maybe you should contact the inspection/repair company or visit the shop and ask for some written information, remember get stuff in writing!

Your dad has the agreement with the company, so they are not obliged to tell you anything.

Trading standards are really helpful at advising on this sort of thing, and for the cost of a call, it might be worth checking up.

I had the same issue with a car stereo being repaired, they spent more than they advised me, i stuck to my guns and only paid the price they quoted.

[Guest TigerNet]

...if you would like me to ask this question of my dive school I would be happy to do so...(he speaks as a Dive Master in training)...

Cheers

Nick

[Guest philgriffiths]

I may take you up on that Off Tiger, but for now I'll wait and see what my mate in BSAC says. As for some of the other comments i think people have gotten confused somewhere. No paperwork has been given, nothing has been signed. All they did was take the name and telephone number of my Dad, which to be honest is the same as mine anyway as i still give out my parents number as its the best one to get me on.

They way i saw it was this... If it was your car and if failed the MOT they wouldnt just do the works then charge you for it would they? You wouldnt accept that either would you? Also in cases such as when garages work on your car you can ask for the old parts back. right? So theoretically i could ask for the two halves of my cylinder back. right? I have only given them my consent to test my cylinder, at no point has it been mentioned to either myself or my dad that extra charges may be made. Now as far as my understanding of the law goes (one year of criminal law when at university) to carry on and destroy my cylinder, or even to carry out works on it without the owners (i.e. my) consent would amount to criminal damage damage since they are either damaging or affecting the parts or whole thing whether the outcome is positive or not. If you the police want to destroy an untaxed car they still have to tell the owner, or go to reasonable efforts to find the owner.

I'm going to try and get in touch with citizens advice and trading standards when i get home from work in a bit. What i would be intersted in knowing most would be How i would stand if i walked into the shop to pick up the cylinder and having only been advised of the original cost of the testing and not for the extra work, refuse to pay the extra money for the repairs. They wouldn't be able to keep my clinder, since its still my property, but i guess they would also argue that i should pay as the work has been done already, and can't be undone.