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This account made my heart sink. My brother had a similar issue with a new car once, basically it failed to start on 10 to 15 occasions and he was even towed to the dealership in it once. It transpired that the battery was discharging somehow. The dealer's approach from day one was to dispute the existence of a problem, arguing that they couldn't replicate it. After it had happened for about the fifth time they adopted a new approach by arguing that his 100 miles per week average wasn't enough to keep the battery charged. He contacted the manufacturer's customer services who were equally dismissive and basically parrotted anything the dealership said. The dealership did replace the battery, alternator and engine management chip but the problem just kept happening. After two years of this nonsense he threatened to take them to court and only then did they replace the car. The manufacturer's customer service arm described this as an act of goodwill and maintained there was no problem with the car. The replacement model was a year younger but it had been a hire car and was in a generally poorer state than the problematic model. He ended up taking it, not being able to bear the thought of the pattern continuing. Needless to say, the replacement car started first time, every time. He endured all this nonsense without any mention of compensation for the inconvenience caused. I thought their 'service' was deplorable and have vowed never to touch any of their products.
So, you're not on your own Gill. The point I want to make though is that I think treating customers as an inconvenience is on the rise and it's far too easy for vendors to dispute problems and their responsibilities. If push comes to shove they can always turn to corporate lawyers on £300 an hour for advice on opt outs and loopholes.
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