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My local garage is refusing to return my car after fitting a new exhaust. The garage is charging me for additional repairs I did not authorise. When I refused to pay, the manager would not return my keys. Can he do this?
A garage can exercise a "lien" on your car for the work it has done. This means they can retain your car until payment has been made. You may therefore have to "pay under protest" in order to regain possession of the car and then seek to recover the cost of the unauthorised repairs through the courts.
Such disputes can often be avoided by giving clear instructions to the garage what service the garage is authorised to carry out. Read the work order carefully before authorising any work. Ask the garage to contact you if there is any question about any additional service they may carry out.