Guide
Gearbox repair gone wrong: your Consumer Rights Act 2015 position
Updated
A gearbox job is a supply of goods and a supply of a service in one invoice, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats those two halves differently. Knowing which half failed is most of the argument.
The service half: the work
Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015: Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.
That term is implied into the job whether or not anyone wrote it down.
If the work falls short, section 55 gives you the right to repeat performance: the trader must perform the service again to the extent needed to bring it into conformity, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer
, and must bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour or materials)
(legislation.gov.uk). On a gearbox that means the labour to take it out again is theirs, not yours. Where repeat performance is impossible, or they do not do it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience, section 56 gives a right to a price reduction.
The goods half: the parts
The gearbox, clutch or converter supplied to you are goods, and must be of satisfactory quality. If they are not, the Act gives a short-term right to reject, and section 22 sets the time limit at the end of 30 days
beginning with the day after ownership passed, the goods were delivered and any installation was completed (legislation.gov.uk). After that window the normal route is repair or replacement, then a price reduction or final right to reject.
What to do, in order
- Stop driving it if the fault is serious. Continuing to drive a failing gearbox can turn a warranty claim into an argument about consequential damage.
- Put it in writing to the garage, describing the symptom, the date of the original work and the invoice number, and asking for repeat performance under section 55 at their cost.
- Keep the invoice, the warranty terms and any fault codes. A reconditioned unit's warranty may give you more than the Act does, so read both.
- Ask specifically who pays the removal and refit labour under the warranty. This is where most gearbox warranty disputes actually live.
- If it stalls, check whether the garage belongs to a trade body with an alternative dispute resolution scheme, and consider the small claims route. Paying by credit card can give additional protection on qualifying transactions.
This page describes the statutory framework and is not legal advice. If the amount is significant, get advice on your own facts before rejecting goods or refusing to pay.