SALLY SORTS IT: Mercedes recalled my saloon… but want £35 a day for courtesy car I need for hospital work

Mercedes has recalled my Class 350 saloon car due to a problem with bolts in the steering system. The recall letter stated that fixing this would take between one and four hours. I left the car with the Preston dealership on May 17.

Later that day, the dealership told me that a part would need to be ordered but it could not tell me when it would arrive.

I enquired about a courtesy car but it said one would not be available until the following month. I could then have one for free for a week — but it would cost approximately £35 per day thereafter.

Courtesy car bill: But after we got in touch, Mercedes offered our reader a temporary replacement — free of charge

I lodged a complaint with Mercedes-Benz UK but have had no formal response. In frustration, I demanded my car back in July but was told I should not drive it due to the problem with the steering system.

I have therefore had the car sitting on my drive in an undriveable condition, with no alternative transport from Mercedes or compensation of any kind.

I work in an NHS hospital and need to travel 35 miles each day to and from work. Because of a lack of public transport, I have been forced to cancel patient clinics.

I have involved the Motor Ombudsman, but it is still reviewing the case and says it may take months. How can I get this situation resolved?

I. I., Lancashire.

Sally Hamilton replies: Most readers probably know by now that there is a worldwide shortage of motor parts, which has affected the supply of new cars and the repair of existing vehicles. Unfortunately, you have joined the ranks of drivers who have been forced off the road because of it.

However, I was dumbfounded by the suggestion that you would have to pay a high daily charge for a courtesy car while you waited to have your prized motor fixed due to a problem that was not of your making.

After contacting Mercedes, I am pleased to say it shifted its customer service operation up a gear. Later that day you had a call from the dealership offering you a temporary replacement — free of charge.

A Mercedes spokesman says: ‘We were sorry to learn of the repairs needed to I. I.’s car and the delay. We can confirm that a courtesy car should have been provided until the parts are available to complete the work.

‘The customer has been contacted by their retailer to arrange a courtesy car, and a goodwill gesture has also been offered.’

I asked Mercedes when you might expect to see your car again, whether others were suffering the same delays over this recall, and whether there would be an investigation into the poor service you received. Disappointingly, Mercedes said that it would be making no further comment.

Nevertheless, you are happy with the result and to be in possession of a 2023 registration Mercedes while you wait for your ten-year-old model to be fixed.

Why is British Gas not answering my emails? 

My home has had solar panels and a British Gas account for receiving payments as part of the Feed-In Tariffs (Fit) scheme for at least five years.

My husband sadly passed away in October last year. In December, British Gas sent two cheques for a total of £500 for the Fit payments but, as they were in his name, I could not cash them.

I wrote to British Gas in April to request a name change on the account and received a standard reply requesting that I send documents by email to prove my case. This I did.

I sent four follow-up emails in June and July. On July 7, British Gas finally responded and asked for the same documents again, which I sent straight away.

A couple of weeks later, having heard nothing, I chased things up, but I have had no success.

R. A., Berkshire.

There is a lot to think about when a loved one dies and in the emotional aftermath it can be easy to overlook administrative tasks, including changing the names on household accounts. But the arrival of the cheques for the Fit payments acted as a prompt for you to sort out the arrangement with British Gas.

Under the Fit scheme, which has been closed to new applicants since spring 2019, people receive payments for electricity generated by devices at their home such as solar panels or wind turbines.

The sums you are sent are an important part of your income — more so now you are on your own. You were frustrated by the lack of response from British Gas, so I asked it to switch your account to your name and reissue your much-needed cheques.

On investigation, British Gas says your emails with the attachments containing a copy of your husband’s death certificate, and your proof of ownership of the property and the solar panels, had not got through to the company. These documents must be provided.

It told me it did receive one email from you querying the company’s lack of action following your initial request, which I suspect arrived successfully because it contained no attachments.

Perhaps the attachments you sent were too big or they went into a junk folder. We will never know for sure. However, on my prompting, the firm contacted you to remedy the situation. It asked you to send over the documents again — and on this (third) occasion, British Gas was able to confirm they were safely received.

A British Gas spokesman says: ‘We appreciate this is a difficult time for R. A. and we have reached out to her to clarify the final steps needed to move the account into her name. We’ve reassured her that, once this is completed, both cheques will be reissued and her payments will be backdated.’

• Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email [email protected] — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given. 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk