## WARNING ## @ BLOKE

[welshname]

I don't believe he is even set up as a registered business so don't think it would even get to court.

Also, not everyone has the money sat there to pay for legal fees

It's like £25 for money claim online.

If bloke isn't set up as a registered business/sole trader then the OP is stupid for entrusting that amount of monetary value with him. Simple as.

Also no money for legal fees but able to sink £30k into a Megane that's only running 330bhp?

 

[steviekyle13793]

That's such a stupid thing to say! Absolutely no need for that. I wouldn't be surprised if threats like that are part of the reason Bloke didn't finish the car.

If so, I'm sure Carl would have asked for the car to be collected sooner and would have actually been there upon collection rather than the OP having to break into the unit during the day. I'm also sure he would of said that in his defence earlier in this post. He accepted that it was his fault so let's read the full story before commenting.

It's like £25 for money claim online.

If bloke isn't set up as a registered business/sole trader then the OP is stupid for entrusting that amount of monetary value with him. Simple as.

I haven't looked in to the fees etc myself but imagine solicitor fees etc will quickly rack up.

Also, as many others have said, Carl is well known on this forum and many others and generally has a good reputation. People have sworn by him for years so why would the OP have any other reason not to trust him?

 

[william84]

What a stupid thing to say, it's a car ffs.

30k invested not just a car with that kind of investment surely loves it

 

[welshname]

If so, I'm sure Carl would have asked for the car to be collected sooner and would have actually been there upon collection rather than the OP having to break into the unit during the day. I'm also sure he would of said that in his defence earlier in this post. He accepted that it was his fault so let's read the full story before commenting.



I haven't looked in to the fees etc myself but imagine solicitor fees etc will quickly rack up.

Also, as many others have said, Carl is well known on this forum and many others and generally has a good reputation. People have sworn by him for years so why would the OP have any other reason not to trust him?

Because you only have to spend 5 minutes on this forum to see all the horror stories of other "specialists" not to trust people with that kind of build. Even relatively big ones have gone. If he was driving to bloke he could just have easily driven to RS Tuning. Was there a reason he went with someone you believe isn't even set up as a business over someone as big as RS Tuning?

I'd have no problem getting belts done by one of the "specialists" on here that pop up. As said it's a doddle to do if you're semi handy with a set of spanners and have access to GENUINE tools.

But there's no way I'd be putting a full build to someone I don't know. Be different if it was a friend, e.g. I'd let someone like @Scrooge work on my car without a second thought, he's not a trader etc nor does he do it as a full time job, but I wouldn't expect someone who has never met him etc to trust him with something as serious as a forged engined megane going for a big turbo build and fuel system. If something is done wrong it could be deadly.

It's all about using a bit of common sense and not trying to save a few £££. Not worth the risk.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Long story short...

Was mostly down to me the delays on the job getting done, too much work for just me in the end etc.

Took about 6-8 months for the money to pay for a turbo, not in the position to pay out £1,400 for a turbo out of my own pocket.

Car was only ever outside during the day when it was pushed out.

Police were called due to my lad being assaulted and one arrested. Burglary charges not pursued by me.

Few bits still here from the car, ac pump, coil packs and belt kit. Was obviously bit hectic at the time sorting bits out.

No mention of any damage to the car while the owner was here with with it.

Whole incident was clearly caught on cctv hence the arrest for assault.


As for cars going back without bits on them or being used on other jobs that's a new one on me as well.

Good to get your side of the story Carl. I'll still be bringing my cars to you for work as I've had nothing but good service fella. Stay well

 

[william84]

Because you only have to spend 5 minutes on this forum to see all the horror stories of other "specialists" not to trust people with that kind of build. Even relatively big ones have gone. If he was driving to bloke he could just have easily driven to RS Tuning. Was there a reason he went with someone you believe isn't even set up as a business over someone as big as RS Tuning?

I'd have no problem getting belts done by one of the "specialists" on here that pop up. As said it's a doddle to do if you're semi handy with a set of spanners and have access to GENUINE tools.

But there's no way I'd be putting a full build to someone I don't know. Be different if it was a friend, e.g. I'd let someone like @Scrooge work on my car without a second thought, he's not a trader etc nor does he do it as a full time job, but I wouldn't expect someone who has never met him etc to trust him with something as serious as a forged engined megane going for a big turbo build and fuel system. If something is done wrong it could be deadly.

It's all about using a bit of common sense and not trying to save a few £££. Not worth the risk.

I've even read horror stories about rs tuning on here..
It's a gamble getting anywhere to modify your car imo...
Clearly the damages wasn't done by their self! Or am I missing the point?

 

[welshname]

I've even read horror stories about rs tuning on here..
It's a gamble getting anywhere to modify your car imo...
Clearly the damages wasn't done by their self! Or am I missing the point?

Yeah there probably are horror stories about RS Tuning too, but guess which business is still running and thriving?

Sharky's car single handedly killed 2 maybe 3 traders off this forum on its own!

 

[RuskiWeldFab]

Whoever built their own car would know., set a timeline/deadline. Than double it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[steviekyle13793]

I'd believe cost had a large part to play and also availability. RS Tuning are usually heavily booked for such large projects. Hindsight is a great thing and we can all say I would have done this, that and the other but in the grand scheme of things if someone says I can do the same job quicker, cheaper and get you in next week you jump at the opportunity given Carl's initial reputation.

I could understand the point if it was given to a backstreet garage nobody had heard of but I guarantee if he came on here 18 months ago asking who he should use to get the world done, 75% of the forum would have spoken up for Carl.

We have other mates who have used Carl too so only had good things to say about him prior to this.

 

[imprezaworks]

All this has gone on, i know it's an awful position to be in. But outside the box, jesus i do feel sorry for carl. Irrespective of whats happened.

 

[welshname]

I'd believe cost had a large part to play and also availability. RS Tuning are usually heavily booked for such large projects. Hindsight is a great thing and we can all say I would have done this, that and the other but in the grand scheme of things if someone says I can do the same job quicker, cheaper and get you in next week you jump at the opportunity given Carl's initial reputation.

I could understand the point if it was given to a backstreet garage nobody had heard of but I guarantee if he came on here 18 months ago asking who he should use to get the world done, 75% of the forum would have spoken up for Carl.

We have other mates who have used Carl too so only had good things to say about him prior to this.

There's always a reason that something is cheaper.

 

[steviekyle13793]

There's always a reason that something is cheaper.

He doesn't have the overheads that somewhere such as RS Tuning or KTEC do, yet prior to this was just as reputable?

 

[Clart]

What a clusterfuck.

So the OP has spent £30k on his pride and joy megane then hands it over to someone who isn't even a registered business who sits on it for 18 months.

Some life lessons being learnt all round.

 

[william84]

There is always good and bad with any mechanics, be they had a late night family crisis etc etc..
Nobody is perfect!
I would say to the op there has been a line drawn on the sand. It's now up to cal/bloke to put correct if he would like to salvage this situation..

I'm a firm believer in there is always 3 sides to a story.
1. The op version
2.carl/blokes version

Then 3. The truth in the middle.

I have huge respect for Carl's knowledge as it's dug me out a few situations probably without him even knowing.
Imo to offer advise on a forum just shows he's not all about the money unlike your bigger named companies!
With that said if he's of good character which I'm hopeful he is this will get sorted out.

 

[steviekyle13793]

I agree with the above. However, his son has commented more on the situation than him so I'm doubtful.

Time shall tell ...

 

[Eddie555]

Whoever built their own car would know., set a timeline/deadline. Than double it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tell me about it.. I've got stuff that's 6-8months old (1k's worth) that I've bought and been sat here waiting to be fitted, sometimes other things/jobs take a bit more time to do...

If I ever turn my Hobby into a business please dont bring your car to me.......

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

 

[william84]

I agree with the above. However, his son has commented more on the situation than him so I'm doubtful.

Time shall tell ...

I hope so as it's a sad day for both parties I believe..
I would probably ignore the sons comments young and probably no life experiences with this type of situation..
If I was to put it bluntly it's nothing to do with him and he's probably only sticking up for his dad as all of us would do to whether in the wrong or not...
No excuses for laughing at op though that's down right disrespectful imo if true.
I see kids with a football near my Clio or a door swinging open near it I get a flutter an a few nasty thoughts so could only imagine 30ks worth and 11 years investment..

 

[Eddie555]

There is always good and bad with any mechanics, be they had a late night family crisis etc etc..
Nobody is perfect!
I would say to the op there has been a line drawn on the sand. It's now up to cal/bloke to put correct if he would like to salvage this situation..

I'm a firm believer in there is always 3 sides to a story.
1. The op version
2.carl/blokes version

Then 3. The truth in the middle.

I have huge respect for Carl's knowledge as it's dug me out a few situations probably without him even knowing.
Imo to offer advise on a forum just shows he's not all about the money unlike your bigger named companies!
With that said if he's of good character which I'm hopeful he is this will get sorted out.

Total agree.. I was writing something similar..

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

 

[Louis]

Problem with publicly commenting is that everyone and anyone will jump onto it, whether it's their business or not. This is exactly what happened when his son commented on fb and people started saying theyd batter/kill him etc.
Clearly this needs sorting between Carl and the OP in order to get any decent resolve.

The car in question should either return to Carl for the work completing (which I doubt OP wants to do, understandably having it taken so long to this stage), or get it priced up at another company for the work rectifying at Carls cost.

As it stands everything needs putting into a timeline, with proof (which hasnt really been provided throughout the whole ordeal) so that it can be resolved. Whether that be screenshots or invoices etc. Carl's not denying the issue has arisen through lack of time but I wouldn't doubt had it been completed the workmanship would have been decent pushing good figures.

Ultimately it's a huge shame its come down to this, the way OP has originally gone about the whole thing is wrong (can appreciate the red mist and being pissed) with @steviekyle13793 3 s rendition of events making things much clearer.
I think the assault has also been a mistake and will be leaving a bitter taste in both parties mouths.
The car needs returning to the standard it started at, with additional costs recouped. Cant really hope for much better tbh.

 

[Rojer]

One thing that i find odd is why Carl didn't go down to the unit if he saw them breaking in on CCTV. Maybe he wanted to avoid trouble, but if my son was there i wouldn't want to leave him alone with an angry customer and it could of been resolved in a more civil way if he called the police and then went down to speak to the guy or let him have his car etc etc.

If it was my car, yes i would be pissed, but ending up in trouble with the police is only going to cause further issues. Best way to move forward is for the car to be taken to another specialist and Carl pays the bill, Carl fixes it himself or the OP goes to court to recover fees.

As someone said 3 sides to the story, as for the cockwombles on FB they are idiots, it has nothing to do with them and sending threats or actually acting on them when it has nothing to do with them is totally wrong. Social media is vile and im glad i got rid of it years ago.

Despite what has happened Carl shouldn't have to be looking over his shoulder all the time in case someone from FB wants to attack him or his family. Look what happened with @Cookson

I hope the OP gets his car sorted as we all love cars here and its a shame to see it end this way.

 

[SharkyUK]

Yeah there probably are horror stories about RS Tuning too, but guess which business is still running and thriving?

Sharky's car single handedly killed 2 maybe 3 traders off this forum on its own!

And sadly cost a friendship or two. What a waste in every sense of the word.

 

[Waitey]

He messaged Carl everyday last week telling him he was coming to collect the car on Saturday and Carl ignored every message, it's a 3+ hour drive each way to get to Carl. OP rented a trailer and a stihl saw, Carl was not present and the unit was locked. When he began cutting the locks off, Carl seen this on his CCTV and phoned the police and made his way down.

There was a lot of words said between both parties. Carls son laughed in the face if the OP and his mate so the OPs mate give him a thump and was then temporarily arrested until the situation calmed down.

Regardless of what happened to the car, those two things are just f**king retarded.

 

[steviekyle13793]

Well put @Louis

I'll update this should any further developments occur regarding the outcome. Not sure if @bloke would rather keep out of this publicly and resolve something behind closed doors but I believe it would be good for him to come out and talk about this rather than hiding behind ignorance and/or his son

@Rojer - Carl did come down with his son and he wasn't assaulted. His son was only assaulted out of pure disrespect and laughing in the 2 lads faces when they were discussing this with Carl.

@Waitey - The stihl saw was used purely to cut open the locks. He wasn't planning on using Carla limbs to repair the car. As for the thump, see the above paragraph.

 

[Waitey]

@Rojer - Carl did come down with his son and he wasn't assaulted. His son was only assaulted out of pure disrespect and laughing in the 2 lads faces when they were discussing this with Carl.

@Waitey - The stihl saw was used purely to cut open the locks. He wasn't planning on using Carla limbs to repair the car. As for the thump, see the above paragraph.

That is still monumentally stupid in this situation.

Now he'll have no car and a criminal record.

 

[steviekyle13793]

Wrong in both instances @Waitey

The car is in his garage back home and no further actions were taken. The police said it was a civil matter and they couldn't intervene, they were only there to prevent more violence. The OPs mate was temporarily arrested just to prevent more confrontation, and then released once the car was on the trailer and ready to go.

I'm not condoning it at all, it definitely wasn't going to fix anything but I bet it felt good getting rid of some of that frustration and truthfully, can't blame them.

 

[Usr117063]

Next time I go round me mums and she makes a dodgy dinner, Im going to go out and get the dogs toy to batter the lock off the cookie jar, will let everyone on facebook know as well

 

[Louis]

One thing that i find odd is why Carl didn't go down to the unit if he saw them breaking in on CCTV. Maybe he wanted to avoid trouble, but if my son was there i wouldn't want to leave him alone with an angry customer and it could of been resolved in a more civil way if he called the police and then went down to speak to the guy or let him have his car etc etc.

If it was my car, yes i would be pissed, but ending up in trouble with the police is only going to cause further issues. Best way to move forward is for the car to be taken to another specialist and Carl pays the bill, Carl fixes it himself or the OP goes to court to recover fees.

As someone said 3 sides to the story, as for the cockwombles on FB they are idiots, it has nothing to do with them and sending threats or actually acting on them when it has nothing to do with them is totally wrong. Social media is vile and im glad i got rid of it years ago.

Despite what has happened Carl shouldn't have to be looking over his shoulder all the time in case someone from FB wants to attack him or his family. Look what happened with @Cookson

I hope the OP gets his car sorted as we all love cars here and its a shame to see it end this way.

What's the @Cookson Story? 👀👀

 

[Rojer]

@Louis

Post 458

https://cliosport.net/threads/mental-health.820309/page-12

 

[Waitey]

Wrong in both instances @Waitey

The car is in his garage back home and no further actions were taken. The police said it was a civil matter and they couldn't intervene, they were only there to prevent more violence. The OPs mate was temporarily arrested just to prevent more confrontation, and then released once the car was on the trailer and ready to go.

I'm not condoning it at all, it definitely wasn't going to fix anything but I bet it felt good getting rid of some of that frustration and truthfully, can't blame them.

The car not being finished is yes.

The aggravated trespass isn't. The minute those locks were cut they are fucked. If I were Bloke, I'd be pressing charges just out of principal.

 

[Louis]

@Louis

Post 458

https://cliosport.net/threads/mental-health.820309/page-12

Jesus. Thats awful

 

[steviekyle13793]

The car not being finished is yes.

The aggravated trespass isn't. The minute those locks were cut they are fucked. If I were Bloke, I'd be pressing charges just out of principal.

The police stood by and watched and Carl has chosen not to press charges. If Carl was the innocent member here do you think he wouldn't be pressing charges? Or do you think he took a step back and thought, I probably deserved that ...

 

[Usr117063]

For those that want carls head on a stick, why are you even bothering? Putting all that rage into internet words as if any of this matters. Go out and do something productive, go help out the guy with the megane, instead of trying to win a battle of opinion on forums

 

[steviekyle13793]

I'm the OPs mate, and I will be helping him no end.

We will just bury this under the sand and let it happen to a few more people like the Andy Greer saga. Moderators might as well lock this post now as @ZachB has just came up with the perfect resolution.

 

[Usr117063]

I'm the OPs mate, and I will be helping him no end.

We will just bury this under the sand and let it happen to a few more people like the Andy Greer saga. Moderators might as well lock this post now as @ZachB has just came up with the perfect resolution.

Youl be fighting to no end if you want to stop carls buisness. Just sort your friends out and leave it at that, its been on social media theres nothing else that you can do.

 

[steviekyle13793]

I'm not wanting to stop his business. If people want to trust him then that is up to them. You have already seen some of the posts on here and people are happy to continue using him. All I'm trying to do is make people aware of what has happened to others. I've already had a las message me on here with doubts over letting Carl do some work for him that is booked in for next week.

If this post wasn't made, that person would have been none the wiser. Carl isn't necessarily losing the lads business as he may still go there and I even said Carl's reputation prior to this was fantastic. He just now knows that there are risks involved and is now weighing up other alternatives

 

[R3k1355]

The stuff people have been putting on Facebook is completely outrageous, do they not realise their name is right next to the comment?


Carl Hitchen I'd of buried him!!!

Neil Elliott One way trip to the Moors

Ryan Cross Burn his shop down

Faheem Ahmad Burn his house down

Lewis Dixon Set his unit on fire

 

[Rojer]

The stuff people have been putting on Facebook is completely outrageous, do they not realise their name is right next to the comment?

Absolute t***s, sadly this is what people are coming to.

 

[steviekyle13793]

As I've said above, I don't condone it. Not really going to resolve anything. However, if that was my car I'd be thinking similar. Not exactly saying I'd act on it as I'm not a t*t but the thoughts would definitely be running through my mind.

 

[leeds2592]

Problem with publicly commenting is that everyone and anyone will jump onto it, whether it's their business or not. This is exactly what happened when his son commented on fb and people started saying theyd batter/kill him etc.
Clearly this needs sorting between Carl and the OP in order to get any decent resolve.

The car in question should either return to Carl for the work completing (which I doubt OP wants to do, understandably having it taken so long to this stage), or get it priced up at another company for the work rectifying at Carls cost.

As it stands everything needs putting into a timeline, with proof (which hasnt really been provided throughout the whole ordeal) so that it can be resolved. Whether that be screenshots or invoices etc. Carl's not denying the issue has arisen through lack of time but I wouldn't doubt had it been completed the workmanship would have been decent pushing good figures.

Ultimately it's a huge shame its come down to this, the way OP has originally gone about the whole thing is wrong (can appreciate the red mist and being pissed) with @steviekyle13793 3 s rendition of events making things much clearer.
I think the assault has also been a mistake and will be leaving a bitter taste in both parties mouths.
The car needs returning to the standard it started at, with additional costs recouped. Cant really hope for much better tbh.

Cheers Judge Judy.

 

[Louis]

Cheers Judge Judy.