Dangerous Driving?

This is an email that I have just sent to the manager of a major (country wide) accident repair firm.  I want to know how our car was give back to us in such a dangerous condition and I want my tow eye back!   Is that too much to ask?

As always I will not name names, not even company ones, until they drop the ball.

Dear Sir,

First some background for you.

On the 13^th of February my wife unfortunately had a crash in our car.  She was rammed by someone that pulled out without looking and hit the right hand corner of our car.   I contacted the insurance company and they allocated the repair work to yourselves.

I went to the vehicle, removed our contents and waited for the repair truck.  This duly arrived (from <name removed>).

The driver decided to drag the car on to the back of his truck and to facilitate this he used one of the 2 towing hooks (eyes?) that the car had stored in the tool bay.

A few weeks later the car was returned to us, apparently repaired, but minus the towing eye and the rubber cover that covered the hole where it screws in.

I contacted <name removed> and pointed this out.  I was told it would be found or replaced.

Let’s now move forward to June.

I put the car in for its MOT.  You can imagine my surprise when it FAILED!!  The right hand  shock absorber was leaking (badly) and the brake hose was on the edge of snapping!  Had the shock collapsed or the brake hose snapped at any time while I or my wife were driving the car (usually with the children on-board) the car would probably have gone out of control, or at the very least been very hard (almost impossible) to stop (after all it is not a light car).

I returned the car to you and it has now been repaired and MOT’ed, the car is back but I am still missing the towing eye.

So why am I emailing you?

1^st, The car was given back to us in a dangerous condition.  Clearly the brake hose had been incorrectly installed. And this was not seen in pre dispatch checking. 

2^nd, While I accept that some parts fail, even though they are new, it is still disturbing that the shock went.

3^rd, Your service manager has offered to pay for a new towing eye, if I can find one.  My question is WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL.  It was on the car when I last saw it.  Presumably it was on the car when it was unloaded by <name removed>.  It must be either with you or them.  Why do I have to search for a replacement?

This whole issue seems to have been brushed under the carpet by your staff, and dismissed, but I hope you can see that sending a car out in that condition is not acceptable!  Loosing parts from a client’s car, however trivial the part is to you, is not acceptable.

My wife was shaken by the original accident.  This has just added to her anxiety about driving as the car that she felt safe in could have been a death-trap.

Feel free to call me on <My Mobile> or email me.  I do hope that we can reach a mutually agreeable solution.

Regards

I am actually very concerned that they could send a car out in that condition and that they have lost a part of my car.  Ok so the rear tow eye is not vital to day to day usage, but that is not the point.  Does it mean that I have to remove ALL removable items from my car every time it is in for a service; like the spare tyre, jack, spanner?  Do I have to get the car checked over by a third party every time I get it back from a service, just in case?

Incidentally, I have also mentioned all this to Aviva and Chrysler Customer Services (In Milan, now they are part of Fiat).  Lets see if they take it seriously.