When a garage will not release your car until the bill is paid

They will not give you the keys — do these three things first

The work is finished, or they say it is. You are at the desk. They will not release the car until you pay a bill you did not expect, or a bill you think is wrong.

This is one of the hardest motoring disputes to write about safely. This page does not tell you that the garage has the right to keep the car, and it does not tell you that they have no right to keep it. Anyone who gives you either answer without reading your paperwork is guessing.

Checklist

• Treat the release of the vehicle and the argument about the money as two separate problems, and decide about them separately.
• Do not remove a vehicle from a garage's premises without agreement on the strength of anything you read here or anywhere else online.
• Write down what you authorised, what you have already paid, and what you were told at the desk; get advice on your own facts early.

What this page does and does not decide

A garage holding a car against an unpaid or disputed bill is one of the hardest situations to write about safely. Whether a repairer is entitled to keep a vehicle turns on the contract between you and the garage, on what was authorised, and on general law that is not written down in a single statute you can look up.

So this page does not tell you that the garage has the right to keep your car, and it does not tell you that they have no right to keep it. Anyone who gives you either answer without reading your paperwork is guessing.

What follows is limited to things that can be stated from sources: what the legislation says about selling goods a customer has not collected, what a court can be asked to do about goods that are being detained, what to record now, and, only in sections headed England only, what the England version of Citizens Advice suggests as practical steps.

What to do

• Treat the release of the vehicle and the argument about the money as two separate problems, and decide about them separately.
• Do not remove a vehicle from a garage’s premises without agreement on the strength of anything you read here or anywhere else online.
• Get advice on your own facts early. This is one of the few motoring disputes where the cost of being wrong can be the vehicle itself.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: legislation on selling uncollected goods

Section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 applies to goods in the possession or under the control of a bailee where the bailor is in breach of an obligation to take delivery of the goods, or where the bailee could impose such an obligation by giving notice but cannot trace or communicate with the bailor. Sources: ^[2]

Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 says that where a bailee has accepted goods for repair or other treatment on terms that they will be re-delivered when the repair or other treatment has been carried out, the notice imposing an obligation to take delivery may be given at any time after that work has been carried out. Sources: ^[4]

Paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 says paragraph 2 applies whether or not the bailor has paid any amount due to the bailee in respect of the goods. Sources: ^[4]

Under section 12(3), a bailee who has given notice of intention to sell in accordance with Part II of Schedule 1, or who has failed to trace or communicate with the bailor after taking reasonable steps, and who is reasonably satisfied that the bailor owns the goods, is entitled as against the bailor to sell them. Sources: ^[2]

Paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 requires a notice of intention to sell to be in writing, sent by post in a registered letter or by the recorded delivery service, and to specify the bailee’s name and address, sufficient particulars of the goods and where they are held, the date on or after which the bailee proposes to sell, and the amount, if any, payable by the bailor which became due before the notice was given. Sources: ^[4]

Paragraph 6 also says the period between giving the notice and the proposed sale date must afford the bailor a reasonable opportunity of taking delivery of the goods, and that where an amount became due before the notice was given that period must be not less than three months. Sources: ^[4]

Section 12(5) makes a bailee who sells under this power liable to account to the bailor for the proceeds of sale less any costs of sale, with the account taken on the footing that the bailee should have adopted the best method of sale reasonably available in the circumstances. Sources: ^[2]

Section 12(8) says that section 12 and Schedule 1 have effect subject to the terms of the bailment, so what was agreed between you and the garage matters to how this scheme operates. Sources: ^[2]

Section 12(7)(b) says that references in section 12, section 13 and Schedule 1 to what is payable, paid or due to the bailee in respect of the goods include references to what would be payable by the bailor to the bailee as a condition of delivery of the goods at the relevant time. Sources: ^[2]

This section, and Schedule 1 to this Act, have effect subject to the terms of the bailment.

There is a statutory scheme about goods a customer has not collected. It is worth understanding, because it is the part of this subject where the rules are written down. Note what it is about: it sets out when someone holding your goods may sell them. It is not a statement that they may keep them.

What to do

• Read section 12(7)(b) for what it is: a definition of a phrase used elsewhere in those provisions. This page does not treat it as settling whether any particular garage may keep any particular vehicle.
• If you receive a letter that looks like a notice of intention to sell, keep the envelope as well as the letter, and take advice about it straight away rather than waiting.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the statutory dispute rule

Paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 1 says the bailee shall not give a notice under section 12(3), or exercise the right to sell pursuant to such a notice, at a time when he has notice that, because of a dispute concerning the goods, the bailor is questioning or refusing to pay all or any part of what the bailee claims to be due in respect of the goods. Sources: ^[4]

Paragraph 7(2) says that paragraph 7 is left out of account in deciding, under section 13(1), whether a bailee is entitled to sell the goods or would be entitled if the required notice had been given, so a dispute does not close off the separate route of applying to a court. Sources: ^[4]

Section 13 allows a court, where a bailee satisfies it that he is entitled to sell under section 12 or would be if the required notice had been given, to authorise the sale subject to any terms and conditions specified in the order, to authorise deduction from the proceeds of the costs of sale and any amount due from the bailor, and to direct payment into court of the net proceeds to be held to the credit of the bailor. Sources: ^[3]

The bailee shall not give a notice under section 12(3), or exercise his right to sell the goods pursuant to such a notice, at a time when he has notice that, because of a dispute concerning the goods, the bailor is questioning or refusing to pay all or any part of what the bailee claims to be due to him in respect of the goods.

What to do

• If you are disputing the bill, make sure the garage has notice of that dispute in writing, dated, and keep proof that you sent it. Paragraph 7(1) is expressed in terms of what the bailee has notice of.
• Do not read paragraph 7 as a permanent block on a sale. Paragraph 7(2) preserves the court route under section 13.

England only: Citizens Advice guidance on keeping and selling

On its England car-repair page, Citizens Advice states that a garage is not allowed to sell or get rid of the car while the bill is being disputed, but can keep the car while the dispute continues. This is grade B practical guidance for England only; this page does not present it as the position in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland. Sources: ^[14]

What to do

• Use this statement only as general practical guidance for a dispute in England, not as a ruling that decides whether the garage may keep or sell your vehicle.
• For Northern Ireland, do not carry this England statement across. Use the verified Northern Ireland statutory material and the Consumerline route below.

No Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland position is inferred from this Citizens Advice England page.

England only: Citizens Advice guidance on paying under protest

On its England car-repair page, Citizens Advice says that if you need the car back but are not happy with the amount you have to pay, you can pay under protest and then continue with your dispute, which means paying the full amount but letting the garage know they can expect further action. Sources: ^[14]

Citizens Advice’s England page advises writing the words paying under protest clearly on the garage’s copy of the repair order sheet and on any copies of receipts the garage makes, and says that if you do not say you are paying under protest it will be difficult to get compensation later because the garage could argue that by paying the bill you were accepting the charges. Sources: ^[14]

Citizens Advice’s England page states plainly that there is no guarantee you will get the money back later, although there are ways to try. Sources: ^[14]

Citizens Advice’s England page suggests that if you cannot afford to pay, you can offer to pay what you consider a reasonable amount in exchange for getting the car back and then dispute the rest of the bill separately. Sources: ^[14]

For a consumer in England, paying an amount you think is too high to recover the vehicle is a practical judgement about money and risk. The Citizens Advice statements in this section come only from its England page and are not stated as the position in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland.

What to do

• For a dispute in England, if you choose to pay under protest, do it in a way that leaves a record on the garage’s own paperwork as well as yours, and photograph what you wrote before you hand it over.
• For a dispute in England, do not treat paying under protest as a guarantee of recovery. Citizens Advice, which recommends it on its England page, says explicitly that there is no guarantee.
• Take advice before paying a large disputed sum if you can do so without losing the use of the vehicle for an unacceptable length of time. The order in which you pay and complain can matter, and this page cannot tell you what the right order is in your case.
• If your dispute is in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland, do not treat this England practice as stating the effect of a payment there; use the route for your jurisdiction below.

What the Consumer Rights Act says where no price was fixed

Where the consumer has not paid a price, the contract does not expressly fix a price or say how it is to be fixed, and nothing treated as included under section 50 fixes one either, section 51 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats the contract as including a term that the consumer must pay a reasonable price and no more, and says what is a reasonable price is a question of fact. Sources: ^[6]

Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats a service contract as including as a term anything said or written to the consumer by or on behalf of the trader about the trader or the service, if the consumer took it into account when deciding to enter the contract or when making any decision about the service after entering it. Sources: ^[5]

What to do

• Because section 51 only applies where no price was fixed, work out first whether you had a quote, an estimate or nothing at all, and keep whatever fixed or failed to fix the price.
• These price provisions do not decide whether a garage has a right to retain the vehicle.

Daily storage or parking charges while the car sits there

Section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says an unfair term of a consumer contract is not binding on the consumer, and that an unfair consumer notice is not binding on the consumer, while not preventing the consumer from relying on the term or notice if they choose to. Sources: ^[7]

Section 62(4) says a term is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer. Sources: ^[7]

Section 62(5) says whether a term is fair is determined taking into account the nature of the subject matter of the contract and by reference to all the circumstances existing when the term was agreed and to all the other terms of the contract or of any other contract on which it depends. Sources: ^[7]

Section 62(6) applies the same test to a notice, which is assessed by reference to the circumstances existing when the rights or obligations to which it relates arose. Sources: ^[7]

A term is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer.

A claim for storage while the vehicle is held can grow faster than the amount originally in dispute. Whether such a charge is payable depends on whether it was part of your contract and, if it was, whether that term stands up. Neither question can be answered here.

What to do

• Nothing on this page says a storage charge is unfair, unenforceable or excessive. Section 62 sets out a test; applying it to your term is a job for an adviser or a court, not for a website.
• Ask early. A charge that has been accruing quietly for weeks is a much larger problem than the same charge queried on day two.

Checklist

• Ask in writing for the exact wording of the term the storage charge is said to come from, and where and when you were given it.
• Ask for the daily rate, the date the charge is said to have started, and how the running total is being calculated.
• Keep the reply, and keep a note if there is no reply.
• Photograph any sign on the premises that the garage relies on, including where it is displayed and how visible it is from where customers stand.
• Record the running figure the garage quotes you on each date it changes.

What to collect while the car is still there

Whoever eventually advises you, whether that is an adviser, an ombudsman scheme or a court, will work from documents. Assemble them now, while dates are fresh and people still answer the phone.

What to do

• Put requests in writing even where you have already made them by phone, and keep proof of sending.
• Say clearly in writing which part of the bill you dispute and which part, if any, you accept. A blanket refusal and a specific challenge are not the same thing.
• Ask for the vehicle to be kept as it is and for no further work to be carried out while the dispute is open, and keep that request.
• If a finance company or a lease company is on the paperwork, tell them early. They may have their own interest in the vehicle and their own view about it being held.

Checklist

• What you actually authorised: the booking note, the written instruction, the text or email, and anything you signed. If the authorisation was verbal, write down what you said, to whom and when, while you still remember it.
• Any quote or estimate, and which of the two it was described as being.
• The job sheet, work order and invoice, including any itemised parts and labour lines.
• The garage’s written reason for not releasing the vehicle, in their words. Ask for it in writing if you have only been told it on the phone.
• The amount the garage says is owed, on each date it changes, and any storage or parking charge claimed separately from the repair.
• The date the vehicle went in, the date the work was said to be complete, and the date you first asked for the car back.
• Every message in both directions, in date order, including voicemails and the times of calls that were not answered.
• Photographs of the vehicle where it stands, the odometer reading, and its condition, taken with dates.
• The registration document, insurance and any finance agreement, because who owns the vehicle can matter and may not be you.
• Anything you have already paid, with the payment method and the receipt.

England only: Citizens Advice guidance on travel costs

On its England car-repair page, Citizens Advice advises always asking the garage what they can do to help before you spend any extra money on hire cars or travel, and says that a court is not likely to award you money if the garage offers services that you did not take advantage of. Sources: ^[14]

Citizens Advice’s England page says it is a good idea to keep a record and receipts of any extra money you have to pay for travel while you are disputing a bill, because you might need to prove this later. Sources: ^[14]

Citizens Advice’s England page says you can ask the garage for a courtesy car, while noting that not all garages will offer one. Sources: ^[14]

What to do

• For an England dispute, ask first, then spend. Citizens Advice’s England page puts this in terms of what a court is likely to award, and the order of those two steps is the part you control.
• Even in England, keeping a record is not the same as being entitled to recover it. Nobody on this page can tell you what, if anything, you will get back.

Checklist

• For an England dispute, ask the garage in writing whether they will provide a courtesy car or contribute to travel, and keep the answer including a refusal.
• For an England dispute, keep dated receipts for public transport, taxis, hire cars and fuel that you would not otherwise have spent.
• For an England dispute, keep a short daily note of journeys you could not make or had to pay differently for.
• For an England dispute, record any earnings you lost and how, with something that supports it, rather than an estimate written up afterwards.
• For an England dispute, keep insurance and tax records for the vehicle for the period it is being held.

This England-only section states no Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland position on recoverable travel costs or lost earnings.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: statutory court remedies

Section 3 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 says that in proceedings for wrongful interference against a person who is in possession or in control of the goods, relief may be given in accordance with that section so far as appropriate. Sources: ^[1]

The relief under section 3(2) is an order for delivery of the goods and payment of any consequential damages, or an order for delivery giving the defendant the alternative of paying damages by reference to the value of the goods together with any consequential damages, or damages. Sources: ^[1]

Section 3(3) says relief is to be given under only one of those three paragraphs, that an order for delivery of the goods is at the discretion of the court, and that the claimant may choose between the other two. Sources: ^[1]

Section 3(6) says an order for delivery of the goods may impose such conditions as the court determines, and gives the example that a bailor’s action against the bailee may be one in which the measure of damages is not the full value of the goods, in which case the court may order delivery but require the bailor to pay the bailee a sum reflecting the difference. Sources: ^[1]

relief under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) is at the discretion of the court, and the claimant may choose between the others

There is a statutory framework for what relief a court can give in proceedings about goods someone else is holding. It is set out here so you know what the options are called, not as a suggestion that you should start proceedings or that you would succeed.

What to do

• Note what section 3(3) and section 3(6) mean in practice: getting the vehicle itself back is discretionary, and a court that does order delivery can attach conditions to it, including payment.
• Do not start proceedings about a detained vehicle on the strength of a web page. Take advice first; the choice of remedy under section 3(2) is not one to make by guesswork.
• The separate OBDCode UK guides on court money claims cover the procedure for a claim about money. They are not written for a claim about getting goods back, which is a different thing.

England and Wales: use the correct help route

legislation.gov.uk marks section 3, section 12 and Schedule 1 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 as extending to England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Sources: ^{[1] [2] [4]}

GOV.UK directs consumers in England and Wales to Citizens Advice, consumers in Scotland to Advice Direct Scotland, and consumers in Northern Ireland to Consumerline, and says these helplines can refer a complaint to local Trading Standards officers. Sources: ^[9]

The Citizens Advice car-repair statements reproduced on this page come from the England version and are limited to England. They are not presented as Wales-specific guidance.

What to do

• If you are in England or Wales, use the official national route below to reach the appropriate consumer service.

England and Wales — GOV.UK consumer advice route

Scotland: substantive retention rights are not covered here

legislation.gov.uk does not mark sections 3, 12 or 13 of, or Schedule 1 to, the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 as extending to Scotland. Sources: ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

GOV.UK routes consumers in Scotland to Advice Direct Scotland for consumer advice. Sources: ^[9]

This page does not state the substantive Scots law position on whether a repairer may retain a vehicle. It does not transfer the 1977 Act or the England Citizens Advice guidance into Scots law.

No Scottish rule about a garage’s right to retain the vehicle is inferred here. Ask Advice Direct Scotland or a Scottish solicitor about your facts.

Scotland — contact Advice Direct Scotland

Northern Ireland: verified statute and official help only

legislation.gov.uk marks section 3, section 12 and Schedule 1 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 as extending to Northern Ireland. Sources: ^{[1] [2] [4]}

legislation.gov.uk carries a separate Northern Ireland version of section 13, which provides that a county court there has jurisdiction only if the value of the goods does not exceed the county court limit. Sources: ^[3]

nidirect states that Consumerline is for Northern Ireland consumers only and can be used to make a complaint against a trader or ask about consumer rights. Sources: ^[11]

The England-only Citizens Advice statements elsewhere on this page about keeping or selling the car, paying under protest and travel costs are not the Northern Ireland position and must not be used to fill any gap in Northern Ireland law.

Beyond the verified statutory provisions above, this page makes no inference about a repairer’s substantive right to retain a vehicle in Northern Ireland.

What to do

• Use the Northern Ireland version of section 13 and take Northern Ireland advice on the court aspects.
• Ask Consumerline or a Northern Ireland solicitor about the facts of your own dispute.

Northern Ireland — contact Consumerline

When to stop reading and get jurisdiction-specific advice

For England and Wales, GOV.UK provides a Check if you can get legal aid service which asks about your legal problem, income and savings and tells you what to do next, and says you will not be charged for checking your eligibility. Sources: ^[8]

For England and Wales, GOV.UK says a legal adviser applies for legal aid for you and that you cannot apply for legal aid on your own, and gives the Civil Legal Advice helpline as an alternative to the online service. Sources: ^[8]

GOV.UK says there are different ways to apply for legal aid in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. Sources: ^[8]

The Scottish Legal Aid Board says you can only apply for Scottish legal aid through a solicitor and provides a tool to find registered solicitors who may be able to advise or represent you. Sources: ^[12]

nidirect says all applications for legal aid in Northern Ireland should be made by a solicitor, who can advise whether you might qualify once they know the circumstances. Sources: ^[13]

This page has deliberately not told you who is in the right. That is the honest position, and it is also the point at which a general guide stops being useful to you.

What to do

• Take the paperwork with you to the appointment. An adviser can do very little with a verbal account of a contract dispute.
• Ask the adviser the two questions this page cannot answer: whether the garage is entitled to hold this vehicle on these facts, and what you should do first.

Checklist

• The garage has sent you anything that reads like a notice of intention to sell the vehicle.
• The amount in dispute, or the value of the vehicle, is more than you can afford to lose.
• A finance company, lease company or insurer also has an interest in the vehicle.
• The garage is claiming a storage or parking charge that keeps rising.
• You are being asked to sign something in exchange for the vehicle being released.
• You are considering removing the vehicle without the garage’s agreement.
• You are considering starting court proceedings to get the vehicle back.

England and Wales — check legal aid on GOV.UK

Scotland — find a legal-aid solicitor

Northern Ireland — read official legal-aid information

Important

This is general guidance, not legal advice, and it is written to be useful to someone who then goes and gets advice.

Nothing on this page decides whether any garage is entitled to keep any vehicle, whether any bill is payable, whether any storage charge is fair, or whether any sum paid under protest can be recovered.

The Citizens Advice practical statements on this page are England-only and must not be read as the Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland position.

For Scotland, this page does not cover the substantive law governing any claimed right to retain the vehicle.

OBDCode UK does not recommend, rank or receive any commission or referral fee for any garage, adviser, solicitor or advice body mentioned here.

Do not drive a vehicle that has been assessed as unsafe in order to remove it from a garage; arrange recovery instead.