Am I being charged for unnecessary work?

Hi experts,

Currently having a bit of a disagreement with a Peugeot dealer and would like your opinion on whether or not I have had over £300 of unnecessary work carried out.

I went in for a simple replacement key fob for my trusty 306. Mine is pretty much knackered and the infra red works intermittently. The main reason I wanted a replacement is because central locking doesn't activate when the key is inserted into the lock. It will only activate when I use the infra-red functionality from the fob.

A replacement fob was ordered and programmed and the infra-red functionality on the new fob didn't work. I was told the problem was with the wiring loom on the driver door which was exposed and a wire in it was obviously broken. (I presume this explains why central locking would not activate from the lock.)

I was told the whole wiring loom would need to be replaced before the infra-red functionality on my key would work. I couldn't really understand why this was required, but considering I could see a broken wire and the central locking functionality was already not fully functional, it didn't seem that unreasonable.

I got the wiring loom replaced and the infra-red functionality from the replacement key-fob still does not work. I was told that the new fob was probably dodgy and then would need replaced.

When I then questioned, whether replacement of the wiring loom was in fact necessary, the answer was an unconvincing yes, however the dealer offered to half my bill but I did point out that it was still a lot to pay for unnecessary work. He said that he would order the replacement key and we could sort something out later.

My query is do you think the work done was unnecessary for this problem? I accept that there are other benefits to having the work done, however I want to know whether or not I should have needed the wiring loom replaced when a simple replacement key would have sufficed.

Your views are much appreciated. Sean

your opinion on whether or not I have had over £300 of unnecessary work carried out.

much knackered and the infra red works intermittently. The main reason I wanted a replacement is because central locking doesn't activate when the key is inserted into the lock. It will only activate when I use the infra-red functionality from the fob.

on the new fob didn't work. I was told the problem was with the wiring loom on the driver door which was exposed and a wire in it was obviously broken. (I presume this explains why central locking would not activate from the lock.)

infra-red functionality on my key would work. I couldn't really understand why this was required, but considering I could see a broken wire and the central locking functionality was already not fully functional, it didn't seem that unreasonable.

replacement key-fob still does not work. I was told that the new fob was probably dodgy and then would need replaced.

necessary, the answer was an unconvincing yes, however the dealer offered to half my bill but I did point out that it was still a lot to pay for unnecessary work. He said that he would order the replacement key and we could sort something out later.

accept that there are other benefits to having the work done, however I want to know whether or not I should have needed the wiring loom replaced when a simple replacement key would have sufficed.

You had two related faults. By your own admission, the wiring was broken and to repair this to a main dealer standard, the replacement was needed rather than a fix it type repair on the broken wire alone. You also needed a new key and although the new one does not work, the dealer has offered to try another one. The dealers explanation of needing new wiring to fix the IR problem is highly suspect but typical of the comments from dealers to fob off punters. The dealer has made a reasonable offer in the circumstances. Unless you give these people a maximum price to work to before contacting you for approval, costs can run away as you have found.

I can see why you feel aggrieved but it does not sound like you set them a framework to work to. I could be wrong.

Bob