Defamation threat
Update: Since posting my earlier review, Telfords have contacted me, threatening to take me to court for ‘defamation’ if I do not remove it.They claim that my post is defamatory because the case “never went to court” and liability was never admitted. The case I brought against Telfords was on the small claims fast track and proceeded through several court appointed dispute resolution hearings, in the presence of a Judge. Just prior to the deadline of paying the fee for the fixed trial date at court, their solicitor settled my claim. Telfords say my phrase in my original review that “evidence was stacked against them” was also defamatory. I made this statement because the first independent automotive forensic investigative report stated in its conclusion that: “the examiner is therefore of the opinion that the repairs undertaken at MJ Telford’s Garage have not been undertaken with reasonable care and skill”. The second (court-appointed) inspection concluded that: “on the balance of probabilities, the repairs by MJ Telford Garage were not undertaken with reasonable care and skill. These findings were significant and of utmost importance to my case but, still, I retract my previous description of them as being 'the evidence that is stacked up'. Lastly, Telfords states that any suggestion in my review that there was any wrongdoing, by them, may give rise to a claim in defamation.
With this in mind, my original review amended:
I submitted a claim to take Telfords to the small claims court after they carried out several repairs to our car which were followed by almost immediate breakdowns, the final one ending in catastrophic engine failure. Telfords consistently denied that their repairs were related to the breakdowns. Shared with Telfords were the observations, findings and conclusions from two independent (one court appointed) expert witness investigative reports and an AA report. Also, the case continued through several dispute resolution hearings up until the eve of trial at which point their appointed solicitor agreed to settle and their insurance company paid out. Telfords claimed that they were doing their utmost to address our concerns about the cause of the breakdowns, but these felt like hollow words given we had sent them the investigative reports and their only offer to address the issues was to carry out further investigations to find the root cause of engine failure at a further cost to us Attempts to seek resolve and/or redress continued for a period of time extending to almost two very stressful and anxious years. The outcome was bittersweet and this experience is one I wouldn't wish for anyone.
May 25, 2026
Unprompted review