Car bill drives me up the wall

I put my car in for an MOT and a winter service, which was quoted at a set price. But the garage did extra work to get the vehicle to pass. They claimed they couldn’t reach me to authorise the repairs. The bill is £60 more than I was expecting. What can I do? Pay it, unless you told them in no uncertain terms that you only wanted the test to be carried out and nothing more, even if they presented you with a fail slip. You may well have signed contractual terms which allow them to carry out reasonable repairs. Check your paperwork.

I’ve investigated many thousands of complaints and will tackle any organisation – the bigger, the better – to win justice.

Only a small proportion of the many cases I deal with end up in the Sunday Mail.

Often a quick call or letter from me is enough to get things moving.

But any decent company know better than to question The Judge’s verdicts.

This week, I look back at some of my most memorable victories of 2017.

I was delighted to secure a £ 4000 payout for pet owner Barbara Dennistoun after her cockapoo Bella was hit by a truck and had to have a leg amputated.

Pet insurer Animal Friends were refusing to cover the vet bill, claiming the dog was not under control when the accident happened.

But Barbara, 45, of Cambuslang, near Glasgow, called me in April. She said: “Bella was totally under control, on a lead, on the pavement. Either the lorry spooked her or it pulled her under its wheels.”

Animal Friends didn’t want to know. I got on the case and, in an amazing turnaround, they apologised and quickly paid out in full.

“She’s a bundle of fun and brings so much joy to our lives. I can’t thank you enough for what you did for us.”

I also secured a £ 5000 payout for Rachel Baird, who was battling another insurer, OneFamily. Her mum Margaret had made the