Anger at arrest

Aug 17 2008 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

A GARAGE manager is demanding an apology from police who he claims wrongfully arrested him during a row with a customer.

Darren Tandy, of Mr Clutch garage in Gateshead, carried out work on a Land Rover but when the customer came to collect his car he put the brakes on paying the quoted bill of £1127.

When Mr Tandy, 34, refused to agree to a lower fee for the work, he says the car owner called in police, who arrested him and put him in a cell for three hours before releasing him without charge.

The dad-of-one, of Stanley, County Durham, made a complaint against Northumbria Police but the force say no further action will be taken.

He is now considering civil action over the incident, claiming he should never have been arrested.

The garage manager said: “I was a bit scared and thought I was going to lose my job . . . I’ve got a wife and baby to look after.

“Basically, the man who owned the Land Rover came in to collect it, having agreed to the amount we set, but he said he was only going to pay £950 and that he was going to call the police if I didn’t lower the price.

“He called 999 and an officer actually came down and told me I had to drop the price.

“The customer then said he wanted it dropped to £850.

“I said I couldn’t do that, but I could take all the parts back and he could take the Land Rover elsewhere to be fixed. Then he argued my last chance was to agree to £550.”

Mr Tandy claimed: “When I said the parts cost more than that, the policeman said ‘we’ve got a situation here and I’m taking you out of the equation’, and he arrested me and took me to Gateshead police station.

“I hadn’t been very rude, and I hadn’t sworn . . . I had been polite. Three hours later I was released.”

Mr Tandy said the customer went in two days later and paid £800 for the work, but he is still not happy with the way the matter was resolved.

He said: “All I want is an apology because I think it was wrong to treat me that way.”

Northumbria Police, however, say they don’t plan to take further action.

A spokesman said: “Police were called to the Mr Clutch Garage on April 11, 2008, by garage customers who were in dispute over a bill.

“Officers explained to both parties that this was a civil matter but due to garage manager Mr Tandy’s conduct the officers deemed it necessary to arrest him for Breach of the Peace.

“A complaint was later received and was referred to Northumbria Police professional standards department who conducted a full investigation and concluded that the officer had acted appropriately in the circumstances and no disciplinary action should be taken.”