Under the sales of goods act your covered had a similar problem with a company that broke my wifes ipod after it went in for replacement battery.

Call consumer direct.

Rick

I rang him back after the initial call and said that i was self employed too and that sometimes people ask me to do things that may go wrong and i give them the option and explain first why....i also said that people have asked me to do little bits and with all best intentions ive tried to help them out and damaged things but i'd never just left it and said sorry i did my best. Once I've touched it its my responsibility as a decent guy to get them a replacement or make it acceptable even if i was trying to help and that i understood he was trying to help but he broke it without giving me the choice of having it back in one piece!
He disagreed on the phone but I Just got home to find a cheque for £50 quid from reactive suspension....so glad to say he saw the right thing to do and I would happily send some more work their way now....i can see his point but he should have called....i have a modified nc35 tri link now available if anyone needs one!