Where can I obtain help with a serious customer complaint ?

Go to the garage and ask for /demand their Complaints book (Hoya de reclamation). They are bound by law to give it to you. If they refuse, go to see the Guardia and ask them to go to the garage with you.

The book can be filled in using English and one of the copies must be given to you.

Good luck, if her Spanish is not fluent, then paying for an interpreter would be worthwhile.

Thanks, we will try that, and hopefully something will come of it.

This might help:

Consumer Complaint Forms / Hojas de Reclamaciones – Spain Expat

Thanks - we are determined to give this a try.   Seems like a lot of running around to do but will be worth it if we get a good result.

The complaints procedure is that once you have filled in the 3-sheet complaint form, one copy stays with the company of whom you are making the complaint, one copy you take to your local OMIC office for registration, and the other copy you keep for yourself. Once the complaint has been investigated by the OMIC office and some sort of conclusion has been made, you will be informed of the resolution. This is not a quick fix as the procedure can take a few months but often, just by asking for a complaint sheet, the offending company will seek to resolve the problem before they get sanctioned. They cannot refuse to give you the complaints form and if they try, as already mentioned above, just call the police and they will ensure that the law is followed. Here are the details of the OMIC office for Mazarron:  https://murciatoday.com/omic-consumer-information-office-in-mazarron_3891-a.html  Good luck!

Thanks Mags - we will take an interpreter along initially and to fill in the form in good Spanish.  Maybe 3 women will convince them we mean business. My friend cannot afford to take the loss she has suffered.

If I were you if it's a minor offence, forget it. Always remember you are a visitor to Spain and sometimes it's best to turn a blind eye. See mom

How do you know it's a minor offence? The woman could be many hundreds of euros out of pocket.

Please name the garage you have problems with, maybe other people have had a problem and this may highlight their attitude for future customers