[CARS] Question about car batteries for the experts

Okay, so a month ago I had my car tuned up. Replaced spark plugs and wires (all original parts). The car had 108k miles on it, so it was due. Anyway, when the guy was looking under the hood, he mentioned that there was an awful lot of corrosion around one of my car battery terminals. He offered to have them clean that up as well. So I agreed. Fast forward to yesterday. Driving home from work, all the electrical system in my car dies. When I finally come to a stop at a light, the car struggles for about 10 seconds and dies. Won't start up again.

I get a friend to pull it to an auto shop that she recommended. They tell me it is just the battery and the reason the battery died was because the corrosion around that one terminal was so bad, it lost all contact with the battery. The place I went to a month ago had not cleaned the battery or done anything to it. The place I went to yesterday claimed that had they done the job they charged me for, the battery would have never died and that they are responsible for what I payed to get the battery replaced.

When I go back to the place that neglected to clean my battery connection, the only refund they offered was for the $13 they charged me for the battery service they didn't do. When I claimed that the battery dying was a result of their negligence, the guy told me that wasn't possible and the battery couldn't be drained out from corrosion like that. I'm not a car guy. I know little to nothing about cars, so I couldn't really argue with him intelligently because it was one guy's word against the other, and both of them had something to be gained (one in not refunding me, the other in likely stealing my business from my old place).

So I pose the question to you, CF.net. Does it sound like the guy was giving me a line about the corrosion and lack of terminal contact draining the battery charge down? The dude I argued with today told me I would have to talk to the owner about any further refund than the $13. So before I speak with him, I want to get some other opinions.

Any help anyone can provide will be appreciated. It's bedtime now, so if anyone has any questions they will have to wait until about 6 am tomorrow. Thanks.

 

2001 Ford Escort

Although that was just a mechanical thing with my shifting stick. Some rod got stuck down inside of it and it wouldn't shift out of park. Other than that, the car was fine, so I didn't really think of it as "breaking down" in the sense one normally would with cars. And really, that one was my fault. The rod broke because the top knob of the stick came loose long before it broke and I never really screwed it back on, just let it sit loose on there.

The battery was 5 years old. I had to replace it when I first bought the car back in 2003. I understand that batteries do die, and if that was all it was, I would have no problem paying for it. But the thing was, this other mechanic claimed it wouldn't have died were it not for the negligence of this other auto shop. That's what I'm trying to get confirmed here.