Fold down seat stuck up (wont unlatch)

[BlakJak]

So when I got my car (Gaia, 7 seater with a 3rd row of seats) back from WOF one of the back seats was 'part way up' (they'd tested the seatbelt, and a soccer ball had gotten stuck in the footwell preventing it from going all the way back down)... I locked the seat 'up' to retrieve the ball and clear the space, and then discovered that the pull-catch in the back of the seat that releases the seat to fold down, isn't doing anything. Comparing both sides, it's like the strapping has become disconnected from whatever it is that releases the seat to fold down.
It's unclear to me how to fix this. The mechanic has no idea either (wants me to book it in, struggling to find opportunity to leave it with them for the day).
If anyone's had to fiddle with these before i'd appreciate any insights. There's some strappy stuff that runs down inside the seat (the catch is a pull-strap in the seat, beside the headrest holes) and it looks like a loop is meant to be caught on something and it no longer is. But hard to be sure as visibility is difficult, and comparing to the one that works it almost seems like the catch is within the hinge area itself.
I don't want to destroy the seat to fix it.

I can't blame the mechanic as I hadnt folded that seat up in probably a year, so it could've failed at any time prior. But now i'm annoyed because I can't carry bulky items in the boot of my car

Cheers in advance.
BJ

[BlakJak]

Hah, i've been stewing on this for a few weeks, and 30 minutes after I post it, the problem is fixed...

Turns out that the carpet pops off (when I figured out how to do it without breaking it) and there's a metal rod with a loop on the end that screws into a bar (lever) to which the strappy bit is attached. On the broken side, the metal rod had come unscrewed and the screw was loose inside the seat. Reattached, and it works again.

Unbeknownst to me my wife had inquired with a panelbeater knows who gave a good steer on where to start looking, which was all I needed...

[Bling]

Good work, that sounded like an annoying problem to have had!