Hi. Just reading up on how to deal with CP Plus and found some great advice - thanks to previous posts. However, my vehicle was a hire car, and Europcar have paid the £90.00 and invoiced me! (Odd though - the Credit Card Number they have charged isn't mine...). Europcar have raised something called a Traffic Violation Invoice - but I haven't made a traffic violation. I have asked them for a copy of their t's and c's which I signed. I genuinely didn't see the notices and overstayed the 2 hours by 40 or so minutes (while drinking coffee and eating lunch in the lousy Exeter MOTO service station. I revisited that site again today and there are signs as you drive in to the car park, but you cannot stop and read them without holding up other cars - it's madness! Once in the car park other signs were obscured by trees and / or unreadable. Certainly there were not signs on the approach (on foot) to the entrance to the services; and nothing inside the services building to warn / remind drivers about the 2 hour limit. Anyway - I think my immediate problem will be Europcar once they have found the correct credit card details; so any advice much appreciated. Thanks, So, on the one hand,

I also had a good conversation with Consumer Direct (?) on 0845 40 40 506. They advised that the dealer was in (probably unknowingly) in breach of SOGA by supplying a vehicle with a defect. They were remedying that breach by repairing it. If I chose to have an independent inspection and no defects were found (that were not defects caused through wear and tear, misuse or neglect), then I was liable for the cost of the inspection. If defects were found, which were not caused through wear and tear, misuse or neglect, then the cost of the inspection could be claimed back from the dealer as a consequential loss as a result of their continued breach of SOGA. The dealer could be asked to repair the defects. I called the dealer today and they were happy for me to collect the car and undertake an independent inspection. They just asked me to bear in mind the age and mileage of the car, which seems reasonable to me. I'll let you know how I get on over the weekend! Thanks again everyone.

Heliosuk - thanks for the excellent definitive repair which I will pass to the dealer when I speak with him tomorrow. I'm going to get the car checked out fully and ensure that the service was performed to manufacturers specs. Any minor defects, as opposed to wear and tear; I'll also ask for them to be fixed. Once that has been completed then I'll feel happier. Thanks again to everyone for their help,

DX and Sailor Sam - thanks to you both. I'm reasonably sure that they did not know about the dodgy fuel sender unit, and I accept they have fulfilled their obligations so far. Just so I am clear, my understanding is that a refund is now at the discretion of the seller, so I'm going to assume that isn't an option. The option of having an independent inspection is mine, and I would have thought the seller would reasonably expect me to pay for it, as I would have had to have done pre-sale. Based on my experience with this dealer to date I think it is unlikely that they will agree to pay for it. The SOGA infers that the car should be "of a satisfactory quality" - free from minor defects, safe and durable for a reasonable length of time. When assessing satisfactory quality I should take into account price, age, mileage and condition at the time of sale. I guess my question is: If, having undertaken an independent inspection, faults are found, can I reasonably ask to have these repaired (excluding wear and tear) so that the vehicle is free from minor defects, safe and durable for (6 months)? Should I tell the dealer that is what I am going to do, or just do it and take a view following the inspection? And thanks again, Cheers, Paul.

Hi. I'm looking for advice as to how to proceed (or not) with a purchase of a car. I took a test drive of a Freelander 2 advertised on a local motor trader's web site. It is an '07 GS Model with 50,000 miles. I liked the car and agreed to pay the asking price of £10,995 so long as they agreed to take my car in part/ex for the price I wanted, which they did. The Freelander's MOT lapsed in June 13. As part of the deal, the trader agreed to MOT and service it (oil and filter). MOT has 4 advisories: two were for deteriorated rubber bushes (wear and tear?), and one was to indicate that the under-tray obscured some components, and another to indicate that engine covers obscured some components. I paid for the car using a bank transfer, having borrowed the funds from my parents to fund the purchase. I collected the car on Wednesday 7th August at 11:00. The car fuel gauge indicated 3/4 of a tank of diesel. This 'Distance to Empty' display gradually rose to c 250 miles, and I drove about 240 miles. The fuel gauge dropped to just below half full. On Friday 9th August at 09:30 I was driving close to my home when the car went into 'limp' mode while driving up a hill. The error message on the dash stated "reduced engine performance" for about two seconds, then the car stalled and would not restart. I walked home and spoke with the dealer who, after some persuasion, agreed to return my part/ex car and bring a mechanic to assess the problem. The mechanic brought one of those devices that plugs into the car's management system and there were about 10 fault codes, but the one that stood out stated something like "reduced / no fuel pressure forced engine shutdown". The mechanic alleged that the other fault codes were not important or were related to the pressure fault. The mechanic insisted the car had run out of fuel. I doubted this and described the fuel gauge / DTE etc. He guessed that the fuel sender unit had jammed, and that the car had run out of fuel even though the gauge read half full. He put about 10 litres of fuel in the car and freewheeled the car somewhere flat, and restarted the engine. I was then offered the car back, and it was suggested that I keep a fullish tank while they ordered the part from Land Rover and fitted it later. Instinctively I declined, and asked them to take the car away and fix it and only offer it to me when the fuel system had been fully tested. It was explained to me that the repair may take a week. In turn, I responded that I was on leave for two weeks so it may be the end of August before I can swap vehicles again. Which brings me to my query. I have read through some of the threads on the boards, and looked at summaries of the SOGA 1979 and I guess I could ask for a refund, but I may have a fight on my hands. I like the car, and what I'd like to do is to have it independently inspected for any other faults before accepting it. Clearly I should have thought of that before agreeing to buy it, but I can't change that now. Or, can I write to the dealer and set out my rights under the SOGA and explain that if I accept the car, I will have it immediately inspected and I will return it for any necessary repairs? Any advice very much appreciated. Many thanks, Paul.

Hello. I hope this post is in the correct place - please feel free to move it. I am a former director of an insolvent limited company. The company has debts to HMRC (some VAT and some Corporation Tax) and ceased trading about two or three years ago. However, HMRC has continued to issue VAT surcharges to the company at my home address (which is the registered office of the company). These surcharges have been applied while the company has not traded, and while the company probably does owe some VAT it doesn't owe anything like the £11k claimed by HMRC. Today on my doormat was a hand delivered letter from HMRC Debt Management stating that a debt manager had called to collect the debt or levy distraint. I think I have two questions: 1) I cannot find a phone number for this department - does anyone have it? The letter only contained a mobile number of the debt manager who (according to the answer phone message) was currently on sick leave. 2) The alleged debt is with a limited company - does HMRC have any redress over me personally? The limited company has no assetts at all - can they levy distraint on my personal possessions? Thanks very much in advance.

Hello. Thanks for the advice to date. I think there are two questions to answer: How old is the account? Probably two to three years. Am I defending the whole claim? No. The amount claimed does not take into account a payment made earlier this month. (I.e they claim £678 ish and this does not take into account a payment of £145.50 made on 6th July - which was late...) My partner owes the money, and doesn't intend to avoid payment, I just don't see how she can move from a late payment letter to a court claim in a month. I am going to suggest to her that, in the 1st instance, she phone's Cohens and clarifies the amount owed, and offers a voluntary payment plan over four months. My credit history is shot to s*** and I want to protect hers at all costs.

Hello again. Apologies for ignorance - here is the attachment without any references. Thanks. scan0004.pdf

Doh. Please see revised attachment without p/word showing. Thanks. scan0003.pdf

Afternoon. I have just opened the post and there is a County Court Claim Form (CCCF) that relates to my partners Next Directory account. Payments to the account have been delayed recently, but are up to date. The last letter received from them, dated 26th May required payment of £145.50 by 16 06 10. That payment was made 06 07 10. Then, without any default notice or further correspondence at all, a CCCF arrives. Another letter from Howard Cohen and Co is also in today's post stating they require payment in full or they will seek judgement against my partner. We can enter into short term arrangement over 4 months to clear this, but cannot clear it in full now. Our absolute priority will be to avoid a CCJ against my partner as this will severely damage her credit rating. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi heliosuk. Not sure that I'll hear more from VAG in terms of an inspection as the car was collected by British Car Auctions (BCA) to be sold off. Bodywork was signed off by both BCA and VAG as OK. My tactic is to play the waiting game and see what we are invoiced for before introducing the excellent arguments you proposed. Thanks again, and I'll post an update as we progress...

Thank you so much - that's excellent advice. Off to get a copy of the lease agreement now.

Hello. My partner has just handed back a leased car. The inspector has told her that the finance company (Volkswagen Financial Services) will impose a penalty of £400 plus VAT as the one service it has had within the lease period was not carried out by an authorised dealer (Audi). My understanding is that under Motor Industry Block Exemption Regs 2002 as long as the car is serviced using "matching quality" parts then the manufacturers warranty is not affected, and finance companies cannot force servicing to be carried out by authorised dealers at inflated prices. This view was confirmed by Consumer Direct (part of the Office of Fair Trading). However, VWFS have told my partner that lease agreements are exempt from Block Exemption regs, and insist the £400 is due. I don't have a copy of the lease agreement, but will the terms within this take precedence over legislation (i.e. Block Exemption regs)? Thanks for your consideration,

No news yet. I am going to phone the court today and see when they will send the judgement to me. I'm not holding my breath. Thanks

Hello again folks. I have faxed the court with a range of arguments that I discovered on these boards. There were many different sources of help and so thank you very much to you all. Thanks again