For info, Utilita is the supplier Ofgem have chosen to take on Our Power customers.

True indeed, but OurPower was consistently the cheapest whenever I tried to compare; I'm under no illusion that whatever tariff and supplier I end up on by default through the Ofgem switch. Similarly, there's no guarantee that by me moving now I won't end up on a more expensive tariff than the one Ofgem arranges.

That's who I am with. Never had a problem. Such a shame, Ofgem say to sit tight and they'll choose a new supplier to move me to.

I've already won back £4000 via the Ombudsman for irresponsible lending by PDUK; I've never had a loan from PDE or TMS. My last loan with PDUK was in 2014, which defaulted and then was settled off from the above award when it was finally settled late 2017. I don't know why they would have been checking my file in the period mentioned on the letter, although my complaint was still active at the time and with PDUK for investigation so that may have been why. Document1.pdf Document2.pdf

Received a letter this moring in the post from Dollar UK who trade under Instant Cash Loans, who in turn operate the brands Payday Express, Payday UK and The Money Shop. The letter states that during a review of customer accounts, the company discovered they had left hard searches on my credit file between August and November 2016. As a consquence, they have offered compensation of £75 as they believe the hard searches may have been to my detriment. The offer is in full and final settlement of the issue, which my husband thinks is an attempt to buy me off, and if I were to press harder I could take more off them. I'm more concerned by the unsolicited mail, and I'm reticent to give my bank details in case it is an elaborate [problem]. I have to send the form back by the end of February, and I'm not sure how to proceed. Thoughts?

I had a similar problem with a Vauxhall Zafira, but I left it too late to reject after agreeing to go down the dealership repair route to try and fix it and had to go through the Ombudsman eventually to get back almost £3000 in repairs after i had to eventually replace the engine after everything else failed. Regardless of what the dealership/garage tells you, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you have a 30-day right to reject goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund. The clock starts from the date of purchase, They'll probably try to argue that the fault is yours as you drove it with a coolant leak which led to the failing gasket issue, so be prepared. Your local CAB will be able to help.

This is still ongoing, back and forth between the finance company and myself. I've even spoken to my local Citizens Advice, who say because I used my own garage after the second breakdown that I forfeited my rights under the CRA by not giving the 'dealer' Carfinance 247 the opportunity to fix. Running out of options, looks like I'll need to throw myself at the goodwill of the CEO of the finance company via FLA, and/or take it to the Ombudsman. Either way I'm left with a car I'm paying a lot of money for that I can't drive; even if I hand it back I'm still on the hook for a tidy sum.

This took another turn when we got a letter from the broker who sourced the finance. Seemingly, the broker is treated as the dealership by the finance company. Anyhow, the broker/dealership essentially say the same thing as the finance company, but will reconsider the complaint if I supply an independent mechanics' report stating the fault was present at the time of sale - at my expense!. It is looking increasingly as if the head has an issue, and compression gases are leaking into and over-pressurising the cooling system, either through a duff gasket, or a crack in the block. There's no water in the oil, and no white smoke from the exhaust but the garages want to rule out all circulation problems within the cooling system before they even contemplate stripping down the engine to get into the head.

So, I've now heard back from the finance company and as expected they are denying any responsibility. They are basically saying the complaint is outwith the six-months window afforded by CRA. They claim that the issue is wear and tear, and that as the car has a MOT previous to us buying, the car was roadworthy as it made no mention of a coolant leak on the advisory. I'm no mechanic, but I'd be pretty certain that the coolant system isn't part of an MOT check! They argue that our 4000ish miles since purchase is sufficient to gauge the roadworthiness of the vehicle. They claim we've had the use of the car for the period of time, despite the car spending an aggregate total time in the garage of almost three weeks. Their complaint completely ignores the fact the car broke down on the day of delivery from the dealer. Because a period of 3 months elapsed between repair A and repair B, they claim the issues are unrelated and ate trying to argue my garage has not been satisfactory in their repair attempts, and that the items replaced on the vehicle are wear and tear items. (thermostat, pressure cap, water pump). Their final response is the issue is down to wear and tear in line with the age and mileage of the vehicle. They also say I have conducted 'unauthorised repairs' as I have elected to use my local garage. I don't understand this? When I went to my garage, the car was outwith the warranty period offered by the dealer... am I to tell the finance company whenever I put the car into the garage now? The car is still off the road, I haven't had any further work done to the car while the finance company investigated the complaint. Looks like the Ombudsman is my next port of call, unless there are other suggestions?

Looks like I may be too late, as looking back over the paperwork I'm about 10 days outside the six-month period given in the CRA for a complaint to be raised. Anyhow, I've chanced my arm and have written this up; your input and suggestions to put over as strong a case as possible is appreciated. I haven't put dates in, as I don't have the paperwork to hand as I'm at work and not at home. -- I am writing to you with regards my finance agreement number xxxxx. On (DATE) I bought the vehicle XXXX XXX from (DEALER) at a cost of £xxxx; I also paid via trade-in of vehicle XXXX XXX a sum of £xxx deposit against this vehicle. The total amount financed was £xxxx Having collected the car on (DATE), the vehicle broke down on the same day due to a loss of coolant. (see recovery paperwork as issued by AA). The car was recovered back to (DEALER) where remedial work was carried out under the dealer’s 60-day used car warranty. The work carried out in respect of the repair was: xxxx (see copy of job sheet/invoice). On (DATE) the vehicle broke down again, displaying the same symptoms as before with a loss of coolant. As the car was outwith the dealer’s 60-day used car warranty period, I had the car recovered to my nominated garage: (GARAGE) for investigation and repair. The work carried out by (GARAGE) in respect of the repair was: xxxx (see copy of job sheet/invoice). On (DATE) the vehicle began displaying similar symptoms as before and was taken back to (GARAGE) for further investigation. A thermostat installed previously was found to be faulty and subsequently replaced under the part’s warranty. On (DATE) the vehicle broke down again, displaying the same coolant loss symptoms as before. The car was again recovered and returned to the garage where a new water-pump was fitted to the car. (see copy of job sheet/invoice). On (DATE) the vehicle broke down yet again, once more with the same coolant loss symproms. The car has subsequently been returned to my preferred garage for further investigation into the cause. As the car was bought on a Hire Purchase agreement, it is the responsibility of the finance company (Moneybarn) to ensure the car is ‘fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality, and as described’. Due to the amount of time the car has now spent off the road, having continuously manifested the same symptoms and faults now as it did on the day the car was collected by ourselves from (DEALER) when the car broke down on the same day it was delivered, it is clear that the car was not and is not of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose despite multiple attempts to find and rectify the underlying problem. Despite the best efforts of my preferred garage, it is clear to me that the fault which was present at the time of delivery of the vehicle to me by (DEALER) persists now, and it remains unrectified; and as a result the car does not meet either ‘fit for purpose’ or ‘satisfactory quality’ criteria as laid down in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. As the finance company involved in the purchase, it is your responsibility to ensure a car meets the criteria required to satisfy the law and the contract I have entered into. As the car does not meet the specified criteria, I therefore hold you in breach of contract, and in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I now exercise my right under said act to ask for repair or replacement of the vehicle. Furthermore, under the Consumer Credit Act, I have the fundamental common-law right to reject a faulty car at any time throughout the duration of the agreement so long as I stop using the car. As the fault has not been rectified after five attempts, both by (DEALER) own technicians and my own garage, I would argue I am within my rights to reject the car outright. However, I do not want to be forced into this action, and would prefer a more amicable solution. -- Cheers for your help thus far.

Thanks for that advice, I'll be letting the finance company know the situation. Do you know of any template letters which I can use which will help clarify any legal position? I believe the law changed late last year away from Sale Of Goods Act?

No damp below heater or footwell carpets, no smell inside the car either.

Hi, No, neither my wife or I were present. The pressure tests were done by my own trusted mechanic and not the dealer mechanic; I can't comment if they performed any pressure test. I've used the same mechanic for more than 15 years and I've absolute trust in him.

Hello CAG, First post, I hope you can help! I bought a used car from a local dealership back in February 2016. Its a Zafira 'B' CDTi 1.7 Elite model, 60 plate... the cooling system has been a nightmare since the day I bought it. I'll detail a full list of events. 1) Car was bought in Februrary 2016. Just prior to pick-up it was discovered to have had a coolant leak. This wasn't fixed at the time of delivery, and the car was released to my wife upon receipt of payment from her finance company (Moneybarn). 2) Car broke down the same day she collected it, the dealer recovered the car back to their branch and supposedly fixed the issue by fitting a new coolant pipe and a thermostat. 3) Car was fine for about 3 months, then broke down on motorway. Coolant bottle was dry. Recovery guy thought a stuck thermostat. Had the car recovered to my preferred garage where the thermostat was found to be faulty and subsequently replaced. The coolant cap was also replaced. 4) Car was fine for about 6 weeks, but was apparently drinking coolant and we were forever refilling. Took the car back to my local garage, where the coolant system was pressure tested (no leaks), system bled and refilled. Thermostat was tested as fine 5) Car ran fine for a week before breaking down again on motorway. Recovered back to garage who pressure-tested again (still no leak), rebled and refilled system and replaced water pump. No blockages found in any part of the system. Thermostat tested fine, and car performed as it should under garage conditions and on several road tests. 6) Car ran fine for a week on shorter journeys, but today my wife has reported that the coolant temperature light is now flashing and the coolant bottle was dry again. It'll be going back in again to be checked over yet again. The car has spent almost as much time in the garage than it has on the road... Do I have any recourse to reject the car given the amount of issues it has had with the coolant system, and given it was bought on a Hire Purchase agreement and not through a bank loan, credit card or cash? Would the fact I've had an independant garage attempt to fix the fault and not the dealer whom the car was purchased from affect any claim to reject the car? The fault was known by the dealer prior to delivery. Wife is getting reluctant to drive the car any distance given the issues she has been having, so all advice welcome.