If any of the openings don't open, then the MOT station should refuse to test the car.You have various items you need to check during an MOT, and must have access to them. From the testers manual: w ww.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/tgx03000101.htm A proper examination cannot be carried out because of the inability to open any device - e.g. door, tailgate, boot lid, engine cover or fuel cap - designed to be readily opened

Does anyone know if these two companies have an agreement? I've had a couple of letters from Provident, and a doorstep call this evening saying that they had bought the debt from Quick Quid and can now offer for me to pay Quick Quid by paying Provident weekly as they now own the debt..?? I am currently in the process of going bankrupt so basically told the man to leave, but find it strange how this has happened...

Many thanks, We have spoken to BM again,and they are being really good, just GE who are causing the real problems, which seems to be a common thing when reading some of the posts on here. I think I'll send in a SAR before making any rash decisions!. I've learned a lot just reading some of the excellent advice!

I'm after some advice here as I feel like I'm trying to bail out the Titanic with a teacup... We have a mortgage with Birmingham Midshires,and a secured loan with GE money,both of which we are in arrears with. Over the past few years for various reasons our payments have been eratic,for various reasons,but for the past 6 months I have been trying to take charge of stuff and sorting everything out.Birmingham Midshires have actually been really good,and spoke to my wife on the phone about securitisation,if we paid 6 months at the normal monthly payment.I thought this was going fine,until after a phonecall to them I found that there had been no payment in October.. I put money every month into my wifes account to call and pay by debit card,but found out then that she had been getting harrassed by GE Money and paid a double payment to them to try and get them off her back and missed BM's payment. Both have an order on the house and are adding huge charges every month. The house is worth about the same as we owe,and if I'm honest is too small for us and our 3 kids. We have fought and fought with them to get a reasonable payment plan but GE just seem to make things up as they go along,asking for bigger and bigger amounts every month and always tell us our arrears amount, but this must include a load of charges as it is far more than the payments we have missed.. Sometimes I feel it'd be best just to hand the keys back and rent a bigger house for quite a bit less than we pay BM and GE. If it does go to court can they include the arrears charges in the total, and if we did hand the keys back,BM would be paid off completely so would GE come chasing us with what we are due tem plus all the charges they have been adding over the years? My wife was told that out of the £300 we pay each month,£280 go to pay interest and charges- I can't see us ever paying this off... Just after some pointers about what we can do, what would happen if we did end up in court,and what to expect if we did go for voluntary repossesion?

Brake pads will only fail if the tester can see them and decide they are less than 1.5mm thick... which is way less than where I'd recommend changing pads. A sticking caliper slide or similar can wear out pads in a few hundred miles,and Vosa will only entertain an appeal within a month for anything excluding corrosion,so I'm afraid thats not an option. Lots of cars are fitted with pad wear indcators,or sometimes "squealers" which make a terrible racket when you brake in reverse (if the pads have been fitted properly) Don't ignore this-it can be expensive,although pads are much harder now,and tend to wear discs faster, we see 2 sets of pads to each pair of discs now...

Kwik Fit will do just about anything to stop customers making a fuss. Tell them you want a 70A/Hr battery,and you will pay £59+ the postage costs if applicable.. You will get it. If not,phone customer services and make a complaint. Kwik fit batteries are good quality, and remember the guarantee is valid wherever you are in the country,so it actually makes sense to get a battery from them! You are never too far away from a KF branch!

Yes, they are.

Possibly, but not always. Don't automatically blame the belt!

What engine was in the Punto? Just interested as we have had a similar episode recently..

Bah, new fangled things anyway... [

When a cam belt snaps or strips teeth,the starter turns with no resistance so can sound like its faulty. Have you got reciepts for the cam belt change,as many places just change the belt when selling a car for maximum profit. The water pump which is driven by the cambelt may have siezed,or possibly a tensioner which can cause the belt to fail. Fiat engines can be tricky to do a belt on as they need special tools to lock the cams and crank in place when fitting a new belt. If these are not used it can also cause problems with the belt tension,which can also lead to failure.

If you are taking your car in for an MOT, give it the old "bypass decoke" beforehand. Lots of cars do short journeys only and basically choke themselves. Hold it in 3rd gear at highish revs for a mile or so, really does make a difference! If its a town runabout the oil can get contaminated with petrol and give a falsely high reading. First thing I do when a car fails is give it a good run... about a 60-70% sucess rate if the readings are withing what I'd expect to see because of this.Cats also need to be very ho to work at peak efficiency,and oil temp should be 80 degrees plus to do the test. Do this with diesels too!

LOL, I was a tester in the North of Scotland at the last foot and mouth outbreak. We were'nt allowed to test anything that was in the least bit dirty! That was about 99.9% of cars on the road...

Good luck!

VW group cars seem to have an unusual fault in which the clutch pedal action gets very heavy when the clutch is worn, which in turn puts extra stress on the pedal box,which is really quite flimsy. I have seen pedal boxes being changed more than once for breakage when the cutch was actually at fault. It is a symptom rather than a fault! EPS is a power steering fault,whereas ESP is stability control, Many problems with VW group cars are caused by the brake light switch,of which there may be two and are fitted on the pedal box with plastic clips.. Worth checking!

There are certain criteria where an MOT station can refuse to test a car, and being very old and/or unusual aren't one of them! This is from the testers manual... This manual does not include the reasons for refusing to test a vehicle in the Reasons for rejection Columns. VTSs may only test those classes and types of vehicle that they are authorised to test and which are of a size and weight that can be accomodated by the authorised equipment. If any of the following reasons apply,, the test should not be carried out, the vehicle presenter informed and any fee paid for the test must be returned. It is therefore advised that 'refusal' items are checked before starting the test. If the vehicle presenter requires written confirmation of why the test cannot be carried out, the test should be registered using the VTS Device. a VT30 should be issued clearly showing the reason(s) why the test could not be carried out. the test should then be abandoned. If reason to refuse 1. applies, issue a hand written VT30 containing as many of the vehicle details as possible. a copy of the VT30 should be retained by the VTS. The reasons for refusing to carry out the test are: a. the log book/registration certificate or other evidence of the date of first use is not produced if the information therein, is necessary for the test to be carried out. Note: Normally this evidence is only necessary if the vehicle has a "cherished" registration mark or if the registration mark's year letter does not make clear the standard that should be applied- for instance regarding the requirement for post 1st August 1986 vehicles to be fitted with direction indicators. b. the vehicle or any part or equipment on the vehicle is so dirty that examination is unreasonably difficult: c. the vehicle is not fit to be driven when necessary to complete the test because of a lack of fuel or oilor any other reason. d. the NT considers insecurety of a load or other items would prevent a proper test being carried out unless the load is secured or removed; e. the VTS asks for the test fee to be paid in advance and this is not done; f. The vehicle emits substantial quantitiews of avoidable smoke g. a proper examination cannot be carried out because any cover or other device designed to be readily opened cannot be readily opened, e.g. a seat is locked down and lifting is required in order to inspect the structure of the machine; h. the condition of the vehicle is such that. in the opinion of the NT a proper examination would involve a danger of injury to any person or damage to the vehicle or other property. i. The vehicle has neither registration mark nor VIN/Chassis No/Frame No. by which it can be identified, or that all such identifications are illegible or use letters and numbers not normally used in the English Language. In addition to this an NT must decline to test any vehicle that is not of a class they are authorised to test of such a size, weight or configuration it cannot be property or safely tested on the approved facilities or a vehicle that has the frame stamped either "not for road use", or words to that effect. If, despite due care initially, it becomes apparent during a test that the test cannot be completed for any of the above reasons, you must fail the vehicle because the test could not be satisfactorily completed. Any re-examination and fee must be in line with normal policy (see Fees and Appeals Poster) treating the component which could not be examined as a failure item.

I'm an MOT tester, and have to fail lots (and I mean LOTS) of springs due to fracture. Vauxhalls are probably the worst in this respect. I believe it to be because springs are cold formed now rather than the old fashioned way they are more brittle and this is whats causing the problems. Indeed Peugeot and Citroen had problems with front springs breaking and puncturing the tyre instead of sorting out the cause of the problem,they just fitted little guards at the bottom of the front struts to stop the spring falling down over the spring seat and causing damage.... if you have an earlier Berlingo or 306 etc,have a look and you'll see them! Some were retrofitted under warranty.... Happened to me! Here is the AA sites recall Recall: No. 2 of 8 Recall Ref: R/2005/095 Exact Model: Berlingo Berlingo Multispace and Picasso Description: Suspension springs may break VIN: Berlingo VF700000094000192 to VF700000094068124, Picasso VF700000036624276 to VF700000039623407, Berlingo Multispace VF700000093006682 to VF700000093100993 Build Date: Numbers: 163400 Defect: In the exceptional event of a spring breaking there could be a risk of the spring making contact with the vehicle tyre. Action: Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and fit a suspension cup to each side of the front suspension. Launch Date: 13 July 2005

If its a 6 speed Boxster, syncro problems aren't unheard of. Mostly 2nd gear,which was said earlier,as it's the gear which takes the most punishment.I've heard of quite a few cases of Porsche replacing the entire transmission for these problems,free of charge under warranty,and with a Porsche courtesy car. May be too late now as another specialist has been in there. Syncro problems usually show up in their early stages by a "snick" or grind when engaging gear,and gradually get worse.In my opinion if it happened suddenly,it would be a case of damage or component failure rather than wear and tear. Always a good idea to replace a clutch if the gearbox is out due to the labour costs involved if one is needed later,but I agree 100% that clutch drag would affect the lower gears far more,and would be ver noticeable!

Hi folks, I'm new to posting,although I've been reading these forums for some time now. I've now decided that things are on top of me and its time to do something.People on here seem to go well out their way to help and advise,so I thought I'd give it a go. Myself and my wife married very young,and had 3 children, my eldest is now nearly 15.I have always worked,as a mechanic,but mechanics,until fairly recently were very poorly paid,so raising the kids etc has always been a struggle.We have had various loans over the years,along with various windfalls,which have gone to pay back the loans! We have been in our own mortgaged house for nearly 9 years now, but are in about 5 months of arrears,along with a secured loan,which is the same.These arrears really started when my wife and I split for a short time,mostly due to the pressure of the money problems.We sorted things out,and decided that we both want to stay together,and need to get our lives sorted out. Both lenders have applied to the court for repossesion,and we have agreements to pay in place,but being honest with myself,these are too much,and being totally honest,the normal repayments are too much- nearly £900 a month. We have basically resigned ourselves to giving up the house,and going back to renting.I want to just send the keys back,the house is worth around the same amount as the outstanding balances,and nothing is selling in the area at the moment.I know this isn't that easy, but I just want to get some control back I'm absolutley worn out after years of sleepless nights trying to juggle finances to pay bills, and have been caught up in the payday loan trap for nearly 2 years now...I've had enough of phonecalls and harrassment,and for my family's sanity and well being something has to be done. The other problem I have at the moment is with Welcome Finance. I have had a few loans with them over the years,and have paid them off early each time. I took a loan out about a year and a half ago, and repaid about £165 a month. I was struggling with this,and during a phonecall they said they could drop payments down to £90 a month. Of course I agreed,and was happy to be in the clear again for a bit. I have never recieved anything in writing from them,but I believe they have started another loan to pay off the old one. I have no idea of the amounts etc,and didn't sign anything at all. They have been calling me non stop as I was supposed to pay them on Friday, they have called my work numerous times,and getting me in trouble with my manager.I do have this months payment,but don't know what to do,as I believe I'm being taken for a ride,and also very annoyed about being called and texted at work. I'm on a fairly good salary now, and my wife works part time,along with recieving tax credits etc. We aren't seeing any benefits of this,and can't face being in this position for the next 18 years.. Can anyone offer some advice?