hello. ive made a few posts now but never formally said hi to the forum peeps here. so hi.

Its approaching and I'm nervous. Is it a wise idea to refuse to pay and tell them "you have my address, ill wait to hear from your solicitors" or is that just opening a whole pandora's box of trouble?

five's gadget show said this site is good - i havent been able to make use of any of the money off vouchers yet but worth a shot if you're thinking of buying online from the big retailers: My Voucher Codes UK - Free Voucher Codes, Discount Codes, Promotional Codes and Money Off Coupons - My Voucher Codes UK also - comet sell their returns/ex display items cheap on an auction site of their own! (its not very well publicised - i found this via google when trying to find a laptop's reviews) http://www.clearance-comet.co.uk might be able to save some pennies if you're willing to have an item that hasn't got a box

If it is dust, surely it wouldn't read DVDs either?

Tip - if you suspect a keylogger, and want to change passwords before removal (I can't see why but in case you did) you can use the Character Map - double click characters in it to form the string then copy to the clipboard and paste where you want it. some password fields won't accept pasting though. just a possibility

I agree with Tez. Try Data and Audio CDRWs and CDRs as well as manufactured (pressed) discs. Before disassembling the drive or forking out for a cleaning kit, though, try uninstalling it in Device Manager then searching for new hardware, and install the drivers that windows finds (probably generic ones).

Actually I'd say its a BIOS issue. Try hitting F3 or Del when the computer starts to enter BIOS, then find the "Restore to Default" or similar setting.

my samsung lcd tv keeps turning off by itself too! it freezes once off, the red led flashes and then the tv seems to turn itself back on again after a few seconds! has done it since i bought it - from comet - 2 years ago. it only does it like once a month so i never bothered to get it dealt with whilst it was in warranty. its well out of warranty now but since cash is tight i can make do until i have enough to get me a nice new one! As for customer service, i think comet and currys are just as bad but at least if you buy from either of their websites i think you have a cooling off period where you can return for full refund (only applies online?). i know thats of no use to you, but at least you're not alone with the turning off thing.

i know its a joke but i think you'd have to hand in the money to the police for a number of weeks until someone can make a claim - but if the previous seller didn't know about it, chances are you'd get to keep it. either way it would be good to know you could keep the cash 100% legally.

well i got a call today - apparently my car needs unanticipated jig work and has been rescheduled for completion on thurs 21st! so i am left in limbo for a bit longer (though - at least i have longer to collect advice from the good people on here! )

thanks megacraggy. ill let everyone know how it goes. am i allowed to name and shame, or name and praise, the garage (once i know the result)?

hello all, im new to the forum and have read a lot of info about courtesy cars but none seem to fully answer my question. basically, the monday before last i handed my car in to my insurer's approved accident repair centre to have a repair done (i had a bump in the snow!). i was offered a courtesy car - but when i picked it up it was covered in snow. the person filling out the form which has a diagram of the car (to mark any damage) wrote down "frozen and dark" on it and said to call him if i find anything and he'd mark it on his master copy. it was only yesterday that i noticed a quite deep scuff and small dent on the bonnet of the car. i called him up to explain but he said "not being funny but its been 10 days and you only spotted it now..." i'm worried that when i return the car, to pick up mine, this friday (i.e. day after tomorrow) that i will be faced with a cost to fix the courtesy car. now some details the mark on the courtesy car looks like it has been touched up before with darker red paint (looks like nail polish!) it's not marked on the form, but the words "frozen and dark" are. the form also says at the top "This is a "vehicle hiring agreement" under the terms of the Road Traffic Act 1991, and as such ALL DETAILS MUST BE COMPLETED for the agreement to be valid. No payment is required to validate the agreement" but some fields were left blank by the guy who filled it in. For example, my date of birth, driving license number and the time of the signature (the date is filled in though). I know I haven't done this to my courtesy car, but the guy really made me worry that I will get the blame for something i didn't do! does anyone know if i have a legal leg to stand on? what should i say if they won't give me my car back until i pay up for the courtesy car damage? does the "frozen and dark" comment mean anything? So many questions - i hope there are people out there who can answer them before friday when it comes to the crunch (not literally, i hope!)