In addition, I'm also giving thought to getting the car inspected by the AA to give weight to my argument that the car has a broken cat (since their garage said it wasnt) and to give myself peace of mind that nothing else disastrous is going to go wrong with the car. This will cost me over a 100 quid. Is this worthwhile to support my case? Bry

A further update on this: On the advice of consumer direct, I went down the route of contacting trading standards. 5 weeks on and they are still playing phone tennis with the dealer and I'm no further to getting my car fixed. The dealer is speaking to trading standards but 5 weeks on and he hasn't given any indication to whether he'll do the work or not, I think he is just stalling. I can't hold off on getting the car fixed any longer, nor can I cope with the constant dissappointment of dealing with trading standards I would ideally like to go and get the car fixed at a non mazda dealer, I've had a very reasonable quote, and then sue this cost back from the dealer. Is this a good course of action? Or should I now be sending a letter before action to the dealer and awaiting their response before I go out and do anything? Any help appreciated, I'm at my my wits end.... Bry

Bit of an update: They have replied to my SOGA letter and haven't moved on what they originally said. Letter before action time?

Fortunately the catalytic converter is from a trusted source so I think I'm going to buy this as a back up plan if all else fails. Don't want to be stuck with the whopping 1k + bill for one from Mazda. I've just sent off my SOGA letter and I'm going to get onto Mazda now to accertain why they have a difference of opinion Thanks for the great advice Pat.

Thats great, thank you. Do you think there'd be any issue with me getting non mazda parts fitted? (I'm looking at cheaper / better options on ebay currently). I've also been offered a second hand catalytic converter that will cut down the cost substantially too, is there any problem with me buying second hand and claiming back? Thanks!

Thanks all for the replies thus far. Today I finally recieved contact from them in the form of an email that I would appreciate input on before I proceed further. This is in direct reply to the letter I sent containing all of the Mazda estimate forms and a request for the work to be done. I didn't quote sales of goods act in this initial letter. Any thoughts on the below much appreciated. He has offered a good will gesture to only charge me cost price for the repairs, which I won't be accepting. The MOT was carried out on June 29th 2008 whilst in the possession of the previous owner, 3 months before I bought the car. I flagged up the problem 2 weeks after recieving the car. This is from the Mazda dealership they put the car into, bearing in mind that they have a 'professional relationship' with them: this shouldn't be a problem for me should it? I do have two documents from another authorised Mazda dealer that state the problem existed before and after this inspection. As I've mentioned, one is from just two weeks after I recieved the car. I've had a slight change of heart and I'm going to pursue for a repair since I can't get by without having a car (and I do still love it). I plan to send over the sales of goods act letter templated here: Consumer Direct - Sale of Goods Act 1979 along with a copy of the sales of goods act with relevant content highlighted. Does this seem like reasonable action? I'd prefer to get this resolved out of court if possible, and I think they'll cave in. Many thanks. Bry

Hello all, I'm having real problems getting a faulty car repaired and I hope somebody can help me with where I stand, and what I should proceed with next. I purchased an 04 plate Mazda RX8 from non-Mazda dealer on 18/09/2008 for £8,000, part exchanging my old car in the process. I'm still under warranty (2 and a half months left) Two weeks from the purchase of the car, I noticed starting problems when the car was warm. I informed the garage I purchased from and was told to get the problem diagnosed at a Mazda garage. The Mazda garage I took the car to found that the starter motor was faulty and needed to be replaced. In addition they found that the catalytic converter was ‘broken up’ and also needed to be replaced. A week after informing the garage of the problem they finally arranged a courtesy car for me and took my RX8 to a Mazda garage near them that they 'had a relationship' with. My RX8 was here for 3 and a half weeks before they finally got it back to me, after many chasing phone calls. They replaced the starter motor but were unable to find a fault with the catalytic converter. (Assuming they even tested it). I took their word for it (perhaps foolishly) I did not notice a problem until a couple of months later, when I started to hear a rattling sound when I accelerated from the rear of the car. I again arranged to put the car back into my local Mazda garage for diagnosis They found that the catalytic converter was still broken up and had become so deteriorated that the rattling I heard was from catalyst debris. They have recommended that the complete exhaust system be replaced as well now, as since the broken catalytic converter was allowed to remain in the car, the debris cannot fully be cleared out. The estimate states that the parts alone for this cost almost £2,000, which far exceeds the £1,000 maximum spend I can put through the cars warranty I have documents from the 3 visits my car has had to Mazda garages The first from my local Mazda garage where the catalytic converter was spotted as being broken up and requiring replacement The second from the Mazda garage the dealership put the car into where they state they are unable to find a fault with the catalytic converter The third, again from my local Mazda garage, stating the problem with the catalytic converter is still present in the car and was causing problems with the exhaust I faxed over the 3 documents from Mazda to the garage I purchased from, on their request. Since then I've left countless messages with staff at the garage who no longer return my calls. I have no other car so I'm stuck driving this around for now, it is not roadworthy and would not get through an MOT in it's current state Where do I now stand with this? Since I have the documents, I can prove the catalytic converter has always been an issue with the car when they sold it to me. I can prove they neglected to fix when it went in for repair. I think I can pursue under sale of goods act. I would ideally like to reject the car at this point but I would also accept a repair Any advice much appreciated Thanks Bry

I can say fairly confidently that orange will have no problems upgrading your package. Downgrading however is a different story. Craig

Definitely don't stop paying else you'll find yourself in the nasty position of having defaults from an extremely uncooperative mobile company on your credit record. Oh and debt collectors chasing you... Have you considered upgrading your price plan? You won't be paying £25 a month but I'm sure you could knock it down from £60... Who sold you the phone? Perhaps you could go down the route of your contract being missold to you and negotiate a better rate for your price plan that way... Either way I don't see you terminating your contract early without fees I'm afraid Craig

Just spotted Buzby's stickied post regarding the mobile phone companies and how to approach them (with a SAR). So that just leaves me with the question, where do I go once I have my data? Thanks Craig

Unfortunately I've been extremely busy of late and haven't had chance to pursue this yet. I have taken the time to read everything I could find related to Vodafone and the removal of a default on the CAG forum. To be honest, I'm more confused than I originally was and I don't know how to proceed on this All I know that they'll fight you to the bitter end in most cases! I had originally planned to put a data access request in to find out exactly what went on from their point of view, but I've read that they won't play ball on this as they "aren't obliged" to do so. Can anyone confirm how I can get the facts of what happened out of Vodafone? A template would be great. Once I have this, I think I may write a letter, explaining my circumstances, how I was a good customer, always paid on time, etc, and see if I can get anywhere down that route. After that? I don't know. Any suggestioned welcomed (and needed!!) Many thanks, C

Thanks for the reply - I think I'll need to put a data access request in as I don't know exactly what went on. I believe the default was for my last bill, but I am not sure as I wasn't contacted. I'll update this thread once I hear back Craig

Hello all, Reposting in telecoms area: In preparation to go and see a mortgage advisor, I got a copy of my equifax credit report. All was fine, except there is an entry that Vodafone defaulted me in January of last year. I was a vodafone customer for 2 years and always paid by direct debit, never missed a payment, never late, or anything like that. I then switched networks to 3; I called Vodafone, and got my PAC code to transfer my number and told them I wanted to cancel. A couple months later I got a letter from a debt collectors agency chasing up £80 in unpaid bills to Vodafone. I had not changed banks or cancelled the direct debit. I certainly wasn't contacted by phone and I don't recall any letters being sent to me. I don't know why they didn't try to get payment via the method that had been established for 2 years. They seemed to just go straight to debt collectors. I paid the collectors at the time and naively thought nothing of it. Now it comes to me wanting a mortgage I am paying the price. From what I have read, it may be significant that my contract had ended earlier than the January default that I have. I'm not sure of dates and I don't have letters from this far back but I know my contract ended November ish. Can anyone advise please? I'm desperate to get this gone and I don't think I'm at fault here Many thanks, Craig

Hello all, Long time reader, first time poster! In preparation to go and see a mortgage advisor, I got a copy of my equifax credit report. All was fine, except there is an entry that Vodafone defaulted me in January of last year. I was a vodafone customer for 2 years and always paid by direct debit, never missed a payment or anything like that. I then switched networks to 3 In November, during the final month of my Vodafone contract. I called Vodafone, ported my number to 3 and told them I would be cancelling my contract at the end of my month. However, out of the blue in January I get a letter from a debt collectors agency chasing up £80 in unpaid bills to Vodafone. I had not changed banks, the direct debit was still in place and they had made no attempt to try and contact me. They just seemingly chose to skip attempting to get payment by the usual means and went straight to the debt collectors. I paid the collectors at the time and naively thought nothing of it. Now it comes to me wanting a mortgage I am paying the price. I've read through this forum and I've not gathered a definitive answer on the approach to take here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Craig