Thanks for the replies. Let me answer some of your queries. Bob, the car cost nearly £3000, so hardly 'banger money'. It is a particularly rare colour, which holds onto its value, hence the price. Citizens Advice did not say that the cost of the vehicle would be a factor under SOGA. Using your arguement, what would you say the price point would be where the dealer's obligations under SOGA no longer apply? Citizens Advice were of the opinion that as the corrosion was a factor relating to the design of the car, and not 'fair wear and tear' then my case was stronger. I can't see how the fact of whether or not the dealer knew about the corrosion or the previous repairs is relevant. If a high street shop sells you a broken product, they cannot simply say 'Sorry, we didn't know anything about it - you're on your own'. How is this different for a car dealer? Regarding the body shop and their statement. It is a well regarded business with a good reputation for quality work (which is why I used them). I have friends and family members who have used them before and I know their work is good. They often have high value vehicles in for repair, so are not some backstreet outfit who don't know what they are doing, trying to get out of doing a proper job.

Thanks for the replies. Let me answer some of your queries. Bob, the car cost nearly £3000, so hardly 'banger money'. It is a particularly rare colour, which holds onto its value, hence the price. Citizens Advice did not say that the cost of the vehicle would be a factor under SOGA. Using your arguement, what would you say the price point would be where the dealer's obligations under SOGA no longer apply? Citizens Advice were of the opinion that as the corrosion was a factor relating to the design of the car, and not 'fair wear and tear' then my case was stronger. I can't see how the fact of whether or not the dealer knew about the corrosion or the previous repairs is relevant. If a high street shop sells you a broken product, they cannot simply say 'Sorry, we didn't know anything about it - you're on your own'. How is this different for a car dealer? Regarding the body shop and their statement. It is a well regarded business with a good reputation for quality work (which is why I used them). I have friends and family members who have used them before and I know their work is good. They often have high value vehicles in for repair, so are not some backstreet outfit who don't know what they are doing, trying to get out of doing a proper job.

Hello CAGgers, On 23rd of June I purchased a 2001 VW Beetle for my wife from an independent dealer in Cornwall (I live in Essex, so it was some way to go!). The car was paid for using a credit card. Last week I noticed some rust patches had appeared at the corners of the roof. I took the car to a body repair specialist and now have a bill for £463.60 in front of me. Now, obviously I'm not happy with that, but what concerns me more is the advisory notice that the body shop have put on the invoice: "Due to the location and depth of the rust, the repair we have carried out is only superficial and will return most definitely within time. The location and nature of the rust under and within joining panel seals means that areas inaccessible to us will still be corroding underneath. Even a full roof skin removal and replacement will leave corroding pillars which cannot be replaced as these make up the structural integrity of the vehicle. In our opinion given the value, this vehicle and the repairs needed would result in a write off situation. This particular fault is due to the manufacturers design of the roof skin / roof pillar seam. The foam and rubber seals lock the water in the recess rather than expelling it. We would not expect to see this level of corrosion on a vehicle of this age and would therefore not consider it to be general wear and tear." Understandably my wife was very upset on hearing this news - she absolutely adored this car The body shop said that this corrosion had been happening for some time, and that the roof had already been repainted at least twice before. With this information, I rang Citizens Advice to see if they could help me, and they believe I have a case under the SOGA, as the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality and has not lasted a reasonable length of time. They suggested that as the corrosion cannot be attributed to fair wear and tear, then it would be classed as a manufacturing fault, and I could reject the car rather than accepting a repair (as a repair will not remedy the underlying problem). They also said I should give the dealer a call to see what his response would be. I did that this afternoon and he basically said it's not his problem and 'rust happens'. I am about to write a formal letter to the dealer, and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction with what to put to make it more, well, official sounding. I know I have to keep it short and sweet, but is there anything specific I should include? Any other help or advice would be very much appreciated. Steve

Steampowered - thanks for the info, but the letter has already gone out! I'll give them 14 days instead of seven, just to be on the safe side though. As it happens, the manager who was meant to phone me on the Tuesday rang Wednesday morning whilst I was at the post office sending the letter. He still refused to give the refund, and started trying to tell me that I might as well wait until February as I'm hardly likely to go camping between now and then! Cheeky s*d! I just told him I'll wait for a response from the owner to my letter.

Thanks reneadeimp. I've changed the wording now. Hopefully this will do the trick. I've looked up the firm at Companies House, so I know who to address it to (the very chap who sold us the tent, as it turns out). I haven't got in touch with the credit card company yet, as I'm hoping this letter will be the end of it. Fingers crossed.

Today I rang the local Citizens Advice branch, and after a conversation with one of their advisers, I have drafted this letter, which I intend to send tomorrow morning. I have gone over the details of the problem again in the letter, as the owner is probably unaware of what is going on. Please let me know what you think. Dear Mr XXXXX, I am writing regarding the Outwell Wolf Lake 7 tent package and Awning Conversion that was sold to me on 8th June. Unfortunately when I used the tent for the first time in August there were a number of faults with the tent, including a carpet that did not fit, a bedroom inner tent that had already had a repair, a rip in a window vent, a broken fixing point on the groundsheet and a broken pegging point on the Awning Conversion. I phoned your XXXXXXX branch and spoke to XXXXXXX who informed me that XXXXXXX XXXXX were aware of the manufacturing fault with the carpet when it was sold to me, as he had suffered the same problem with the display tent, but that no replacement would be available until February next year. He arranged for a courier to pick up the tent and return it to your premises on 27th August. I have since been in conversation and email correspondence with XXXX at the XXXXXXX branch who has informed me that the Awning Conversion is out of stock, and that it also will not be available until February next year. I have since had this confirmed by Outwell themselves. When I heard this I asked XXXX for a refund of the £1500 purchase price, as six months is an unreasonable and unfair amount of time to wait for replacement parts. He refused to give me a refund, saying that I had to wait while he got in touch with the manufacturer. I disagreed with this, and was waiting for a further phone call from him today (Tuesday), which never came. When I phoned the XXXXXXX branch to speak to him at the end of the day, I was told that he was not there as it was his day off. In light of this, I contacted Citizens Advice in XXXXXXX who informed me that the terms of the contract between us have been broken under the Sale of Goods Act, as the tent and the associated items are not of satisfactory quality. They also said that as the replacement parts are unavailable, and especially as it was known that the carpet was faulty when it was sold to me, then I was entitled to a full refund of the £1500 that I paid. They also advised me of what other course of action to take if this did not happen. I am therefore rejecting the tent package and Awning Conversion under the aforementioned Sale of Goods Act and expect a full refund of the purchase price. If this is not forthcoming within seven days, I will have no other choice than to issue legal proceedings through the small claims court, with no further correspondence from myself . Is this OK, or should I have included or omitted anything?

Right, I've done a bit of research and can't find how I can contact Trading Standards/Citizens Advice in that particular area (West Sussex). And to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I am complaining about - is it that they are not sticking to the Sale of Good Act? Any help would be most welcome.

Ok great, thanks. I take it by Trading Standards, you are referring to Citizens Advice? Whenever I've searched for Trading Standards in the past, their 'public' contact details are virtually non-existent and C.A. Is the only way through to them.

How do I get in touch with trading standards? Do they have regional offices? I'm in Essex, but travelled 80-odd miles to buy the tent.

It is an independent retailer with two large stores, but very well regarded in the field (if you excuse the pun!). It is a real shame, because up until this point, their customer service was very good. It seems that's only the case when they're taking your money, not giving it back to you...

Sorry, cross posted. I know the name of the owner, as it was him that sold us the tent. Should I address it to him?

So which order should procedures take? Head office/court first, then credit card company?

OK, thanks very much. Was he lying to me then? They have a Facebook page, and I'm just wondering if a post on there telling other potential customers what they really are like would make any difference. I would only state the facts, obviously. I'm not the sort to rant on uncontrolably. My rants are quite controlled...

Do I have to send a written letter, or will an email do? I have the manager's email address.

dx - they are not the only retailer that sell this item, it's just that the manufacturer (Outwell) appear to have some very strange ideas when it comes to manufacturing and releasing stock. I eevn have an email from Outwell themselves confirming they will not be available until next year! If you do a shopping search for Outwell Wolflake 7 Awning Conversion on Google, you will see that nobody has them in stock. Mad, but true! renegadeimp - thanks for the advice. One thing I'm trying to get to the bottom of though is the manager's claim that I have no right to insist on a refund under SOGA, and that they have the choice on their course of action? He seemed pretty confident about that. Was he lying or just mistaken? To be honest I can't see where he's going to go with this when he comes back to me next week after finding out that Outwell don't have any.