Thanks for the info, it will certainly go a ways to putting his mind at ease.

Out of interest, how does he go about claiming costs and what would be acceptable?

**Edit** Spoke to him again this morning to confirm something and it's a petition for bankrupcy that he's been served with. Has a court date of July 6th.

One of his main concerns is losing his house. We're not sure how much equity, if any, he has but I've suggested he gets it valued ASAP to be certain. With a wife and 3 kids to support he's a little worried about it all.

If your freind has that amount of debt that he can't realistically pay and has no assets it may be worth considering someone making him BR as this would save him the fees.

He's a self employed builder, so at the moment he can't pay. However he's certainly not hiding and is making token offers. However the guy at connaught was incredibly rude and basically said he didn't give a sh*t

it'll never happen,

Tell your friend to go for costs when they dont turn up at court

You that confident they won't turn up?

What happens in the long run if they don't, can they try again?

Excuse me for tagging onto this thread.

A friend of mine got a letter from connaught stating they were going to make him insolvent because he owed them a shade over £2000.

In total he's got about £11k worth of debt but all creditors have accepted token payments, except connaught.

He's been down to the local court and file his affidavit (did this before he spoke to me) so has acknowledged the debt, I think. Spoke to him at the weekend and he says he has a court date for 6th July to see if he's going to be made bankrupt or not.

Does this sound right to anyone?

Bankruput him over a £2k debt?

Hi, well done. Did the dealer pay out before the case was heard in Court?

He certainly did.

The claim was issued on the 14th and the cheque issued just over a week later. I'm glad its finally over, well almost anyhow.

Cheque received today for £1532. This will cover the cost of repairs so i'm happy.

To be honest I think I've been more than fair where this fella is concerned.

Anyhow, I've submitted my claim via MCOL and it was issued on Tuesday, lets see if he now responds or not.

Personally i'd just tell them that as it's their fault you expect the car to have the same amount of fuel. If they refuse then a letter of complaint to the manager, if that doesn't work, Head office.

For what it's worth i think they are shafting you, but, and again this is only my opinion, you've given them the ammunition by not servicing the car within the guidelines they've set out. Regardless of the service making any difference to the broken part, as far as they are concerned you've not stuck to their T&C's so they can say no.

No doubt had you serviced as required another reason for not paying would have been found.

Hang on a mo, where is the slipperiness, the OP has admitted not adhering to the T&C, whatever they may be, and fair or not. Where is the argument. It's not only the Warranty company that is saying the OP has not adhered to the T&C's its the OP as well.

Why would you naturally disagree? It's not an excuse its a fact.

Hammy

I'd naturally disagree because the failure to service the car did not directly result in said part failing. Indeed chances are had it been serviced it wouldn't have made one iota of difference. Common sense rarely prevails.

However for what it's worth, I agree, the OP didn't stick to the T&C's so effectively the warranty company are saying "Tough sh*t" and that's well within their rights, just an expensive mistake for the OP to make.

I'm not suggesting it was, but you'll need to argue that fact with them. Usually from their perspective they'll say you haven't complied with the terms of the warranty therefore it's null and void.

Naturally I'd disagree but they're slippery little suckers.

Warranty companies will do everything and anything to get out of paying.

Usually in their T&Cs it will state how often you have to get it serviced, are you outside of their guidelines?

Firstly speak to the Finance people, explain everything to them and see what they say.

If you made the £500 payment using your Switch card, then speak to your bank about a charge back. If you don't have the goods they may be able to help.

Well, no surprise really but no cheque nor a letter from the dealer so i'm about to use MCOL and submit my claim.

Anyone used it before?

I notice i only have 1080 characters to put in the paticulars of the claim so it needs to be kept factual and to the point.

Additionally, I can't find the car dealership registered as a company on Companies house so i suspect he could be a sole trader, does anyone know if I should use the dealers name in the claim or put XXXX T/A XXXX

All help greatly appreciated.

Oo-er missus! Must make a mental note to never sell you a car!

You'll be fine seeing as you're honest

As a car dealer, I would agree with that comment. However, at the same time I would suggest that almost all car dealers know that legally they are liable for the quality of the vehicle, and any subsequent repairs, but, will try to "front it out" with anybody that has a complaint. The way some dealers look at it (and I don't agree with this behaviour) is eventually after being blanked time after time most people give up. So, I would advise persistence.

Persistence? I'm the most stubborn barsteward this dealer is ever likely to meet. I've even offered to compromise and accept the cost of repairs therefore saving him almost £2500 plus additional court costs.

Was it a visa debit card as I believe you may be able to do a charge back on those, so suggest you check with your bank.

Ah now this is interesting, i'll check into this, thanks.

With regards to the rest of your post, I've drafted my letter, quoting the individual part of the SOGA that i believe are relevant and putting my case forward based on those.

Forgot my letter today so it'll be going off tomorrow.

lol, you know what.......I think i saw a still of that and i'm sure it was the guys brother that setup the hidden camera

All aside though he'll get one last letter reminding him of SOGA, with a copy, and then its off to court.........Hi Hooooooooo

Well I got a letter this morning:

 

Dear.............

 

In response to you letter dated 12th September 2008 I can confirm the following:

 

The Customer protect warranty covers you for mechanical breakdown, however the condition of the gearbox after an independent examination is due to wear and tear in line with a vehicle of that age, condition and mileage. An independent engineers report has been obtained and is enclosed for your information.

 

You signed a declaration giving authority to remove the gearbox and diagnose any fault. This clearly states (and is highlighted) that you have to pay for removal, refit and diagnostic costs. Please see page 5 of the warranty brochure under exclusions section 3F. This clearly states that the cost of diagnosis is not included. The garage manager has confirmed that this was made clear to you prior to any work commencing.

 

Please contact me in person at your earliest convenience to resolve this matter

Phew.........well basically he's telling me what i already know.

However I really don't think he's getting the point. By law I'm entitled to reject the car under the SOGA and claim a refund, or I'm entitled to seek a repair and I'm asking for a refund. That said I know that if he offers a repair I don't think i can refuse.

The engineers report, stated the following:

......the output pinion support bearing had worn to excess. The rollers were worn and deformed and the bearing inner and outer tracks were also worn and discoloured. The bearing had not collapsed.

 

There was not evident damage to the transmission casing around the bearing affected.

 

There was slight chipping to the 4th output gear, this was only slight and the repairers suggest this would be refaced

So according to the dealer, all the above happened in the 500 or so miles after I bought the car from him. I'll respond with a final letter stating that i don't disagree with the diagnosis of the problem, or the fact that the warranty claim was rejected, my point is that he sold me a duff car and thus should swallow his knob and either pay for the repairs or give me a refund.

Small update from this one.

Having sent my rejection letter i've still no contact at all from the dealer. I've now sent a Letter before action, so we'll see if this wakes him up. I'm not holding out much hope though.

Hi, Isba. Sorry for any misunderstanding, but it was a dig at the dealer. I myself am a car dealer and I have never heard anything like that before. (Sounds like a get-out clause) Irrespective of any warranty the dealer is liable for sorting your problem.

Cheers, thats what i thought ;o)

After chasing him all Friday, i'm now getting my calls ignored so i've sent a letter rejecting the car and asking for a refund.

I've heard it all now. So if a car dealer doesn't have his own mechanic the dealer is not responsible for a faulty car? I must remember to try that one myself.

Sorry not sure if thats a dig at me or the dealer!

You must let dealer sort it, even he has liase with warranty provider, Dealer will be responsible for work required not covered by warranty!

Believe me i'm trying to deal with him, his words so far were:

"I've spoken to trading Standards and they've suggested that in order to keep good customer relations I should make a small contribution towards the costs"

I'm going to speak to him again today and ask him to pay for the repairs, if he refuses it's letter time asking for a refund.

No HP on the car, it was bought for cash, well debit card.

I phoned the dealer but he didn't respond to my calls. Additionally, when i picked up the car he informed me that his mechanic had resigned and from the 29th if i had any problems with the car i was to contact the warranty people directly, so i did.

Afternoon all

I think i'm taking the correct course of action with this one but clarification/confirmation would be appreciated.

I bought a 5 year old car on July 26th for £4k. 51K on the clock with full service history & recent MOT. The most recent service had only been performed 200 miles previous.

On August 4th the car developed a clunking sound in a couple of gears and a high pitched whining (spelling) when pulling away in first, but only under load. Up hill start or putting my foot down to get into that gap of oncoming traffic. I phoned the dealer i purchased the car from but by the 6th hadn't had a response so i reported the issue to the warranty company (Warranty supplied by the dealer). Due to work commitments i couldn't get the car to their approved garage until the 18th, but this was within their T&C's printed in their booklet.

Anyhow, long story short, i got a call on Friday 29th, telling me that the warranty company have denied my claim as the problem isn't mechanical failure but wear and tear. Having spoken to the garage, the pinnion & differential bearings in the gearbox have all worn and need to be replaced. As they are worn and not broken, this is what the warranty company are using for the basis of their rejection. I subsequently got in touch with the dealer and advised him of the issues, highlighting that they appeared just over a week after buying the car, and stating that he either gets it fixed or i want my money back.

I'm now pretty sure they car isn't going to be fixed, so I'll be sending a letter under the sale of goods act, rejecting the car and requesting a refund. Now, I did continue to drive the car after the problem was reported because frankly the car was still in a state to be driven and i say that because i didn't know the extent of the damage.

The bill currently stands at £1500 for repairs, even if the work isn't done and i just wanted the car back it's £782 for taking the gearbox out, diagnosing the problem and re-fitting it.

Anyone disagree with my course of action or have any suggestions?

Had a 3rd letter yesterday, rejecting my claim for a refund.

Usual crap....blah blah blah, OFT ruling not applicable to bank accounts only credit cards.

Let the games begin

Forgive me, but i thought you didn't claim the 8% until it got to the court stage?