Hi all, Had my car (oldish worth It failed on front brake imbalance, and corroded/worn discs on the front. Garages quote was extortionate (when isnt it ) so I got somewhere else to do the work at a 1/3 of the price. Car was in today for another MOT as it exceeded the retest deadline, and it has failed. I turned up at the garage, they said the rear brakes were shot and needed replacing, I asked why this wasnt picked up on 1st test & they tried fobbing me off that: 1st answer - I had broke it driving it to/from the garage 2nd answer - It had broke on my drive 3rd answer - the mechanic who fitted front brakes broke it So the garage showed me on rolling road that the rear right brake wasnt stopping the wheel, whereas the left was. He didnt know why without taking the wheel off etc. He showed me the readings on the computer and said that was a fail. I then asked to see the results from the first test which he uhm'd and ah'd about because it was going to take him "forever". When he found them, he found that the 1st tester has since been sacked, and on the first test he had found the right rear brake was faulty - had recorded it on his test sheet but not transferred to the MOT refusal form which I was given. I was therefore only quoted for work to the front brakes. The guy changed from me being at fault to being apologetic at this point and has said he will "sort it" whatever that means. Question is - where do I stand? The car being worth what it is, I have already paid out for 2 x MOT's, front discs/pads fitted, amongst other bits and bobs & the tax is due at the end of the month. If this repair costs another £50 - £100 (which knowing the garage quote it will be!) I would have originally considered scrapping the car and getting something else. I have therefore wasted the front discs/pads and an MOT if this is the case. Having all the work done at the same time would have also cost me less than having two visits. Are they liable to fix this issue, or anything like that? My main worry is if I had taken it back during the retest period, would they have passed it and only tested "the fault" which was front brakes. Thanks in advance.

After charging me 185 pounds upfront Kwik fit calls me up and tells me I failed my MOT and asks me to shell out 655 pounds finally coming down to £480 . This as communicated to me twice ( on the phone and when I went to collect my car) were charges for making the minimum required changes for MOT. After collecting my car, I discovered the next day that the bridge blades that I had been charged for, have not been changed. Also the puncture in one of my tyre was never repaired ( in spite of being told that this will done for free). An independent check with another mechanic confirmed that changes to the Brake Pad set (£85), stabiliser link (£54 each), brake disc (£66 each) and check and front adjust ( £50) were never required. When I complained, I found the area manager completely on the defensive, offering only to refund me £130 pounds (for the non existent bridge blades and half of what I paid for the brake pad brade disk). According to him it was my error for misunderstanding the repairs that had been only recommended and had been done after my clearance. Its been a week and I haven had anything from Kwikfit so far. Ridiculous behaviour , coupled with dishonesty. Please can you advise me who I can escalate this matter to ( OFT ?). Any advice on this will be very helpful.

Okay, so last year March/April my brother bought a car from a private trader. At the time of purchase the car was taxed and had MOT on it. The car was parked in my driveway, as my brother had no immediate need for it (I know begs the question why buy the car in the first place, but that is a separate issue). Now in the time the car had been in my driveway, it had not been re-taxed (expired 31/04/2013) or insured or had MOT done on it (expired 10/2013). Because the car was not being used, it went completely unnoticed that my brother had not received the V5 logbook or tax renewal reminder, which alerted us to the fact he must not be named as the registered keeper, although he has the green tear off slip from the buyer. Now, I want to start using the car, so my plan was to get it registered in my name by completing the V62 vehicle registration application, do the MOT, tax, insurance etc. However I have some worries:- 1) Will I (or my brother as he bought the car) be liable to pay any back-dated tax? I am worried that taxing the car will alert the DVLA that it has been untaxed since the end of last year April, and they will start issuing fines. 2) Or will the old Registered Keeper be liable considering they did not send off the V5C? My worry is that the DVLA will place the blame on my brother for not chasing up the logbook, and not taxing the car/declaring it SORN for so long, as it was he's responsibility to do so, irrespective of whether he has received the V5C or not. Or again is the old Registered Keeper still liable? However I must say that we both assumed that as the car was off the road on private property, we didn't need to do anything to the car because it was not being driven. I am only now becoming familiar with the motoring laws! :!: I am not really sure what to do now, I have insured the car and I now want to do the all the other stuff, but not really sure how to proceed. Your responses would be muchhhhhh appreciated!!!!

Hi all Took my car to kwikfit on wednesday for mot, as I was leaving work early colleagues asked why ? I told them and when I said I using kwikfit or [edited] known to them they told me it would fail ! No way my car has never had any problems and my regular mechanic looks after it very well (I'm working away from home at moment) Kwikfit did the mot FAIL !!?? On what I asked 1/ front brake excessively fluctuating 2/ exhaust emits excessive smoke They could rectify for re-test for as little as £330 Then they said I desperately needed 2 back tyres. Funny the things they deal with eh ? Oh, he also said I need to go back there to have the re-test for £17.50 if I have the work done elsewhere ! I told them what I thought and I'd heard the horror stories and left, had another mot this morning at another garage, the fella said 'no problems whatsoever, great little car and well looked after' I now have just written the mot fee off from kwikfit, I spoke to my regular mechanic on the phone who said he gets at least a dozen cases every year saying the same things about them. I am letting as many folk know as possible in the hope they are boycotted.

Just curious - my tax is due on 31st Jan, the current MOT expires on 14th February. If I wait till payday(31/1) to renew the tax - will it allow me to do that as the MOT will only have two weeks to run. Something in the back of my mind is telling me that an MOT has to be valid for a month to enable the car to be taxed. If that is the case, I need to tax the car today

Where do i start. Took my car in for MOT on 10/09, it passed which surprised me. This car is used by my daughter, so I need it to be road-legal. The car arrived at 10:50, I left at 11:40. That is 50 minutes that the car was there. For 30 minutes of this 50 minutes, I was sat in the customer reception looking at the car sitting in the customer car park. So a supposed 45 minute MOT was completed in 20 minutes. Not bad going. 3 Advisories: 1. wipers in poor condition 2. general underbody corrosion 3. front exhaust blowing slightly I knew the front tyres were questionable, so I stopped off at your Farnborough garage to check. Didn't tell them where I had come from. He told me that both fronts are barely legal, uneven wear and cracking on the outer wall - these are the original tyres, so 11 years old. Told him that they had just passed the MOT, without even an advisory, and he couldn't believe it. One of the rear tyres was also flat with a nail in it - I know this tyre has had a slow puncture for some time so this isn't new. One of the front wipers was actually split - this is a failure. Because of the corrosion, I took the car to my mechanic. We did a quick check of the car. Below are his findings: 1. front near-side side-light not working 2. front off-side wiper split 3. rear near-side tyre flat (10psi) with a nail embedded 4. both front tyres 1mm of tried, both un-even wear and cracking on outer wall 5. rear off-side wheel bearing noisy 6. off-side swivell housing deteriorating 7. 2 exhaust brackets snapped off - his 10 year son spotted this first whilst standing 5 feet away 8. downpipe corroded 9. corrosion on rear brake pipes 10. dampness around brake servo's The underbody corrosion that was mentioned, we couldn't find it. Not even a hint. In his opinion, the MOT provided by Kwik-Fit Aldershot isn't worth the piece of paper that it is printed on. He doesn't even believe that the car was put onto a ramp. Not that I expect much to happen from this, the only cars I will be taking to Kwik-Fit for an MOT will be any wrecks that should really be put to salvage

Can Reigate and Banstead Borough Council insist that Private Hire & Hackney Carriage are ONLY tested at their centre? Claiming it is not for profit yet they charge £54 for a test and drivers can get it elsewhere for £25. Is this legal? To quote out of the Gatwick & Horley Mirror:- "ARROGANT" decisions by R&BBC are costing taxi drivers money and business. The condemnation comes from cabbies after the authority ruled that MOT`s for private hire vehicles and hackney carriages must only take place at the council`s own centre in Earlswood. The decision was made last year by members of the council`s Regulatory Committee, who said it would ensure safety standards are maintained. According to some drivers who spoke to the Mirror, they have heard on occasions that drivers have been unable to work for a week while waiting for the council to book a new test. "According to confused.com, if a car fails an MOT test it should not be driven irrespective of the certificate status because you`de be guilty of driving a car that has known faults. The council also quote:- By carrying out MOT`s on our licenced taxis we can ensure that they are all done at a consistantly high level. Our main priority is for the safety of our residents - we need to ensure that when a resident in the borough uses a taxi it is safe to do so. My main question is really can they force us to use their depot at a higher cost & what is it saying about the QUALITY of all the other testers in the area that would be more local and convenient for everyone.??? Hope you can help.

Hi, My daughter was pulled over by the police for having her MOT out of date by a few days. She was issued with an on the spot fine of £60 which she paid online. Subsequently, she received a letter a couple of months later saying she had not paid. She phoned the number on the letter and explained that she had paid. They said that they had either not received it OR she was late paying and so the payment was rejected and returned. They requested proof of payment and so my daughter emailed a screen cap of her online statement as they requested. She also examined her statements and can see the payment has been made and has not been refunded to her account. This was about 6 weeks ago. The bank statement shows "HMCOURTS-SVS GOV U £60". She has now received a letter from Marston Group Limited demanding £175 (Fine of £90 + fees of £85). It looks like a threat'o'gram but as it states they are in possession of a magistrates court order, I'm taking it seriously. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi, info please if poss. I had my handbrake fixed on my MOT Thursday 4th july. Today 7 july...it rolled down a slope and bashed another car. Where do I legally stand with the garage??? Gary

I drove my Mitsubishi Colt Cab to the above for a full service and MOT. They charged me approx., £232 which I thought was exorbitant. However I paid it. 3 days later I noticed the passenger window was sticking, and would not open and close as it should. I took it back to the garage and the Mgr said there was nothing he could do as the service does not include electrics. This could have been coincidence - what do you think? ladycoke

I have owned my Ford Escort Mk 6 for 14 years (since 7k miles, now 118k). I have always used the same local independent garage for MOTs and any repairs, (very few, minor ones - cats, exhausts, brakes, wheel bearings, etc). The previous MOT tester was absolutely straight. I have done 3k miles per year for the past 6 years. At MOT in 2011, my car needed a small amount of welding, with advisory brake adjustment. Last year the MOT failed on a spring, with no advisory. This year the garage changed hands, and the new owner has just been trained for MOTs. Yesterday, my car failed horrifically on corrosion - 1) Offside outer front - front seat belt anchorage. 2) Offside front (floor) - ditto. 3) Nearside outer rear (sill) - suspension component mounting. 4) Nearside outer rear (chassis) - ditto. 5) Offside outer rear (chassis) - ditto. All were judged to be "excessively corroded". Advisory: brake pipes deteriorating. I've been quoted, by the garage, £1000 for 18 hours welding. I cannot understand how so much corrosion can suddenly become obvious in 3k miles, without any earlier signs! There is corrosion, undoubtedly, but that much? Should I appeal or have my car re-tested at the local Council MOT centre? Should I spend my £1000 on my mechanically sound car which is really reliable, or on a banger that will be a gamble?

Hi there can anyone give advice on this please, my son put his car in for an MOT he told them that the car was a 4x4 so be careful if you do a brake test etc. The good news, all it needed was a bulb to pass the MOT, the bad news when he picked it up it lit up like a Christmas tree, ABS,CEL,4WD,SRS,Oil and seatbelt, no speedo so he does not know what speed he is doing, with all the warning lights on he turned around took it back to the garage, they started to mess around with it using diagnostic testing and he thinks they have made it worse as the guy phoned someone to ask advice. He needs the car to travel south this week for a meeting, so he is thinking of taking it to the main dealer Mazda to see if they can solve the issue, but can he insist on the MOT garage to pay for this as he has lost confidence with there efforts to solve the problem, any advice welcome thanks.

Hi all, im running an old mk1 ford focus, i handed it in for mot aware it should fail on a tyre n maybe drop links, it failed on that and three tyres and a worn shock absorber mount, nearside. Just looked at all the tyres, bar one, as they are on or above one third of the 1.6mm markers on the car. he failed it on three tyres!! also ive almost broke my hand removing the rear near side shock absorber to check for movement/ wear. its bloody solid ie totally serviceable. ****ed off as i think he was making some of this up, 3 of the tyres are near where they shouldnt be but they ARE legal. Also fail on brake pipes, but he said it may clean up with a wire brush (!?)How can you make pipe weakened by rust good by wire brushing it?! I can make pipes up from scratch as i have all the gear in the garage....,, then he foned me at the house and said my windscreen wipe area is insufficient and the wipers require replacing, this is after i picked up the car and im home?! and its not in the MOT report.! . Im chuffing confused here, i can see faults that where not picked up, and cant see the faults that are in the report. Im well handy on cars but this is a mess.... Stevie

As above! I bought my 2005 Citroen Xsara Picasso Desire HDi from a dealership in Birmingham, haven't got the bill to hand and I can't remember the dealers name at the moment. Cost me just over £2000, came with almost complete history and a recent cambelt and waterpump, car seemed very nice and very clean, drove well too. It was due an mot in about a month and a half but due to the distance I travelled (60ish miles) and the fact that I'd scrapped my old car just a few hours ago, I couldn't leave without a car and though they offered to do an mot there was no way I could get get back to them to collect it, they knocked a bit more of the price due to this. The car has been almost perfectly fine up to the mot, the service due light came on but they had already mentioned it was due a service, and the temp warning light came on, though the car never overheated, it was just low on water which I topped up, the temp warning light is a common fault with them. It went in for the mot yesterday and failed, on 3 things. A few bulbs were out which I'd not noticed, it failed the smoke test but worst of all, the front discs were severely corroded and weakened, so it needed new discs and pads and was finished last night by my local garage. The total including the test comes to £270. If I go to the dealer with these issues and the bill, is there anything I can do to get this repaid to me? Its been mentioned that the sales of good act may be able to help me. Obviously, if it had been mot'd before I collected it I wouldn't have these probs and if it had been local there would have been no issue with me leaving it there!

hi can ne one help me please, my car failed its mot last week on monday i had the work done. it failed on emissions front tyre,and needed two wishbones, the garage rang me yesterday to say the car had passed, i went along and picked the car up and noticed a strange knocking passenger side, i went under the car to have a look and there was a bolt out of the wishbone (sticking out about 1 and a half inchs) Then i noticed they had changed the back tyre....mmmmmmmmmmm as you can see the refusal said the front ,i have explained to the mot garage that they passed this car when only 2 days ago refused it, the mechanic is saying he takes full liability but my arguement is he may have done the work but surely the mot garage shoud have seen the bad repair am i going mad or what, and any suggestions as what to do...many thanx

I've got myself in a bit of a mess and I don't understand the rules well enough for my options to be clear to me. Any advice much appreciated! The car is a 13 yr old Fiesta with just over 100k miles. Not worth much. Has Generally been good to me though. My tax ran out about a week ago. Partly due to procrastination, partly lack of funds. The police found my out of date disc and slapped a £60 fine on my windscreen. Ouch. I asked for that one though. Haven't paid it yet but I will of course. I have 28 days max. I got the MOT done today. The bill is £360; suspension problems. My 20 mile route to work goes through some horrible little lanes - poor car With the repairs, MOT fee, fine, tax, and the usual insurance and petrol..... I'm screwed financially - i really think I'm going to have to scrap it and get the bus from now on. the bus tickets cost roughly the same as the petrol, never mind comparing to all the other expenses of having a car. Where it gets tricky is, after I've sent it to the big carpark in the sky, I have to tell the DVLA, and presumably declare it SORN or something? Won't they get upset because it was on the road untaxed for a week, and fine me? They could insist I get it taxed for 6 months, but that means getting a valid MOT and... I start going round in circles then!

Hi everyone, I am hoping somebody can provide some help for me because I am really unsure of what to do regarding my car. It was serviced by a garage next to my workplace and returned to me yesterday after a full service and MOT. The service included a full inspection and I was advised that "Cylinder head core plugs are badly corroded. Recommend relacement ASAP to avoid antifreeze leakage". The receptionist did not know what this meant, however I booked my car in for tomorrow and she seemed surprised and actually asked if I was treating my car. On the drive home, the car initially drove fine at a range of speeds but after three miles or so I noticed a sudden loss of power when I tried accelerating, this became an intermittent problem and the check engine light flicked on for a millisecond near my home. Today, I took the car straight back and they kept it in all day, ringing me to say it was likely to cause significant damage if driven (!) and they did not have a courtesy car available. I was told that there was significant water under the bonnet due to a leak from the washer jets, and this is a common known problem, but was much worse than they thought yesterday. I know the component is not a MOT requirement, but surely having a car serviced and receiving a "full inspection" should be sufficient to ensure peace of mind that the car is not a 'ticking time bomb' and is fit to be driven home? Is there a legal standing or precendent here? Or, should I rely on my bargaining skills in the hope they will look after me... they have quoted £200 to fix the issue. Thanks for reading, James

I'll summarise to keep this as short as possible: Bought car and collected on Monday. On Friday, thought I had a flat tyre, took to tyre garage, alloy wheel cracked in many places. Garage said cracks looked old. Also, had a weld, showing signs of previous repair. Called garage i bought car from. Salesman initially very helpful, asking me to email photo of wheel, so he could replace. Sent email saying "I am sourcing a wheel for you" Chased up later - boss refused to replace wheel (cost of £530, plus tyre at £300) I stated this wasn't acceptable. Wouldn't budge. Offered instead to collect the wheel and "repair" It has many cracks, tyre garage says repair is impossible / unsafe Also, no spare wheel (car has runflats) - so sending wheel obviously renders car un-usable. Car was sold with MOT put on car a day before I collected it. Tyre garage asked an off-duty VOSA inspector to take a look - he said it shouldn't of passed MOT and to appeal the MOT cert (he was off duty- but that is his job) I've informed the garage of my position. Basically, that I believe under the sale of goods act, the garage has a duty to replace the wheel, since repair would be impossible. What should I do? They're asking for the wheel back, but i need VOSA to inspect first to see if MOT is invalid?

Hi, I purchased Renault Megane Dynamique from a small dealer on the 25th of Feb 2012. The MOT was passed on the same day. I have had the results back from the MOT today and the car has failed on 3 points. The an off side front coil spring has snapped (the garage advised that it was dangerous to drive with this fault), the brake light switch is faulty and the steering lock also needs to be replaced. My issue with this is that I purchased the vehicle with a provisional license, and the intent to learn and pass in the car. Due to random circumstances this did not happen and the car has mostly been off road for a year. I passed on the 8th of Feb and have driven the car on short trips since then. I have just checked the paperwork and the total mileage on the car is around 1300 in 12 months (there were 2 longer distance trips with friends driving). My query is firstly, can anyone advise how dangerous the car was to drive with the coil spring fault? How likely is it that the faults were present at the time of sale considering the low useage and would I be able to prove this if proceeding with an AA independent report, would this help to show that these issues were present at the time of sale? Any information you could offer would be incredibly helpful. I apologise if these are idiotic questions but I am new to the world of both cars and MOTs so I want to have as much knowledge to hand before I call the dealer tomorrow to see if a compromise can be reached in regards to repairing the faults. I initially emailed the dealer earlier today with the results of the MOT and an outline of my issue and they asked me to call them. I have not yet done so as I wanted to look into the details of the fault and to look through all the paperwork I have from the sale. I have since drafted the below which I plan to email tomorrow and then follow up with a phone call later in the day, any feedback on the below would also be appreciated: Hi, I apologise for not calling yesterday, I was checkingthrough all of the paperwork that came with the vehicle at the time of sale. I appreciate some time has passed since the sale of the carbut as per my previous email this car has been mostly off road since the saledate of the 25th of February 2012. The purchase paperwork and DVLA paperwork has the mileagelisted as 50,282 and this is currently 51,768. So you can see this car has nothave enough use for these faults to naturally develop since the date ofpurchase. It is my right,under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, to expect the second hand car to be ofsatisfactory quality (taking into account its age and mileage), meet anydescription given to me at the time of sale and to be fit for the purpose, thereforeI should expect to be able to get from A to B safely. The MOTinspection carried out on the 25th of February 2013 showed that an offside front coil spring is required as the current one has snapped. I have alsobeen informed by the garage that it is dangerous to drive a car in thiscondition. The cost for this repair is quoted at £139.60 including Vat. A brakelight switch is also required as the brake lights are inoperable, which wouldbe £42.12. The final part required is asteering lock, but this repair has to be done via a Renault dealer who I havecontacted for an approximate cost. As it has beenover six months since the purchase I appreciate that it is up to me to prove thatthese faults were present on the vehicle when it was sold. I will call later tosee how you wish to proceed with my complaint before taking this further but Iwould intend to contact the AA to carry out an independent report which wouldestablish the condition of the vehicle when it was sold Vs the time passed andmileage logged. I would likefor arrangements to be made for the repairs to be carried out at no cost due tothe fact that these issues were present at the time of sale, whether you agreeto carry out these repairs or refund me for any costs accrued. If we are unable to come to an agreement I will contactTrading Standards later today and make arrangements with the AA for theindependent report to be completed, I will then follow up with official letterto your registered business address confirming my intent to take legal action. I believe the car (Reg FD04 ZFP) was not fit for purpose or ina road worthy condition at the time of sale. I also intend to contact VOSA andthe department of Transport to advise that the MOT Carried out on the 25/02/11by Christchurchgarage resulted in a dangerous car being passed as roadworthy. I look forward to speaking to you later and hope we can cometo a satisfactory conclusion. Many Thanks. Lucy

Hi, Sorry to start a new thread on this issue but I think my last thread had so many replies that no one is looking at it now. I desperately need advice on a letter I want to send, the summary of the situation follows: I had a car fail an MOT at a garage and they told me that due to the new omputer MOT (instead of just paper) that I could no longer take my car back home as it had no mot and implied I would not be insured if I did. I needed to know as this cost me an extra £200 labour in work that I could have done myself. the letter is: Please could anyone with who knows about these sort of letters please advice me on my use of words, grammer and how I should close it, or is it ok as it is. Many thanks for your time with this.

Hi all, I have been quoted loads of interpretations of the MOT laws for the UK but I need to read the actually law. I had a car fail an MOT at a garage and they told me that due to the new omputer MOT (instead of just paper) that I could no longer take my car back home as it had no mot and implied I would not be insured if I did. Some people say that the car CAN be taken straight home, some say NOT. I need to know as this cost me an extra £335 of which almost £250 was labour that I could have done myself. Many thanks.

Hope someone can help me out here. I purchased a 2nd hand BMW form a well known dealership Jan 2012, i also bought their 2 yr service and MOT plan for £296. The car was bought from Ford Motherwell and was delivered to the Aberdeen branch for me to collect. I was advised when i bought the plan that i could use it at their Aberdeen branch. My first service and MOT under the plan is due on the 18th of this month, i have since discovered that the Aberdeen branch has now closed, on contacting the dealership customer services who then spoke with the branch where i bought the car informed me that they are not willing to do anything about it or even refund my money. Anyone have any advice they can give me please.

Good evening everyone. I shall try and keep this as brief as possible. On 21 Nov I bought a car through ebay. I had previously been to see the vehicle and the seller had told me it had a 12 month MOT. I drove the car briefly and it appeared to be fine. Subsequently, I bought the car. On the MOT certificate, it had advisery notes about play in the front suspension arms ball joints. I decided that it would be prudent to get this looked at, took it to my mechanic, only to be told that there was no way that the car should have been given an MOT. There were various other things wrong with the brakes and bearings in the rear wheels. Also, a bolt holding two parts of the off side front suspension sheared completely in two from corrosion when the mechanic attempted to tighten it up. Having never been in this situation before, I decided to get the work carried out as I use the vehicle every day for self employed work. I got in touch with guy I bought the car from as I wasn't particularly pleased. Not surprisingly, he said he didn't feel responsible for any problems that arose 'after the point of sale'. Ordinarily I could accept this, however, the mechanic who did the work for me was adamant, from the condition of the parts, that the faults had definitely been there from before the MOT. I started a dispute through ebay to get some money back towards the cost of the repairs, but the seller is still not forthcoming. I have also contacted the consumer advice line, but they have said that VOSA cannot help now as the car has been fixed; even though I have all the parts that were taken off the car, a receipt for the work done, ad the testimony of the mechanic who worked on the car for me. I didn't know what avenues to explore, so decided to check the sellers history. Lo and behold he had sold another car in September. I contacted the buyer of said car, and he had the same issues that I did. I found this especially interesting as when I initially confronted the seller about the issues, he said that he hadn't used this garage before. There is definitely something untoward going on. The problem is, I know I've been ripped off, I would like some money back to help towards the cost, but every way I turn it doesn't seem that I have any rights. Can anyone help??? Cheers

Hi, hoping someone can advise. My car is not running at the moment and has been parked up my drive on SORN, I had to move it out last week to get access to my drive. So I parked the car outside my house and put the battery on charge. Was supposed to put it back on the drive at weekend but didn't and of course this morning a road tax van spots it and clamps it. I went out to explain, but they were having none of it. Clamped it and said it was being impounded unless i paid £260, or i could collect it from impound for £260 + £21 per day. I had to pay the £260 there and then. I know my fault, but just wanted to check a couple of things: 1) To insure the car and get its tax would be more than the £260 - so if I do nothing and lose the £260 is that the end of the matter? I have now moved the car onto the drive again (and confirmed it is still sorn) 2) as the car had no insurance will the police become involved and fine me through the post? Any help appreciated

Hello all, I'm sure that there will be people on here that have had issues with Car Craft and I would appreciate assistance from your wonderful people, plus those who know all the legal things. Ok, so I purchased a vehicle in March 2012 and took out their 'Drive Happy' warranty that covers servicing, MOT, electrical faults etc. As part of this agreement I am expected to get the car serviced within the first 6 months or first 6000 miles, whichever comes first........no problem.......Until you try and book said service. So at the beginning of August I contacted your Enfield Service Department to book my car in for its first service, explaining to the staff member that I had purchased the vehicle in March and was approaching the 6 month time limit. I was told that this could not be done before mid September. I was also informed at this point, that as this date would fall outside of my 6 month period and that this would invalidate my 'Drive Happy' warranty.....best bit, I would now have to pay a re-validation fee for the 'Drive Happy' package to continue.....how is this my fault that the service centre can't fit me in until after my 6 months is up?? Having had issues trying to get through to someone 'human' and not a recorded message, plus an e-mail that was never replied to, I managed to speak to a human at their customer service department who said that if my phone call hadn't been logged onto the system then I couldn't have called! Nosing through my service book and additional MOT certificates that came with my package I have now discovered that when I went out on the test drive of my vehicle on a PUBLIC ROAD, that there was NO VALID MOT on it!!! I've checked the government MOT history checker, I then found that there hadn't been an MOT on the vehicle for some time! I know this is illegal and is not covered by trade plates being displayed (none were displayed anyway) Does anyone have any advice with regards to the two points? Thank you in advance for any comments