Hi, I took my car in to a local garage to repair an oil leak around 2 months ago. From what the garage have told me, it looks like there was an oil leak on the car previously which had been badly repaired. It appears that the engine ran low on oil at some point and I've now been told I need a new engine The garage told me they would try to find a replacement engine but after waiting for a couple of weeks, I tried to find one myself. I've been able to find a reconditioned engine with 12 months warranty which can be delivered to the garage. I've confirmed with the garage and engine supplier that all required parts will be included etc. The problem is that the garage is refusing to provide me with a quote (or even estimate) for the work until they have the new engine delivered. As I have no idea what it could cost to fit the engine, I'm a bit hesitant to place the order for the reconditioned engine. The old engine has already been removed so I'm unable to move the car from the current garage. My only other option is for the garage to put the old engine back in the car and take it elsewhere, but this will still mean paying £600 labour for the old engine to be put back in the car. Is it unreasonable to ask for a quote (or just an estimate) before paying for the engine. I'm a bit concerned that the garage could charge any amount and leaving me with no choice but to pay. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

hi sorry I'm not sure where best to post this. We have a remortgage going through with nationwide. During the application process we were asked if we needed transfer of equity and we said yes. It then told us we needed legal advice for this and do we want a quote from one of their solicitors and do we want a quote? We said yes and it brought back a quote of £255, asked us if we wished to accept and I said yes and proceeded with the application. I then got the application summary which states everything: Transfer of equity required? Yes Free legals taken? Yes Solicitor quote provided? Yes, £255 Quote accepted? Yes We then got the quote breakdown from LMS with nationwides logo at the top which included solicitor base cost, telegraphic transfer fee and disbursements totalling. £255 including VAT. But doesn't include transfer of equity. We were then allocated to gorvins solicitors by lms. We received the welcome pack with quote and request of payment for £535. This again didn't include the transfer of equity but had everything in the lms quote breakdown but each item more expensive and other fees such as scanning and file storage. I rang them to query it but they didn't know why the quotes differed but said transfer of equity would make it more expensive. I've been passed back and forth the 3 of them with promises someone will contact me but never does. Until I spoke with someone at nationwide last week who has chased them up for me but rather than reply to her they replied to me. Gorvins stated I'd been provided with an old quote due to a technical error and it is now more expensive but agreed with nationwide. I then spoke to lms who had a supervisor ring me back today and tell me the same thing and that they can only apologise and close the file for me if I don't want to go ahead at the price provided by Gorvins. They said all the firms they work with will be the same price as fees are fixed and they can only apologise and told me to contact nationwide as they were the ones who provided the first quote. I said it wasn't good enough because they've now delayed us 3 weeks without any work even being started on the remortgage and now I have to find a new solicitor. They also asked if the nationwide quote stated £255+fees as it would normally be quoted as base cost for the remortgage(£325)+fees and I confirmed it hadnt and said this was wrong as the additional £210 fees are compulsory for the basic remortgage even without transfer of equity so shouldn't be hidden. She then agreed to submit a formal complaint. I then contacted nationwide to complain to them about the initial quote to be told the initial quote is provided by LMS even though it's their website they work together and solicitor side of it is nothing to do with them and it's fairly new but they've been asked that all complaints go through to LMS's complaints department so they are aware of it and it's happened a few times with others but LMS will be dealing with it. What do I do now? Do they not have to honour the quote that was accepted and agreed? LMS didn't really seem interested and just kept telling me I could decline and find my own solicitor and didn't have to go through with theirs. Should I just go with my own to avoid any more delay or wait for the outcome of the complaint? I've found one for £435 including transfer of equity? Thanks.

I was amazed today when an insurance company refused to give me a quote due to failing a credit check. Why was I amazed?. Well firstly my credit report is fine and clear. Secondly, I wasn't asking for credit to pay my car insurence on monthly installments, I was going to pay the full year premium in cash. I have no idea why a credit check is required in order to buy things using cash. By cash I mean via my debit card. I thought that credit reports had nothing to do with buying things cash but sadly I have now been proved wrong. I did move home address recently however, my new address is shown on my current credit report, so that's not the reason for insurance quote refusal. Does anybody know why credit checks are carried out against customers who are paying cash.

Got an online quote and ref. no. on Thurs evening 26th to insure a second car on Sat 28th. Didn't accept immediately, but recovered the quote in order to accept on Fri night 27th. On recovering the quote it was noticed the monthly payments had increased marginaly. Querying this on twitter I was informed "Hi, our prices are subject to real time pricing which can re-rate the policy. The best thing to do is call 0800 001066 and quote the reference to our sales team in check for you. Hope this helps, their open until 9pm this evening, Sj". Called the number given at around 19:30 and was left listening to muzak and apologies for the delay due to high call volume for around 40 mins. As the phone started indicating low battery I gave up and went ahead and followed through with the online quote not wanting to risk phone delays when collecting the car in the morning. So was the original quote in fact only an estimate?

I tried to cancel my car insurance policy 2 days after I joined them. Their website instructions directed me straight to cancellations and then sent me around the houses but ultimately is set up to not accept a cancellation of policy - not within the cooling off period anyhow. I then wrote them emails - I have proof of sending three. They just responded to my cancellation emails by sending me a template informing me that I could cancel my policy free of any charges and get a refund if it was within the cooling off period but in order for me to incur no charges I must do it on their website. I replied that their website wouldn't accept my cancellation and so I was asking them to do it and just kept getting the same template email back from them - in effect they were not acknowledging my cancellation. Now they have send me a Default Notice under Section 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 telling me that I have one month to pay my direct debit sum and reinstate the Direct Debit Mandate or they will charge me a further £53 and hand me over to a Debt Collector Agency. My Dad is advising me just to ignore them because I have done everything correctly, but I don't think this is the best advice for me. I'm sure that Quote Me Happy know exactly what they are doing and know that they are within their legal rights at the moment. I don't really get how a company that's associated to a giant like Aviva is permitted to behave like this because there are really a lot of historical complaints about them. Does anybody know what I can do to stop this?

hi I recently decided to switch car insurance to save myself a few quid, wish I never bothered, I went with a company called Motor Quote Direct, ( Bedford Insurance, Wimbledon). After sending off proof of no claims, and driving license, all I keep getting is return letters saying they will cancel my policy for not providing documents, I have now resent copies to them using Special Delivery, costing me £6-22. thing is my temp cover runs out tomorrow, and they still not responded to my official complaint to them ( earlier in week). I guess my next step is the FOS ? anyone else had crap dealings with these cowboys ? (if you have lots of praise for these people , then fine, please go sing their praises in other posting. This is not what I want to hear in this posting, thank you) I want to hear if others have had similar dealings with these people, and how you dealt with them

I have had an ongoing issue with British Gas since my renewal dropped through the letter box in September 2014 for £340/yr. A fairly simple telephone call you might imagine to negotiate a better deal to compare to competitors at around £200/yr for the same level of cover. Anyway, two telephone calls that failed to result in a new price, due to "computer issues". Followed by various methods of them delivering the same £340/yr renewal quote with no explanation. Plus my complaints via on-line message through the website and to various complaints/customer service email addresses has still not resulted in a resolution. The most annoying fact is after the initial phone calls they said I would continue to be insured, and they would take the direct debit at the monthly amount stated. Now they never did this, so i would assume I am not insured, but they have not responded to my questions to confirm this. Please give some thought before you take one of these policies, and not just with BG by the sounds of it. I am going to try and find a good recommended boiler service guy and hope that any breakdowns and repairs are not too painful. Thanks for reading..

I tried to get insurance from the cheapest quote on GoCompare.com, which was for £800 from "4 Young Drivers". I called them and quoted the reference number, to which the chap on the phone told me that the price on the website was just the "referral price" and that I would never get that price. Instead he said I would be paying around £1,600!!! (My last years insurance was £600!!) Having contacts in the travel industry, I know exactly how this works, and these insurance companies use compare websites to drive calls, then find any possible reason to come away from the advertised price so they can charge additional fee's on top. I tried to explain this on the phone but the guy hung up the phone. I have emailed a complaint to GoCompare, and also to "4 Young Drivers", but their mailbox bounces back. Should I take this up with the ASA? EDIT: I did get insurance with the next cheapest company without any issues at all. However it is more expensive.

Hi everyone. Its my 1st post, apologies if i've done anything wrong on here. But i've been really worried and can't sleep tonight. i Wonder if anyone can help with this: I've been driving for 20 Years. I've never seen anything like this before. Paid the full years car Insurance online Got insurance Certificate, thought i was insured, got a 7 day cancellation letter, no phone calls notifying cancellation or asking for further information, think they are saying it's due to a failed credit check (their letter is below) I now need to get cover with another insurer. Do i now have to declare to the new insurer that i've had car insurance cancelled, or can i just go with one of the other quotes i got the same day i got this one? Do i get all my money back, i need it back first to pay for one of the higher quotes to get insured again. Full Details of what happened: Car insurance was up for renewal. Got quotes on several comparison sites. Chose one quote, rang the company, gave them reference, confirmed level of cover, excesses etc. Decided to accept cover, agent said best doing it online, or else i'll have to enter all your details and run it through again. Went online, clicked through the comparison site link for that companies quote. Paid the full years premium at once. 1st Email Received Thank you for confirming your intention to insure, We are currently processing your payment details, as you will already be aware to protect us against fraud we will be running a series of integrity checks on the information you have provided. If there are any issues with your payment, cover or results of our data integrity checks we will inform you of this by email or, if necessary, we will call you on the telephone number you have provided to us. Please note that your insurance cover is not binding until you receive a certificate of insurance from us. Got to email Proof of no claims, and copy of driving license within 14 days. I contacted my previous insurer again for copy proof of no claims Further Emails Received a few hours later: Certificate of insurance, Statement of Fact, Demands and needs, proposal information, Claims and break down contact numbers.. Basically everything you usually get when you get car insurance and you know you are covered. Knowing i was covered, and had time off, i went on a long motoring trip for a week to visit a relative, knowing i'll email my driving license and proof of no claims together when i get back. Got back tonight, was just looking through my emails on my PC when i noticed one from my new insurance company, Sent 2 days after taking out cover. "Please find attached an important letter with regard to insurance cover you have requested on your vehicle. This letter has also been posted to yourself at the given address and no further reminders will be issued. We recommend that you seek alternate insurance cover. Please note: Under the Road Traffic Act it is an offence to leave, drive or otherwise use a motor vehicle on the Public Highway without Third Party Insurance. Failure to return the certificate of insurance is also an offence under the Road Traffic Act." The Attached Letter URGENT 7 DAY CANCELLATION NOTICE We write to you in respect of your motor insurance policy for vehicle registration -------. We are authorised by your Insurance Company (see certificate of motor insurance for details) to act as their agents for the purpose of CANCELLING insurance cover in accordance with policy conditions and herewith give you notice that all cover is cancelled from -- December 2014. In accordance with our terms of business which were agreed to when purchasing this policy and that state: “We may, before and after entering into this agreement search the files of any credit reference agency or agencies who will keep a record of our enquiries. We may also disclose details about you and your conduct of this agreement to that agency or agencies. Such details are then used only to help make credit decisions on you or members of your household or occasionally for fraud prevention or to trace debtors. Where credit scoring calculations are used by us/the insurer, acceptance or rejection of your application will depend only on the results of the credit scoring process.” We regret to inform you that after such a credit scoring calculation was done, the result of which was unacceptable and due to this we are unable to provide any insurance cover for your vehicle. A full refund will be issued to you upon cancellation and once receiving a certificate surrender declaration unless there has been any claims during the period of cover. No further reminder letters will be sent about this matter. Cover will simply be cancelled. There will therefore be no cover in force after the above date and you must return your certificate of Insurance or temporary cover-note, if you received this by post you must return the original, where it was received via email you must email a Certificate Surrender Statement to cancellations Department. You are advised to obtain cover. Please note: Under the Road Traffic Act it is an offence to leave, drive or otherwise use a motor vehicle on the Public Highway without Third Party Insurance. Failure to return the certificate of insurance is also an offence under the Road Traffic Act. A Person may be prosecuted if a cancelled certificate of Motor Insurance or temporary cover note is produced to any person with the intention of deceiving that person into accepting it as genuine. ******************* WARNING ******************** After the termination of your insurance the Motor Insurance Database (MID) will show that no insurance cover is in force. This information is registered on the Police National Computer confirming no insurance cover is in force until replacement cover is issued

Hi, I am in dispute with a builder and have made a claim against him via the small claims system. I am trying to get the last £350 out of him for a job, he has now defended and counter claimed saying some of the work is faulty and has gotten a quote from a local company to rectify the work, this is where I need advise. The quote is part of the claim package and it is obvious that the builder has got the company to really load the quote so that I would in fact owe him money. Example, the job would require removing 20 no. tiles from a window sill and replacing them, the quote for this is, wait for it, £500!!! The company that supplied the quote are based 3 miles away and they want to charge 3 days traveling totalling £150. Then there is £350 labour and materials on top. The quote has been padded out deliberately to extract money out of me, and seeing that the defendant has added it to a legal document is this not some sort of perjury, deception, or whatever it might be called?

Just looking for some advice My wife just sold her car, there is about 2 months left on her insurance policy. Going onto Quote me unhappy's website they want £53 to cancel the insurance and an extra £30 if I call them to cancel it. There is no refund for the remaining term, which I can accept, but charging to cancel it seems well OTT, which I'm not about to pay. So 1) Is it just me or is this a complete rip off 2) Can we just leave the insurance running until June when it's finishes Thanks

Hi All, I have unfortunately been the victim of some vandalism, with some kids smashing my passenger window, which in turn damaged the regulator that moves the window up and down, I managed to get the glass through my Insurance Glass cover, but Autoglass were unable to fit it, having found the damage caused to the Regulator. I asked my local garage who I have used before (although only once) if they would provide a quote for the cost to supply and replace the Regulator, and fit the Glass which I supplied, next day, I called to chase the garage, who told me there were 2 different part numbers, and he would like to take a look at the part so we got the right one (Autoglass had left the door panel off so should have only required a quick visual inspection) but suggested the part would be £70 or so plus labour but others were £100 plus and he couldn't say untill he checked. I arranged for them to pick up my car this morning as I live 500 yards from the garage, to take a look. Having not heard all day, I called when I finished work to chase up a quote and was told the work had been completed! I wanted a quote for the work as had looked at the cost to obtain the part myself and a Spanner Handy friend would help me do the work, however had it not cost too much more I was willing to pay for the convenience... £45 plus a couple of beers if it matters... I have collected my car as it was left out in the road outside the garage, (and they only had a spare key) but the lad on the phone said they had not done an invoice yet, and couldn't tell me what I am to be charged, but would call me in the morning... I'm moving this month so needed this done as cheap as possible, and I'm not afraid they will screw me with a big bill.. . so where do I stand, am I within my right to offer £50 as full and final settlement as thats what I would have paid to do the work privately, or should I refuse to pay all together as I didn't ask them to do the work?

On the 7th of February, I called my car insurance company One Quote to cancel my car insurance policy. I was told that I had passed the 14 days grace period and I would need to pay an addition 120 pounds for the cancellation. I was so shocked because they had just taken out 60 pound for the month of February. I requested a breakdown of the cancellation fee. I was shocked again to hear that I would have to pay for administration fees, cancellation fees to One Quote and another cancellation fee to the insurance company. I know I am being ripped off. Can someone advice please. One Quote has threatened to take me to a debt collection agency

I received a quotes months ago which I have accepted, at the last minute the trader has told me that they cant fulfil the order at the same price and if I still want to go ahead it will cost me a few hundred pounds more, do I have any rights to deal with this situation? Thank you for your help, pj

Hello Guys, Yesterday I caused a car accident in most stupid way. It was raining, I was in rush to get to work on time and did not estimate correctly distance in between me and car parked behind me. I have stopped and within minute the owner of the car was there. Not a problem, I have given her my details, insurance policy number etc. She said she will get quotation so I can decide if I want to pay for repair in private or if I want to go through insurance. Sounds cool so far. Today at morning she did call me saying that the quote for repair is £260. That is not a high amount but anyway I decided to go through insurances. Called my insurance company, reported accident was done in few minutes and send her text with reference number. So far so good. Few minutes ago I received call from her husband saying “Hey, my wife just told me you want your insurance to pay for the repair. I did call the garage and have been told that if it will go through insurances the price will not be £260 but few ground. Are you sure you don’t want to pay in cash?” Yeah, I am definitely sure I want to go through the insurances. Not a question from now on. But my concern is – since when is the repair more expensive if paid through insurances? Especially from £260 to few ground? Think there is something fishy about it. Now my question is, what should I do now? Suppose few thousands will have worst effect on costs of my insurance than few hundred. Should I let my insurance company know that something is not right or just to let them deal with it? P.s.: It was my first car accident in 10 years I have a driving license. Feel really stupid about it, especially because it was my fault

Hope I've posted this in the right place and someone can advise me. Last year on my annual gas check, a leak was detected so the independant contractor capped my supply to the gas hob and fire. I finally got a quote for the work last month and this was based on replacing the pipework to both appliances - seemed reasonable so I agreed to the work being done. When the guys turned up they found the leak was in the actual gas fire so the pipework there didn't need to be replaced (which was the awkward bit of the job) - the hob pipework was replaced as it was apparently illegal. Finally got the bill last week and I have been charged the full quote, which doesn't seem right as it was lot less of a job than I was quoted for. Can I challenge them on this or was me agreeing to the quote a binding contract that I would pay £x regardless of the amount of work involved? Any advice gratefully received. Thanks

Hi I paid for my wfe's car insuarance with QuoteMeHappy on 10th Dec 2012 by my Barclays Debit card and the money has been taken from my account on 11th Dec 2012. We received an email from QMH on 22nd Mar 2013 saying that the payment has not been made. We checked with Barclays and they've given the authorisation code for the transaction. Even after sending my bank statment to prove that the money has been taken out and the authorisation code to support, QMH has been replying saying that the transaction has been cancelled. Since the insurance is an online company there are no customer support telephone number. The only way to communicate to them is via email. Any help to solve this issue is much appreciated. Thanks Subi

Hi I'm just getting a few quotes for my car insurance and they want proof of my protected no claims bonus. The company I might have my insurance with said they need a copy of the renewal letter from my previous insurer. I've just had my renewal notice today where it says 'protected no claims discount' - YES. Will this be good enough evidence? It might be a daft question but nobody has asked me this before. What is confusing me is that on the quote it also states: You have 9 years No Claims Bonus that has been earned on a UK Car Policy, in your own name, which expired within the last 2 years and is not in use on any other policy. Important - You must send your proof of No Claims Bonus to your local branch within 7 days. We'll give you this address on the confirmation page. I'm not sure why it says it has expired and not in use on any other policy when on my renewal letter it says I have 'protected no claims discount'.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/third-benefit-fit-162543735.html Yep 36% savings on ib to esa. Wonder if that is a general figure before appeals lol Love the way he puts it, ib was a failing benefit. Soooo ESA and erm Atos mix is wonderful. DONT THINK SO!