Hi. I have a 2.5 yr old mini cooper S, bought with 12k last year, now has done 29k. The clutch appears to have gone (yes at 29k of motorway miles) and they (Mini) are asking £563 to remove the gearbox to look at it, and if the clutch is faulty they will meet the costs of the £563 and the clutch. If it has gone through wear then i pick up £563 + the cost of a new clutch. Does the a 5-yr warranty count for nothing? Feels like the robbery. Help pls Thanks

Thanks for all your posts. The enforcement worked and I received all monies due (save for £1 - pathetic but I guess he'd been here before...). C Cheque banked. One happy customer. Thanks again. Case closed!

ok - ignored. Which method shall we choose to chase? Warrant of execution? Third party debt order? recommendations welcomed? is it worth a reminder e-mail to the chap?

ok - i wasn't expecting a final hurdle....dont the baliffs go marching in if he doesnt pay?

A special thank-you to all that helped me over the past few months (particularly jonni2bad). The conclusion.... Went to court today. Defendant did not show. Judge stated that that the 'no faults found' was an unfair clause on the consumer and as such found in my favour. He has 14 days to pay or the baliffs turn up. Bloody, bloody marvellous. Thank God. Thanks again. The end.

Fraudulently...so who knows....but what a coincidence.....

OK - Latest Update for you all! Sent letter by special delivery and got a response the next day. The response was littered with spelling mistakes, no grammar, basically an extension of the crap seen previously. Certainly no potential for a climb down. Court papers filed. Have now had his 'particulars of defence' (much more professional now so I'm guessing he has now got advice). He states: 1) The claimant visited the defendant... 2) The claimant was told that if wished to purchase the vehicle he would need to place a deposit to proceed with purchase. 3) The claimant later telephoned the defendant and placed a deposit on the vehicle. 4) The claimant was told that he would be required to place a deposit which would be returned subject to a test-drive and only if the vehicle was faulty. The claimant agreed and left a holding deposit over the telephone. There are another 8 points, but none as contentious as 4). He absolutely did not mention the 'only if the vehicle was faulty' and this forms the basis of my argument. Anyway, I now have an allocation questionnaire to fill in. Some help please... 1) What is a pre-action protocol? Have I done this? Dont think I needed to 2) Amount in dispute is increasing with interest on a daily basis - what amount do I put in here? What was in the original court notice? 3) In other information, how little or much should you attach? Every correspondence we have had? What information should be included to help the judge manage the claim? Any information gratefully received....hope this is all ultimately worthwhile... Oh and is it a coincidence that the creditcard used to deposit the £500 was violated to the tune of £1,600 2 days after the court summons arrived?

Too many words for the MCOL, so now onto N1 - are there any user guides for this on here? Where it states 'brief details of claim' - can I just say "see attached"? Thanks

zamzara - like your thoughts alot... here's hoping Mr Judge chap (or chapess) thinks the same way... let common sense prevail!

thanks jon - again much appreciated...your particulars stuff would be most helpful

no to yorkshire....further south. deposit on mastercard - although they're useless - see earlier part of thread. where is the small claims hearing? in the county of the problem or in my county?

it's an independent trader... interested in your situation nufsaid....was it exactly the same situation?

Ok - letter went out to trader stating facts. He received it yesterday recorded. Response received by return! Dreadfully written stating that I should take him to court and that he has legal representation! So here we go...small claims....any advice willingly received. Cheers

question - given he's not a nice piece of work, do I need to put my address at the top of the letter? His actions are either 1) pay me the money back 2) do nothing and meet me in court 3) reply by e-mail. would this be ok?

i did - but they tell me that the assumption (unless i have paperwork to the contrary) is that the deposit is non-refundable and that they cannot claw back the monies....Also they cant stop him charging me again as he has my details but they would then dispute this....Seems ridiculous... I feel so angry it's unbelievable, not least because he's hung up on me 3 times, and that "i'm threatening him with Trading Standards!"