I bought my car through Peugeot Finance in 2004 and it's highly likely I had PPI. I don't have any documentation such as credit agreement and don't even know the date I purchased the vehicle or when i finished paying, although I know I did so early. I've contacted the dealer wher I bought the car from and they had me on record but once I mentioned PPI said they couldn't find whether I'd had PPI. How do i go about finding out without any dates policy number etc etc. all I have is the fact that I bough the car in 2004 from a specific dealer and the finance company's name.

Yes, got one Friday. Proprietor basically said it was my responsibility to maintain the car! Said he had given me a 3 month warranty (which is a lie) and had it inspected before I took delivery and although no faults showed up, I should have got it inspected too. Funny that the MOT had advisorys on it and they weren't picked up by his inspector?? From what Trading Standards told me, I have to prove the faults are not from wear & tear since date of manufacture. Considering that the van is 9 years old, I would think such things as braking system, steering, suspension would all shown signs of wear, don't you? It appears that these traders can sell you a death trap and you don't have a leg to stand on.

Traded in my trusty fiesta car (worth around £700) & stumped up £1,175 cash for a van I need to transport my musical equipment. It had 10 months MOT (but no advisory note) and mileage was 78,000. 4 months down the line, after breaking down twice and having to replace minor parts, I decided to get it inspected by a reputable vehicle technician. The power steering has a bad leak as do the wheel cylinders and the following is in dire need of replacing to make the vehicle safe to drive: track rod, anti-roll bar, exhaust system, front tyre, rear wheel cylinders & brake shoes, suspension mounts. It also needs the diesel injection fuel pump replaced but I understand there is no advance warning to identify a problem with this component. The total cost for getting it back on the road in a safe condition is estimated at £1,500but could be as much as £2,000, depending on whether the steering pump and a wishbone need replacing. I have contacted the car sales proprietor and asked he either give me an alternative vehicle that is roadworthy, get the van repaired at a garage of his choice or pay towards costs of repair at the garage where it currently stands or reimburse me. He says he is not prepared to do any of these things and I don't have a leg to stand on because I've had the vehicle for more than 3 months! I have only used this van on a Friday & Saturday night, done less than 1,000 miles. The salesman guaranteed me that the van had been inspected prior to my collection and was in very good condition both mechanically and cosmetically. The technician who has inspected my vehicle is willing to confirm that deterioration of these components would have been evident at pre-inspection 4 months ago. I have since accessed the MOT advisory note and the brake system, corrosion & tyre are all noted on there. The other faults are all noted on the previous advice note of 2007! I have sent a recorded delivery letter to the car sales asking for what I mentioned above and have reported it to Trading Standards. Any idea of where I stand with this? I cannot afford to pay £2,000 to fix the van so it will have to be sold for spares/repair or scrapped which means I have lost a hell of a lot of money for 16 weeks worth of motoring in a death trap of a vehicle! How can these traders get away with selling vehicles they must know are a danger on the road? More importantly, how do they sleep at night?

I am in a similar boat and Consumer Direct told me the same as you. Unless you can prove it is not wear & tear (from date of manufacture) there is nothing you can do. So basically these dodgy cars sales can sell you a vehicle with a variety of faults that fall just 'within the the legal limit', not tell you and the very next day the car breaks down, a repair bill for thousands of punds and there is nothing you can do about it. Absolutely ludicrous!

Just to clarify....I know what Gap insurance is and how it works. I wanted to know if a px car allowance qualified as part payment but that has now been confirmed and I got it in writing. Quote aj84: 'For the sake of £300-£500 for a 3 year policy....' I hate to tell you this but you were well ripped off! Car salesmen get £100 + commision for selling it when you can purchase similar online for a quarter of the cost. I found this out after paying £199 for 3yrs when I bought a brand new 206cc. This time I got quotes off several companies & played them off in a price bid. I eventually got 3 yrs (£5,000 max payout) for £74! Even £10,000 max payout was only £97.

I thought if you were fully comprehensive insurance and had write off they just paid out the shortfall between invoice & insurance pay out. I will enquire if it still covers me if my partner (who is also on my insurance as a named driver) is driving. What clauses could affect me? I am considering going with AXA. Suggestions would be appreciated.

I purchased a full size, double fish outdoor t.t. table that was in the Argos sale but the one that arrived was a three-quarter size, totally different brand and for indoor use only! (I only noticed this due to small print on the instruction sheet that stated this table should not be used outdoors). Argos claim that there was a misprint & have since changed description on their website. However, it remains the same in the catalogue. Argos claim they can send out alternatives if the original item ordered is not in stock. I argued that they should inform customers & any alternative should be of the same specifications as the original item ordered. After much wrangling, a call to consumer direct & a promise to contact the media unless I got a satisfactory outcome, I was initially offered £30 off the table & told it would be ok to use it inside or outside. A ridiculous offer, considering I haven't got any room in my house & an indoor table would rot very quickly if left outside. Argos could not guarantee the double fish would ever come back into stock and next offered me a discount on a more expensive Butterfly outdoor table. It meant paying an extra £100 but rather than my partner go without their Xmas present, I was prepared to pay out, so accepted. After cancelling the first order & raising the new one, I was then told the Butterfly table was currently out of stock but would be available sometime in Jan 2009. In other words, a 35 day delivery wait & not in time for Xmas! They could've told me before going through the rigmarole of changing my order and preventing more disappointment! However, I had promised a t.t. table. It meant I would have to pay out for another present for my partner & wrap up an IOU. To my surprise, Argos called me 10 mins later to say they could collect the original item & deliver the Butterfly table on 23rd Dec so I arranged for a delivery between 12:00 midday - 6pm and was over the moon! The saga didn't end there! On the 23rd Dec, I received 3 phone calls from the delivery driver saying he was early & in my area. Each time I explained that I was at work & couldn't possibly get home any earlier. I arrived at my house at midday & signed for the return of one table & delivery of the other but when I opened one end of the packaging to check I had received the correct item this time, I found the table was damaged; one corner was completely smashed! So, I had one day to find a present for my partner to open on Xmas day & it resulted in me paying out far more than I intended & still no table! I don't want a refund because I cannot get a table for a similar price. What else can I do but wait? I had a similar experience with Argos a while ago when I purchased some furniture which arrived damged each time. It took a whole year before I eventually got it and all but one item was faulty or substandard! Although I got a bit of reduction in price, I would have preferred decent quality goods and could have done without the stress of it all. I should have learned my lesson then but one things for sure I will never have Argos home delivery items ever again!

I am just about to get £5,399 as part exchange allowance for my old car towards a newer vehicle that costs £6,999 from a main dealership. I will pay the outstanding balance in cash. I can buy invoice Gap (£5,000 max pay out) much cheaper online but would like to know that in the event of my new car being stolen or written off etc, would I receive the shortfall between what my insurers offer and the cost of the car (£6,999). In other words, do these Gap selling companies acknowledge part exchange allowance as part payment?