Thanks. Lets hope the finance company show some compassion and don't just preach law. 3 year customer, never missed a payments or caused them any problems at all.

Thanks all. This is causing us a massive head ache at the moment and both the insurance company for our own car (Nissan) and finance company (Money barn) are closed leaving us with the stress of real uncertainty. All I know is the replacement value of the Nissan is not going to cover the debt and its not our fault.. If I crashes etc then fine, but it was caused by by another car spontaneously combustion in our drive after being stationary for 11 hours. We don't have £4k sitting around to pay off the negative equity should Money barn demand this and show no compassion to what we have been through. I have a large family and its totally mission critical that we have a 2nd car for the wife to use for school and general life etc. Just looked at the contract from Money barn and it does say that in the event of total loss we need to give them the insurance money and pay all outstanding sums... We are ..... to put it politely.. My ideal solution would be to get the payout money, purchase a new car as a cash buyer and continue to pay monthly payments for the remainder of the loan but that simple solution I not looking like being a reality.. God this is stressful.

cheers - proper stressing about this - not so much the BMW replacement as thats a company car but I need to know the best way to proceed with Money Barn. My hope is that any replacement market value will be paid to me for a get a new car and I will just continue the finance payment but history has taught me that things don't always go to plan.

Hey, This is going to be a long winded post so please bear with me whilst I try and put my issue into some form of logically forum post..here goes.. My 4-month-old BMW 420D caught fire on my drive in the early hours of yesterday morning through what appears to have been an electrical fault which started under the bonnet and quickly engulfed the car, melting the engine, melding the front of my wife's park which was parked in front of it (nose to nose) and even damaged the side of the neighbor’s car which was parked approx. 3 meters away. Now I say that this was an electrical fire based on the opinion of the fire investigator who came out to inspect. There were no signs of "foul play" and no accelerants were used. The evidence under the bonnet shows where the fire started so they are satisfied that it was a manufacturing defect. The BMW was a lease car from Arval and had company insurance from RSA, my boss has been made aware of what happened and told me to pass the insurance details to the neighbor’s as well as my own insurance company who cover my wife’s car (One Call) . It looks like 3 claims will be going in against RSA as the BMW was responsible for the damage on the 3 cars. I have uploaded some photos of the damage and have yet not really done anything with these pictures - the link for the images are here . https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWFireRescure11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWAfterFireBrigade.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/TowedBMW11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BothCars11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/NissanDamage11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWEngine11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWSide11.08.2017.jpg So that's the background of my issue. Now here comes the questions. 1) All the signs and the experts say that this was an electrical fire leading me to believe that there should be some involvement from the manufacturer - can or should I approach them for help and do they have a responsibility? 2) My wife's car is a Nissan that is on HP - we used a 3rd party finance company (Money Barn) to lend us the money to buy the vehicle from a Nissan dealership. As far as the dealership was concerned we were cash buyers and repay monthly repayment to Money Barn as part of a 60-month agreement. When we spoke to the insurance company on the Nissan they advised the car was worth £9750, however, the outstanding finance on the Nissan is approx £15000 leaving us with some rather nasty negative equity. What can we do about this in the event of the Nissan being wrote off ? Do I just accept the insurance write off, use the payout money to purchase a new car as cash and continue to repay the same monthly payments essentially not telling Money Barn what has happened or will the insurance go to them, we have the replay the negative equity still and end up car less but still making payments (as situation I really do need to avoid like the plague)? 3) The BMW catching fire issue is actually more common than I assumed, a quick Google search showed pages of hits with BMW's catching fire whilst parked leading me to believe that this is a known issue that BMW are / having been keen quiet on. Should I challenge this with BMW or do anything about this issue at this stage? Fully appreciate that anything mass produced will have an acceptable failure rate but this is my life and the lives of my family that was in immediate danger here. We were woken at 4am yesterday to the sound of the fire brigade on the verge of kicking in my front door to wake us all up as they thought the cars were going to explode. Metal and plastic can be replaced but my family can’t so I do very particularly bitter about what has happened. Right now, I am left without a car, the BMW was collected yesterday by a company called Copart on behalf of the business insurance, my wife’s car is being collected today on behalf of our own car insurance and the neighbor is sorting their car out themselves with their dealership. What are my options? Sorry to ramble on as there will no doubt be spelling mistakes within this post, I have tried to make it as factual as possible but I am sure some emotion will have been added. Cheers

Hi, I am having a problem with a car purchased from ACF Car Finance on 28/12/11. have been number of issues recently which have caused 4 trips to various garages to put things right, these include a broken water pump, engine leaking coolant, misfiring cylinder and most recently a failed clutch. Each time I have asked the garage if the car appears to be as well looked after as the service book states and the answer is always the same...a big fat no.. I have long suspected there the entries in the service book were made up as the 2nd and 3rd service appear to have been written by the same person, with the same pen and none of the fields showing what has been checked or changed have been completed. This issue was raised with ACF recently when I called and said that I felt that the car would not last another 4 years (duration of outstanding finance) as well as my thoughts on the service book. Their response was that it was nothing to do with them and they carry out no background checks on the vehicles they acquire which I find a little strange. I have involved Vauxhall who manufacture my car, they have been emailed a photo of the service book back within 12 hours to say that the entries were bogus, which backs me up and say that no service was carried out at the time stated prior to my purchase of the car. Even though the service book of my "full service history car" is stamped with a Vauxhall stamp it was not serviced... Vauxhall confirmed that they would always have a service of the service if it was done at a vauxhall dealership and they are the ones who would have stamped my book.. So here I am... is there anything that I can do as I feel that my car is rapidly going down hill and will no long the next 2 years let alone the 4 years left on the finance agreement. My perception is that someone has forged this service history and I dont know what to do about it. Help

Hi guys, perhaps I could get some help here with dealing with Bristow & Sudor ref my council tax. We have had a letter from them saying that they have been ordered to commence recover action for my council tax, this is after we have been paying £120 per month for the council tax directly to them via their website payments screen. B&S are saying that we have 14 days to pay the full balance before they start proceeding which we are unable to do. What is the best / correct way of dealing with them in regards to setting up a payment plan that does not financially cripple us yet stops any nasty door stop visits ? Hope someone can help. Thanks Scott

Hi, I have just had my car's MOT and a problem has been flagged up by the technician where my engine has a intermittent revving problem where idle, as this is intermittent its very difficult to plan when its going to happen however this has always been on the car and its not now after owning it for 2 years that its been flagged up as being a fault. The car is showing no faults as far as the codes are concerned and everything else is running as it should do. Is there any help that I can get from the finance company to help with repair etc or the fault as it was there when I purchased it. Not sure what I am asking for really. I guess the question I want to know the answer too is does the dealer & finance company have any responsibility as the car still has 4 years left to run on the finance? Thanks Scott

Hey guys, I have an ongoing problem with O2 where the data speed within approx 3 miles of my home post code has all but stopped, everything was running fine for about 5 months until 6 weeks ago when the problems started rearing their ugly little head. Number calls and complaint emails to O2 have solved nothing and left me very frustrated, the last communication I had with them went along the line of "there is nothing that we can do and we wont give you a dead lock letter as we have 8 weeks to investigate the problem even though we don't think there s a problem" What can I do? I emailed their complaints address 5 days ago and asked that my account be marked as in "dispute" and that I will not be making any more bill payments until the problem is resolved. They have not acknowledged my email or replied back . Not impressed with them at all. Their whole attitude is very bullish... Thanks Scott

no court order and living in Englland. they are approx 5 years old

Hey, I have just come home from work and found a hand delivered note from Scotcall to say that they have just tried contacting me again about some money I apparently know on a couple of old mobile phone accounts.. There is a phone number and a polite but firm note telling me to call them urgently or else (paraphrased the letter) Is this allowed ? the note suggests that they will be back later... I dont know a great deal about the law however am I in my rights to tell them to go away etc? Any suggestions on how to handle them? Thanks

H this may have been asked before however I have had a letter from Virgin Mobile to say that the monthly cost of my fixed tariff is increasing due to the RPI along with the excess on my insurance increasing from £50 to £80 for any successful claim. I know there is not a massive increase in money however it's there anything that can be done as i feel this is a little harsh bearing in mind my tariff is supposed to be fixed.

Hello, Can I get some advise here please? Basically there is an ongoing network problem within the area where the data network runs unhealthy slow or doesn't actually function at all. After fighting with Orange for 3 months and then with VirginMobile for the last 2,they have finally admitted that there is a network fault with some dead cells in my area which have no resolution time for a fix. As this has resulted in me being unable to use my phone as it was meant to, Virgin have ended my contact as they have failed to provide a service. My question is that the wife is having the same problems with T-mobile, would she be able to terminate also under the same grounds. She upgraded 2 months ago and her service has got progressively worse. Cheers

Hey, I was originally with Virgin Media on their mobile service for 4 months before porting out to three as I had a handset which supported their "ultrafast" service. After being with three for 1 week I realised how terrible the network was and ported back over to Virgin Media but on a new contracted deal with their premier plan. After using the phone and service for a week my account was suddenly cut off. After calling 789 from my work phone and being on hold for 30 minutes I managed to speak to someone in the offshore team who told me that my phone was disconnected as it ported out. I tried to explain how I had ported back in a week ago and had been using the service successfully for that time however the adviser was having none of it and said that I couldn't have been. What do I do now ? the online account shows my number as being active and a direct debit for line rental has gone out however the number is dead, I cant make or accept any calls and currently don't have any working service with VM. I am at the start of a 2 year contract and my number has been dead for 10 days now, there has been no offer of support or solution from VM so what now? Anyone got any advise? Cheers

its just really annoying as no matter what you say then will not back down and accept that perhaps you as a customer are in the right. Sorry to go on about it DX - just worried that they are somehow going to screw up my credit file now that I have rejected their terrible products and its exactly 1 week tomorrow since the order was placed.

Three has issued my first bill and now say I am liable for paying it whilst my requests to cancel are being argued? What are they playing at?

LOL. Thanks DX I have just emailed David Drysons office a copy of the DSR letter obtained from the OFT website for cancelling a service so hopefully this will be actioned. a hard copy will be posted to Glasgow tomorrow as well. Three as a funny company to deal with and see to have a very "bullish" approach..

Hello all, Thanks for the input - I have written an email to their CEO and had a a reply staying that they will contact me within the next 7 days. My questions is - what do I do with regards to the 7 days under the DSR as this could have lapsed by the time the Three CEO replies leaving me high and dry ? shall I just return the SIM back with a covering letter or complaint to the OFT? Thanks Scott

What shall I do if they are just not listening to me or indeed care?

Hey, I ordered a new three sim only deal 3 days ago and it arrived on Saturday morning, the deal included unlimited "ultra-fast" internet, 5000 text messages and the same amount of minutes -great I though however once I opened the sim card and tried the "ultra-fast" internet in my handset it became apparent that the service was in fact slower than my existing Virgin service. Thinking this defeated the object in buying it, I decided to call 333 and exercise my rights to return the sim and cancel the account however this was not as easy as I though - basically because I had opened the sim card and tried it out in the handset I have waivers my right to cancel the sim and therefore has to give 30 days notice to disconnect. I tried arguing this with the advisor and then the manager however they were having none of it and insisted that the three policy superseded any law associated with buying from the internet and service agreements. I know that the distance sales act should cover me as I didn't expressly request that the sim be connected the moment its shipped out therefore not wavering my rights under the DSR however Three genuinely don't care and seem to think that I am stuck with the sim. is this allowed and what can I do?

the wifes sim works fine in her phone and it mine

tried that - the service behaves the same with the wife's phone using my sim , my data service is the same when my sim is in her phone. I have told Orange this but they just wont listen....

Hi I have even has a new SIM card and that has not made any difference - I feel that I have eliminated the phone & sim leaving the network as the only other thing God it's doing my head in..

Hi Caggers, This is more of a cry for help than anything else as I really do feel that Orange have become a complete joke and have completely abandoned any notion of customer care... My handset has been experiencing extremely slow data network speeds for two months now and so far Orange have failed to resolve the problem - I would argue that they have not really been that bothered to be honest but that's just my opinion based on the service received so far. the data speeds when using the 3G or HSDPA network varies from 0.01MB to 0.05MB constantly. The data speed is the same using my own handset (this Orange replaced under their care system) as well as my own iPhone 5 and my sons Samsung Ace.. ..All three handsets experience the same data speed problem and have had the same speed test app installed to actually monitor the data speed. My display now shows EE however it was originally connected to Orange 8 months ago. The wife was on T-Mobile however she has been migrated over to the EE network a nd when she tried to run a speed test on 3 different phones the test app shows that her data speeds are constantly around 6 - 7 MB which is just a massive difference to mine and is actually usable. Orange have initially tried to blame the handsets, then the SIM card and in fact they have tried to blame everything other than the network. My number was originally ported from O2 and I am convinced that the fault lies in the way my number is being routed however they will not investigate that. I have asked to be put through to a team leader in line with their complaints policy and been refused twice due to them being "busy", on another occasion I was transferred - placed on hold for 20 minute and then cut off.. .My next port of call was to email their customer service email address again in line with their complaints policy to which an automatic reply comes back telling me that they are upgrading their email policy and my email will not be responded too. Finally I even tried emailing both Olaf Swantee and the Executive Office with details of my issues, history etc. however its now been 4 days and so far I have not even received any form of acknowledgement. Obviously we live in a world dominated by social networking so I have tried repeated to contact Orange via twitter and again my tweets go unanswered.... Today was really the icing on the cake and something that has just got my seriously wound up that I am actually trembling as I type this. Just put on one final call to the faults team and after being on hold for 30 minutes my call was finally taken by someone in their faults department. I explained my issues and said that I felt that there was a breach of contract on Oranges half for failing to provide a service - the advisor then said that "I hear people beat on about that all the time and good luck to you if you try and cancel then Orange will just send a dept. collector to knock of my door" I felt that this was very confrontational and hardly an advert for their excellent customer service as that statement would imply that complaints are not a one off - I explained what I have done to try and eliminate the handset as being faulty and the advisor starts to talk down to me practically accusing me of not knowing what I was talking about..... Its at this point that I will admit that I was in the wrong as I did erupt and advised him not to talk to me like a piece of "crap" to which he said that I was given my first warning for swearing. I then said that I wanted to be put though to retentions and be refused, told me to redial - have a nice day, nice life and put the phone down...... Sorry that this post has gone on but I just wanted to type as much as possible with the view of giving the complete picture away.... So that's there I am now - being honest I feel like I couldn't care less what Orange now to do my credit file and feel like telling them swing for the direct debit.... what else can I do ? I have followed all procedures and gotten nothing.... HELP! Please!

I emailed Oranges CEO Olaf Swantee and he has so far ignored my email and so have the executive office - so angry with Orange right now its just a joke.....

Hi, we have tried swapping Sims and the problem seems to follow my SIM card not handset. I find it a little odd that a faulty sim would just cause slow data problems and am convinced that the problem lies with my number (it was porting in originally from O2). The annoying thing is that I have so far reported the problem to Orange 6 times, been promised repeated call backs and nothing has ever been resolved. Getting sick of their terrible customer care and the fact that nothing seems to happen fast with them. What can I do other than getting a PAC code and telling them to "Do One" for the money on the remaining part of the contract. I have tried escalating this to one of their supervisors however that has again solved nothing - partially down to being cut off when I was apparently going to be transferred to someone. even emailed their customer care details again in line with their own complaints code of conduct however the autoreply I got told me to customer 150 as their email service is down..... help!! please