Second-Hand Cars Don't Get Done Get Dom

I'm Dominic Littlewood and I'm here to champion your consumer rights.

I don't mind who I speak to, I just want to try and resolve it.

Any problem, no matter how big or small,

I will help you get the service you deserve.

That would worry me, about the quality of his work.

Whether it involves getting your money back...

My heart just sank because I thought, where am I going to find this extra money?

..or taking on your contract conundrums.

They stated it was not down to them, that it was down to another company.

I'm here to help.

Today I hear from two families who have first-hand experience

of just how precarious the second-hand car market can be.

On the sale certificate,

it states "the above-mentioned vehicle is not fit for purpose."

If I ever tried to turn on the engine and move, it would basically be a mini bomb.

We show you how not to sell on your second-hand phone.

From the moment I sent my phone off to them,

it took 2.5 months for me to get my money.

Crucial advice from the experts on how to know what you're really shelling out on.

Buying a second hand car is risky

because you can't see inside an engine.

I'm taking on your consumer problems to make sure you don't get done.

The used car market is a massive industry in the UK.

In 2012, there were over seven million of them sold.

But you need to be careful

because you don't always get what you're bargaining for.

If my inbox is anything to go by, there are a lot of you out there

who end up having issues with used vehicles.

One couple who have written to me on this exact subject is Danielle and Clive from Essex.

They bought a second-hand car in April 2013.

We needed a bigger family car so it could transport us,

our two children and our two dogs.

Clive needed the car for work and we just needed a really good, reliable car.

But most importantly, a used car with an affordable price tag

as the couple already had a little run-around they planned on keeping.

We found a Mazda 6 on the Auto Trader.

It had low mileage, it was a high spec

and it was the perfect size for our family.

The car was advertised by a company called Blue Gate Cars Limited

and after an initial phone call to the company's salesman,

the couple headed to the car lot in East London.

Blue Gate Cars looked very professional.

Danny was the salesman there. He was really friendly and very helpful.

He showed us everything we wanted to see.

He answered all of our questions very well.

My husband test drove the car and it was all good.

We were generally really pleased with what we saw.

The 2005 Mazda had 67,000 miles on the clock

and roughly three months MOT left on it.

It looked like the perfect motor for the family.

Excited, they made the decision to buy it

and paid £2,300 using their credit card.

This included a six month warranty.

The following day...

We went to collect the car. Danny came out and met us.

He gave us all the past MOTs, the logbook,

the manual for the car and off we went with the car.

As we were driving home, I was following my husband in the car

and I noticed there was a lot of black smoke

coming out of the exhaust.

When we got home, I called Blue Gate Cars and spoke to Danny.

He said it was because the car had been idle, sat on the forecourt

and it was quite usual for that to happen.

The couple accepted Danny's explanation

and were initially chuffed with a new acquisition.

As you can see, the car looks in perfect condition.

The engine is clean, the bodywork is clean.

It's very well polished.

When you get to the inside, it is valeted perfectly.

But looks can be deceiving.

Three weeks later, the car started acting up.

It would stall only to then restart, and the engine management light appeared on the dashboard

only to vanish again. Not very reassuring.

Clive put more oil in the car

and made sure that everything was as it should be.

He then drove the car to a local pub.

At that point he couldn't get the car to start at all.

We left the car there overnight and the next day,

we called the RAC out who attended the car.

They said it was misfiring.

They changed one of the spark plugs on the car and at that point,

the car seemed OK, once again.

The couple called Blue Gate Cars to discuss the issues they were having

and to find out whether any of these problems were covered in their warranty.

But despite repeated phone calls,

they were not getting the answers they wanted.

It felt like they were being fobbed off by the salesman, Danny.

He tried to say, "There's nothing wrong with the car."

At this point, he had started to not answer the phone very much to us.

We were both trying. I then resorted to e-mailing him about the car.

But the e-mails were never responded to, and the car continued to act up,

leaving the family back down to their one car.

It caused an inconvenience to me and my wife.

It's the not knowing whether you'll get to a place you're going to.

We bought it for the reliability and we're not sure of that any more.

With its MOT looming, the couple decided to take the car into a main Mazda garage

for a full-service.

But they were in for a shock.

It had engine management failure, catalytic converter failure.

There was no engine under tray. There was a misfire on cylinder two.

The lumber centre failed its MOT on emissions

and the rear brake pads were not as they should be.

There were bindings on the front brakes

and the rear break discs were rusty.

When I got this list, I was absolutely devastated.

-I was really upset, really shocked.

-I am not surprised,

as Mazda had also told them the car was not fit for purpose

or roadworthy in its present condition.

Once again, Danielle got on the phone.

The first time I tried to reject the car was over the phone.

I spoke to Danny and he said I couldn't reject the car

because we had had the car and we had driven the car.

I then sent a letter and an e-mail.

The e-mail had no response at all and the registered letter,

they refused to sign for the letter.

With their rejection being refused,

the couple kept up their chase with Blue Gate Cars and eventually

Danny the salesman agreed to the work needed on the Mazda.

But over a week and half passed and still no work was done on the car.

Danny told the couple his workshop was too busy.

He said we could pay to have the car fixed ourselves and bill them.

But that was about the best gesture he could offer at that point,

which we were obviously not willing to do

after he had messed us around so much.

Things continued to go downhill when Danny broke some news to Danielle.

He stated the car had not been bought through Blue Gate Cars

but through a company called Diamond Tyres and Car Repairs Limited,

meaning Blue Gate Cars had no legal responsibility towards it.

But that wasn't all. He stated the car had been sold to them as scrap.

This is a copy of the receipt from Diamond Tyres and Cars.

On the sale certificate, it states "the above-mentioned vehicle is not fit for purpose.

"The customer accepts responsibility to put it in a roadworthy condition.

"The car is sold with defects, faults, repairs and lights on dashboard."

That is not the car that I purchased.

As on the original advert, and according to Danielle at the point of sale,

there was no mention of it not being fit for purpose or scrap.

Blue Gate Cars was now ignoring all of the couple's complaints

and Danielle desperately needed their second car.

Reluctantly, they paid over £500 to a local garage to fix their car

and get it to the point of being roadworthy.

I thought Dom might be able to get across to Blue Gate Cars,

how much they are affecting people's lives and thought that maybe

he could help us pursue this and get our money back.

Danielle and Clive's story sounds like a nightmare from start to finish.

Blue Gate Cars have a very strange way of doing business.

Firstly, they sell a car under one company name.

When you get your receipt, it's got a completely different one on it.

Also, they describe the car in a way that completely contradicts the paperwork they give you.

I think it's time I looked into this company.

When it comes to the buying and selling of used vehicles,

car dealers have a massive 74% share of the market.

This generates over £28 billion worth of sales annually.

Blue Gate Cars are one of these dealers.

I have been doing a little bit of research into them.

They're based in East London. One guess who is right next door to them?

Sadly, there are no prizes for right answers.

It is Diamond Tyres and Car Repairs Limited.

That's who Danielle's contract was with

and they're going to be my first port of call.

There are tens of thousands of used cars for sale at any one time in the UK

and if you pick a good one,

you should end up with years of trouble-free motoring.

But if you're no mechanic, how do you know

if you're buying a peach or a lemon?

To help us gain fruit from the tree of mechanical knowledge,

we have William, a mechanics instructor at West Thames College.

Buying a second car is risky because you can't see inside an engine.

You can't see inside the gearbox.

If you're buying a car sold as seen,

once you have taken the car down the road, there is no warranty.

OK, so, before you buy, there are certain checks that we consumers can do

to make sure what we're breaking the bank for doesn't break down.

When you're buying a second-hand car,

there's a few things you should look for in the body.

If we have a look at this Corsa, the door gap here is different

from the top to the bottom, so it is obvious there has been an accident at the front

and it has pushed the body in.

What we can look for in the boot of the vehicle is the crumble zone

where it has had a rear end accident and smash.

They've repaired the bumper and it all looks nice on the outside but

when you open the bonnet and lift up the carpet here it's all crumbled.

Folded in.

If you're looking at a wheel it may look pretty with a nice

hubcap on there but when it's removed there's dents and things

so it's been driven up and down curves or abused.

Leaking oil,

if we look at the car over here there's a little puddle underneath.

You can see that it's a little telltale sign

that there's leaks on the vehicle.

All these checks are easy enough for anyone to do

and there are yet more ways in which you can buy with added confidence.

Have a good look, take your time.

Start her, warm the engine up to see if there's any

smoke coming out the back,

the temperature gauge is working. Little things.

Take it for a test drive.

Obviously, if the chap says you can't take it for a test drive

and you can't do some of the things you want to do, walk away.

OK, you've test driven the car, it all seems OK.

Plus it seems to have months left on the MOT.

But that isn't always a sign that everything is fine.

The MOT covers suspension, brakes and things.

When you're buying a motor vehicle

and the MOT's only got nine months or eight months left on the vehicle,

where has it been in that three or four months?

Check the mileage. Has it got a lot of mileage?

Is there any damage been done since then?

The MOT doesn't mean to say the condition of the car

is in good mechanical working order.

It's only a pass on that day.

So what can we do about getting a definitive answer on a car's

road worthiness?

My advice, get an independent mechanic or could you

ask for a new MOT? Some garages now do £30, £35 for an MOT.

It's not a lot to ask. Could you have an up to date, brand-new MOT?

If they refuse, say they're not going to, there may be a reason.

Even if you offer to pay for the MOT yourself.

All duly noted, William.

So, when buying a second-hand car, remember,

if you want that extra piece of mind ask for a new MOT.

Study the car's service history.

Make sure everything that should have happened to the car to

maintain its upkeep is all present and correct.

Take a checklist with you of what to look over on any car.

Work your way through the list methodically checking every

part of the vehicle.

Remember those tips next time you want to buy a used motor

and hopefully, you won't get taken for a ride.

I've been called in to help Danielle

and Clive Deighton from Essex after their £2,300 second-hand car turned

out to be nothing like what they thought they were buying.

Since we've had it various things have gone wrong with it.

I put oil in about every two to three weeks, a litre of oil.

There's no sign of any leaking out of the bottom

so I assume it's burning the oil.

The couple paid out...

Just to get the car road worthy but have

since been told by Blue Gate Cars that it was sold to them

as scrap and from a different company called Diamond Tyres.

This means Blue Gate Cars is not legally responsible

for the car. I think it's time I started my own form of repairs.

I've done some checks and I've found out that Diamond Tyres

and Car Repairs Ltd is a registered company

and the director of that is called Khurum Khalid.

So, let's give Khurum Khalid a call.

-Hello.

-Hi, is that Khurum?

-Yes.

It's Dominic Littlewood calling from the BBC. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon to you too.

Khurum is happy for us to use his side of the conversation

so I bring him up to speed with the case.

The Deightons may have had all their discourse with salesman Danny

at Blue Gate Cars but their contract is with Khurum's company.

Confusing, eh? She has requested a refund.

We would like to try and sort that out and see

if we can initiate that refund and get that done for her.

-Give me the details, please.

-The lady's called Danielle Deighton.

Danielle Deighton, OK.

She bought a Mazda 6 from you on the 28th of April, 2013.

I've got the advert here from Auto Trader.

And it sounds lovely in the advert but as you've probably

realised she found out it had a lot of major problems afterwards.

Hopefully Khurum is going to review Danielle's case.

I'd like you to acknowledge the fact that this car does have major

-problems.

-I have to speak to my colleague.

-Then we take it from there.

-Smashing.

I'll look forward to speaking to you then.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, bye-bye.

OK, it's Friday, which it is.

We'll have an answer for you before Tuesday.

The important point was he is the director, he's taken the call.

I've confirmed his mobile

so I'm expecting on Tuesday they're probably going to take it back.

And all I'll say is if they don't, well,

watch out and see what happens.

Because I'll be reaching for the rule book

and speaking of rules I think it's time you found out just what

rights you had when buying a used vehicle.

Enter consumer rights expert Richard Headland.

When you're buying a second-hand car it really depends where you're

buying it from as to what rights you get under the law.

So, if you buy from a dealer, whether that's a franchise dealer or

an independent dealer you're covered by the Sale of Goods Act.

That means the car has to be as described, fit for purpose

and of satisfactory quality.

As I thought, the law is on Danielle and Clive's side,

as the couple were led to believe

they were buying a good condition family car.

But the subsequent report from Mazda stated that their car was not

fit for purpose and un-roadworthy.

If something goes wrong with the car in the first six months after

you buy it, the onus is on the seller to prove to you that there

was not something wrong with the car when you bought it.

And it only took three weeks before things started going wrong

with Danielle's Mazda.

And so far, Blue Gate Cars hasn't lifted a finger to help.

So, what about the original advert?

Some of it may be correct but not all of it,

and it definitely didn't mention it was not fit for purpose.

They have to make sure their description is accurate

and obviously things like mileage should be accurate.

Any kind of problems with the car.

All of that stuff should be in good order before they try to sell it.

And that certainly doesn't seem to be the case with Danielle's Mazda,

and Blue Gate have passed the buck to Diamond,

who, according to the paperwork, were selling it as scrap.

How confusing.

'Well, the weekend has been and gone and so has Monday and Tuesday

'and still no call back from Khurum Khalid,

'company director of Diamond Tyres.

'But I've managed to track him down.

'Only for him to tell us that Diamond Tyres

'and Car Repair Ltd has gone into liquidation.'

And that is who Danielle's contract is with.

This could potentially mean that anyone who is owed money

by this company cannot start or continue legal

'proceedings against them whilst in liquidation.

'Not good at all, if true.'

In answer to this news we've put together an e-mail to Khurum

and in it we've told him that Danielle and Clive have every right

to reject their car under Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

Because it wasn't fit for purpose or as described.

And in the original Auto Trader advert it wasn't

advertised as scrap.

And if he is adamant that car was sold under Diamond Tyre Car

Repairs Ltd, not Blue Gate, there's also false advertising going on.

And I've also checked with Companies House and they tell me

that Diamond Tyres and Car Repairs Ltd is not in liquidation.

It's still very much active.

Let's see what he's got to say about that, shall we?

Sent.

Danielle and Clive have tried to reject the car right from the

start of this saga believing it was not fit for purpose.

But despite having shelled out over £500 to get it road-worthy

and through its MOT, it's still not right.

We are on our way down to a garage to get a final

opinion on what's wrong with the car,

how much it's going to cost to fix and where to go from here.

I also want the couple to try and work out

whether the problems with the car could have been

present at the point of sale or whether it's something they've done.

Enter mechanic Robert Milligan.

Is the car misfiring, playing around at the moment?

At the moment there's a lot of black smoke coming out of the car.

And it's generally not working very well.

OK, let's run it in and have a look.

As a starting point of investigation Robert hooks the Mazda up to

a diagnostic machine.

The car itself, most of the work you've had done,

I can't fault anything on it today.

Very hard for me to actually make a judgment call

on what the vehicle was like when you bought it.

Fair enough, but despite all said, the car is still not 100% right.

-Robert digs a little deeper.

-I'm just taking out the coil packs.

Have a look at the spark plugs

to see if I can see what cylinder is causing the oil.

Definitely burning oil in cylinder two.

If you look at that spark plug it's all crystallised up.

That's the burning oil in the cylinder that's doing it.

That's how a spark plug should look.

As you had these changed eight months ago,

that's how they should all look.

What the actual problem is I couldn't tell you.

All I can tell you is it's burning oil in cylinder two.

Could be a sticky piston ring. Could be a worn bore.

So how does damage like this come about?

If the car has been run low on oil over its life.

To diagnose that problem of where your oil's burning I'm going to

have to remove the cylinder head.

And have a look inside the bore.

You're into at least £1,200-1,500 to diagnose the actual fault.

To put the engine back together again so you could drive it.

What's the worst case scenario?

All said and done you're talking about a new engine.

And how much would a new engine cost?

Off the top of my head about 5,000-5,500.

So it's not worth it for the amount we paid for the car.

5,500?

-Wow!

-Ouch.

Not good news and it's more than double what they paid for the car.

But these types of problems don't just appear overnight.

If this car had been run low on oil before our couple bought it,

it could explain why from day one of owning it,

it always had a smoky exhaust and been using excessive oil.

We've decided we don't want the car.

It can't fulfil our uses and we want to give the car back

and get our money back.

And they're not the only ones I've heard from

who have had an unhappy experience with Blue Gate cars.

Meet Stephanie Baynes from east London.

In May 2013, she also bought a car from them.

Stephanie looked at cars on both the Blue Gate

and Diamond Tyres forecourts.

After a lot of um-ing and ah-ing,

she thought one vehicle in particular stood out.

It was Kia Sorento, 4x4 estate,

so I said to Danny, "I really like this car, I really want this car."

Hold on a second!

Danny the salesman?

The very same man the Deightons bought their car from?

Stephanie agreed to buy the Kia at £3,650 from Blue Gate Cars,

but just like Danielle...

It said on the paperwork, "This car is not fit for any purpose."

Well, I asked him, "Does this apply to me?

"This makes no sense." He said, "No, there's nothing wrong."

I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yeah."

I put the date and everything, finished signing,

then he stamped Diamond Tyres & Car Repair on the receipt.

Stephanie thought this strange, but accepted it at the time,

as Danny appeared to work for both companies.

The similarities to Danielle's case didn't end there.

Just under three weeks later, the car smelled of diesel.

Water was escaping from somewhere

and black smoke was coming from the exhaust.

Blue Gate cars tried to tell her it was normal for a 2003 car

to do this and some injector cleaner would help.

Unsatisfied with the response,

Stephanie paid £90 to a Kia garage to inspect the Sorento.

Kia said there was an internal problem with the engine

and advised from the technician not to be driven too far.

What followed was weeks of chasing Blue Gate Cars

to fix the Kia's issues and, most importantly, the injectors.

Danny reluctantly took the car in for 11 days

and did the work Kia recommended.

But even after this, the car's condition continued to go downhill

and, finally, it broke down in a very dangerous manner.

The clutch wouldn't raise up at all.

The key was stuck in the engine, it wouldn't turn off,

it was just smoking up the whole road

and that could have caused a serious, serious accident on the road.

Stephanie called a tow truck, who took her to a local garage.

Their report was worse than Kia's.

As he turned on the car, he said that the engine's gone.

It's completely gone.

And unfortunately for Stephanie, she also discovered that the work

Blue Gate had said they'd done hadn't been done.

He was meant to sort the engine out, the water hose, everything,

and he didn't do anything.

The same problems that it went in with, it came back out with,

so he didn't touch it at all.

I took it to a few mechanics and most of them said to me

if I ever try to turn on the engine and move,

it'll basically be a mini bomb.

At this stage, the car was left parked on a friend's driveway

with Blue Gate refusing to take it back.

Stephanie was frustrated, to say the least,

having got nowhere with Danny from Blue Gate Cars.

I played by his rules for such a long time.

Now it was time for him to play by my rules.

Stephanie decided the only route left to her

was to take Diamond Tyres & Car Repairs Ltd to court

to get her money back,

as this was who her contract was with.

I had to fill in the form, send off all my evidence,

photos, whatever I had, which I've sent back to the courts

and it took a while before I got a hearing date.

And once she had got it, it was full steam ahead.

And on the allotted day, Diamond Tyres failed to defend themselves.

The judge awarded me

money back for the car instantly

and then for the loss of the insurance, loss of the towing.

The judge had awarded in Stephanie's favour, but had given Diamond Tyres

one last chance to pay before a final hearing.

But the good news didn't last long.

Stephanie heard that Diamond Tyres were going into liquidation.

Stephanie sprang into action.

I did research into it -

can a company actually close down whilst they're going through

a proceeding and they've actually contested against it?

It said, "If a company wants to close down,

"they must not owe any creditors,

"they must not be going through any legal proceeding,"

so in order for me to stop that,

what I had to do was write in to Companies House

with all my evidence stating that he is going through a legal procedure,

legal battle with me, so he cannot close a company down.

It's now a waiting game to find out

whether Diamond Tyres will do the right thing.

Her approach to Companies House has got me thinking

about what laws are in place to protect consumers

who have issues with a limited company who liquidate

and leave people out of pocket.

To find out more,

I've come to meet Nick Howard from the Insolvency Service.

Nick, I believe there's a lot of naivety out there as far as

people's perception of Companies House and the Insolvency Service.

Can you tell me what the difference is?

Yeah, Companies House is broadly there

to record what happens during a company's life,

so it's there at the birth of the company and it's there at the death.

We come in at the end of a company's life

and we're a rather more proactive organisation

that investigates conduct of directors,

so if a company becomes insolvent, that's when we come on the scene

and we're there to look at what's happened

and the cause as to why that insolvency has occurred.

We have powers to take disqualification orders

out against directors,

so if we think they're not fit people to be running limited companies

then we go to the court and we say,

"We've got this evidence which shows that they're not fit people,"

and the court can then make a disqualification order.

But the worse-case scenario can often be

before the Insolvency Service even get involved.

A director may think, "I'm going to be made insolvent soon,

"so what I'll do is I'll move all the assets out of this company

"into a different company

"and prevent the liquidator getting their hands on them."

Is that a criminal offence? Is that something you can act upon?

It could be, it could be.

A criminal offence,

obviously a very high standard of evidence is required to prove,

but it would certainly be action we could take on a civil basis

to recover those assets and make sure they end up in the right place,

so the creditors of that company get the benefit of the assets

that should be in that company.

Great, so there is protection out there,

and if I can't get a result dealing with Khurum Khalid,

Danielle and Clive will potentially have to take him to court.

With this in mind, I passed on the news that Diamond

are yet again threatening to liquidate.

So I have contacted Companies House

in order to stop them shutting the company down.

Companies House replied back the next day with this response.

"Dear Danielle, thank you for e-mail.

"Should you go ahead and decide to send an objection,

"we would be grateful if you would confirm in your reply

"whether you would be agreeable for your identity as the objector

"to be disclosed should an enquiry be received."

Danielle doesn't mind in the slightest and immediately responds,

sending all of her paperwork through to them.

I feel that I'm on a positive note, now there is a way forward,

and I'm maybe able to stop them closing down

and hopefully get some justice.

Oh, that's my favourite word, Danielle.

But let's hope I can sort this out with Diamond

before you have to go through yet another battle.

Thanks to the internet,

selling our second-hand items has never been easier.

You take a picture, write a brief description

and upload the information to one of any number of websites.

But if you don't want the hard work,

there are companies out there who would do it for you.

You sell them your items in return for a cash lump sum.

But is it really as easy as all that?

Well, not according to student Elizabeth Berry,

who lives in Birmingham with her young son.

She used one of these companies

when it came to getting rid of an unwanted smartphone.

The phone I was selling was a white iPhone 4, 16GB.

It was in perfect condition,

it had a case on it from the moment I got it and a screen cover.

I went on the price comparison site, putting my phone's details

and it came up with a list of phone companies

who would give me money for it.

There was quite a broad range of values to choose from,

with the lowest one being about £60.

The top one was Cash4phones with, I think it was about £132.

That was the best one, really.

Not only was it the top price,

but it was also a company Elizabeth recognised.

I had heard of Cash4phones before. I had seen TV advertisements.

-ADVERT:

-'Where can you get cash for your old mobile? Cash4phones!

'Who offers up to 150 quid with no hidden costs? Cash4phones!

'And who offers a fast service,

'usually paying within 24 hours of receiving your phone?

'Cash4phones!

'It's all in the name!'

After finding out that Cash4phones would give me

the most money for my phone, I went on to their website,

made an account with them

and told them that I'd like to pursue this

and they said that they'd send me a bag in the post

and send it back to them

and then I'd get my money within two to three days.

What a service! Sure enough, the postage bag arrived.

It was a little on the flimsy side,

so Elizabeth triple-wrapped her phone in bubble wrap

to ensure its safe carriage.

The only thing left to do was to pop it in the post

and wait for the cash.

A few days later, I hadn't received any money,

so I went online, checked my e-mails, but there was nothing.

So I checked my junk box and there was an e-mail from them.

The e-mail said that the phone had excessive wear and tear

with scratching on the screen

and they could only offer me £47.60 for the phone now.

I was really shocked by this, really, really shocked.

I knew there was no scratching on the screen.

It had a cover on it, there was no wear and tear -

I was pretty angry, to be honest.

Of course, we only have her word on the condition of the phone,

but she adamant it was in tip-top nick.

There was a time limit on the offer of five days.

If I hadn't rejected or accepted this offer by then,

they would automatically assume that I'd accepted it.

It also said if you decline to accept this offer,

you have to pay £8.95 to get your phone back.

Elizabeth had missed this clause on the company website, where they also

stated that the original offer

on the phone was subject to its condition.

Believing hers was in better condition than they were saying,

Elizabeth complained to Cash4phones, who told her

they would reassess her phone. Cue another e-mail.

In that e-mail, she said they were now offering me

£92 after reassessing the phone.

At this point, I just wanted to accept the offer, I thought

that if I paid the money to get my phone back

and then resold my phone via another company, I wouldn't be making

any more profit from it, so I decided to accept the offer.

'And who offers a fast service,

'usually paying within 24 hours of receiving your phone? Cash4phones!

'It's all in the name!'

They told me the money would be in my account by three working days.

But it was another promise broken.

The weeks of chasing dragged on and Elizabeth even threatened

Cash4phones with the Small Claims Court.

It took a while, but in the end it, seemed to have an effect.

From the moment I sent my phone off to them,

it took two and a half months for me to get my money.

The consumer woes of this unregulated industry are well-known

to former head of Trading Standards, Bryan Lewin.

A seller of second-hand goods doesn't really have

protections as such.

There are certain things you can do to protect yourself.

The first thing to do is never go to just one person.

Why not go to a local person for a valuation?

Someone who'd got a fixed premise, someone you could go back to

if you were dissatisfied.

Remember those tips

because they could save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

We tried to contact Cash4phones to comment on the issues

raised in this story, but the company has now ceased trading,

leaving £384,000 of debt,

mostly made up from customers who

never received payment for the phone they sent off.

Elizabeth was lucky.

I had no reason to believe that Cash4phones were not a reliable

company. I'd seen adverts on TV

and the website was very professional.

Remember, all that glitters isn't necessarily gold.

So if you're looking for a quick buck for your goods, remember

the best offer might not necessarily be in your best interests.

I've been helping the Deighton family with their second-hand car conundrum.

The Mazda 6 they unwittingly bought

from Diamond Tyres & Car Repairs Ltd wasn't fit for purpose

and despite shelling out over £500 for repairs, they are now looking at

a new engine for over £5,000, unless they can get their money back.

If I can manage that, it will be up to the courts.

I have contacted Companies House to put a block on Diamond Cars & Tyres

closing down in order to get my money back.

Stephanie also had to do the same and took Diamond Tyres to court

and won, but the court postponed the final hearing,

giving Diamond one last chance to pay out of court.

So far, nothing has happened.

This means the final decision will be in the judge's hands.

Hopefully, everything works out perfectly smooth and he will pass

judgment on the amount and I will be more happy then.

With Stephanie's final court date looming and Danielle potentially

facing the same prospects, it is time to get back onto Diamond Tyres.

Let's give Khurum Khalid a call

and see what he's got to say for himself. OK.

'I ring exactly the same number I did last month.'

Hello, is that Khurum?

'The first thing I'm told is that there is no person called

''Khurum working there.

'So I ask for the salesman who sold the cars to both Danielle

'and Stephanie.'

What about Danny? It's Dominic Little calling from the BBC.

'The man on the other end of the line gives his name as Ali

'and tells me he is the owner of the business, but will not tell me

'whether that is Diamond or Blue Gate Cars.

'He again states he doesn't know a Khurum.'

Well, I'm ringing his number, aren't I?

'Eventually I manage to let him know why I am calling.

'I again suggest that Diamond refunds Danielle for her

'car before the court.

'He tells me he will see her in court and I should be putting all this in writing.' Right.

'Sorry, pal, been there, done that.'

Khurum, Danny, or whoever I'm talking to, it's got to a point now

where, because it hasn't been sorted out, Small Claims Court proceedings

are about to be initiated if we don't sort this out on the phone today.

'The man on the other end of the line tells me not to ring him up

'and threaten him. Well, how about a simple question, then?'

Let me ask you something.

How can you advertise a car for £2,500

and make someone sign a form to say it was a scrap vehicle?

I am told the advert wasn't written by Blue Gate Cars

and if Danielle wants to take them to court then let her.

That's no problem at all, if that's what you want.

Don't forget, it has just happened with Stephanie

and you didn't come out of that very favourably.

It could be done very nicely and you could just give the money back.

I ask him again to refund Danielle.

He just tells me to put my complaint in writing.

Believe me, I will, for a second time, whoever you are.

I was fairly abrupt and said this is what is going to happen

if she doesn't get her money back. He said put it in writing, and I will call you back.

Whether he does or not, I don't know.

We're on that point where it could be court or give her her money back.

It's now just over a week after my call to Diamond Tyres

and they've yet to respond to my last call or e-mail

asking for Danielle's refund, what a surprise.

Talking of refunds, Stephanie is back for her final

hearing at Bow County Court, as Diamond has failed to pay up.

Yet another surprise.

The best outcome for me would be actually getting the money

back for the car, for the insurance I've paid out,

for all the expenses over nine months that I had to spend

and all the running up and down that Danny made me do throughout the time.

Hopefully, the judge can see that and award me all of that.

Stephanie heads inside and it only takes 40 minutes for the judge

to make his decision.

The day after court

and I've arranged to meet with both Danielle and Stephanie.

-I can't wait to hear how she got on. Hello.

-Hi there.

It's nice to meet you both, and obviously we had

a chat before I got here,

about the common denominator, the problem.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Sum it up for me.

I bought a car, I thought I was buying from Blue Gate Cars Ltd.

But instead, I actually bought it from Diamond Tyres & Cars Repair.

Why did you think you bought it from them?

Because it was advertised on the Blue Gate Cars Ltd.

When I actually went down to the showroom, it said on the banner

Blue Gate Cars Ltd.

My story virtually mirrors Stephanie's story.

We didn't realise until quite a while after that we had purchased

it from Diamonds Cars.

Similar receipt. It had been stamped with Diamond Tyres.

And it's Diamond who's ended up in court.

Stephanie not only wanted her £3,650 back for the car

but all her other incurred costs as well.

-You were in court yesterday.

-Yeah.

-What happened?

The judge actually totalled up all my expenses,

my insurance policies, the cost of the car, plus my compensation,

so a grand total of £5,618.

-Wow. Almost double what he could have given you.

-Yeah.

And you've won. So I think a handshake is due for that.

Stephanie may have won in court, but unfortunately,

a County Court Judgment can be tricky to enforce.

However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't fight for what is

right, as it is still her best chance of getting her money back.

With this in mind, I brought all the relevant paperwork Danielle

would need for the Small Claims Court.

The good thing is, I can give you some advice, this is all in black and white, look.

"I start a claim in court, what happens next?

"How do I make a court claim? I am in dispute, what can I do?"

The information is there in black and white.

Anything you are not sure about, it's there.

It's not all in legal jargon that you can't understand.

It's designed for people who just want to get a problem sorted out.

Sadly, the company you dealt with,

they obviously want to do business this way.

I've given them a chance to pay the money back, as Stephanie did.

They don't play ball. All the best.

I love you for that. There's all your forms, keep us informed of what happens, of course.

-Best of luck.

-Thanks very much.

I like the fact that we're leaving

and you've got a smile on your face.

-You're ready to go into battle, aren't you?

-I am.

-Brilliant.

We wrote to Blue Gate Cars

and Diamond Tyres asking them to clarify...

At this stage, I've heard nothing back.

We also asked Auto Trader to comment on the case, chiefly...

This is because Blue Gate told me

they did not write the original advert for Danielle's Mazda.

We are still awaiting their response.

It's been really good to have Dom on my side

and just get over any doubt I had before.

Whereas after speaking to Dom,

I really do feel I can win and get our money back.

There you had it, two ladies with similar problems,

dealing with the same company and same garage. Two different outcomes.

One of them has already taken the company to court and she's won.

The other lady is on the verge of doing so.

There is a message to be learned here for all you companies

not doing the job properly. Next action, court.

I'm sending that message out.