Website: http://www.topcarsltd.co.uk

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

I urge all car buyers/sellers to avoid Gary James Topper of TopCars Ltd, Hull.
Problems encountered: Failure to comply with agreement to purchase a car, discourteous and impertinent manner on phone, uncompromising attitude.

I uploaded details of my treasured car onto www.matchthedeal.com and was contacted by Gary Topper with a bid to purchase my car. After several discussions by phone and a period of consideration I accepted the offer.
The sale price and date of delivery and transaction was agreed and following several conversations, I made the necessary transport arrangements (ferry, return train) from Belfast to Hull and also arranged an MOT test in Hull for the same morning. 4 days prior to the agreed date, I sent written confirmation to Gary Topper confirming the day and date that I would be delivering the car and contacted him by phone the next day to confirm he had received these details - which he confimed he had.

On the agreed day, I left at 02:30am by ferry on the 320 mile journey from Belfast to Hull. At 09:30am that morning when almost in Hull, I contacted TopCars on the business number but got a message saying the office was closed. I contacted Gary Topper on his mobile where he informed me that he had made other arrangements and would not be available to complete the purchase of the car. I was therefore left to merely return to Belfast (a journey which took 19 hours in total). Gary Topper offered no explanation or apology and was abrupt and rude during the telephone conversation.

I had declined a slightly lower offer for the car but when I approached that buyer they had already made other arrangements. I eventually sold the car for £1250 less than the agreed bid by Gary Topper. I had also already paid for the transport and delivery of the car as well as return train fare and MOT test on the car.

I sincerely hope people will read this review first before making any arrangements with TopCars Ltd to either purchase or sell a vehicle to avoid the disappointing and disgraceful experience that I have endured.

I have a 2004 MINI Cooper S with just on 50,000 miles. I have just had the MINI experience delivered by the failing of a power steering pump. Needless to say, the response that I have recieved from BMW MINI in relation to this problem has been nothing short of disgraceful. BMW have clearly decided to abandon their customers in relation to fixing problems with an obviously faulty part that they have used in their 02 - 07 MINI's. Instead of standing by their loyal customers, MINI have decided to make their customers pay for a faulty part that they are more than aware of.

I have never felt so disappointed and let down by a company in all my life, having been a loyal BMW customer for 10 years, I will never buy another one if I do no get any response in relation to this issue...

i bought amazda cx7 estate from taggarts in motherwell on 30th may 2008. i have had it serviced at 3000, 10000 and 20000 miles. the engine started to make a funny noise so i called the rac who said it was serious and they took it to my local garage, taggarts in motherwell.
on their inspection they reported crank shaft bearing failure due to lack of oil. they have refused to repair it dispite me giving them copys of all the services it has had.they maintain it was run dry of oil but this is impossible as the first thing the rac did was check the oil and found it to be ok
as the car is less than 2 years old with 25000 miles on the clock and a full service history i beleive they should be sorting this under warranty.

This company charged me around £300 to have the head gasket done on my 2003 Astra 1.6 it was in the garage for 3 days when I got the car back it still had the same problem, they did not even change the oil and filter as they said they would, they broke one of the brand new ht leads as well and replaced it with an old 1.
It turned out that the catalyst needed to be replaced and not the head gasket.
So since then the car burns oil like its going out of fasion, misfires when warm, and never idles steady.
I have been in the trade since leaving school and really wish I had done the job myself, I really do not think any of the people there are qualified or even have any knowledge of what they are doing.
I did complain to the owner but he just was not bothered
DO NOT USE THIS PLACE

My renault scenic car door was caved in by a'hit and run' driver. Rather than pay £300 excess got hold of 1st parts4U who said they had a door in same colour. Paid on debit card. Door came -incorrect colour and bad condition-and 1st parts4U refused to pay for door to be returned. stuck with a rather large item that was taking up half of the shed i paid to have it sent up-anything to get my money back. Delivery company then phoned and said 1st parts4U refused to accept the door as it was 'unwanted' still no refund. Legally I am entitled to my original costs plus the courier fee to return door but am reluctant to pay small claims fee if the company can still get away with not paying (friends with businesses have had problems with small claims court) This company I have now learned is known to Trading standards but are still advertising in Autotrader

1st Choice Spares UK Ltd run a find a used Car/Van part on the internet www.1st Choice.co.uk ,and claim to have over 250 Car Breakers as members.

In March I was looking for a used Air Compressor Unit for my Mercedes Benz V Class,and used the internet to try and locate such a part.1st Choice responded & advised that one of their members AGT Cars Ltd would make an offer for the Compressor unit I was looking for.

I received an email from AGT Cars Ltd offering me the part at £170.00 incl delivery with a 30 day warranty.(subsequently increased to 60 days after discussion with Gerry Price)

I purchased the Compressor by telephone from AGT Cars Ltd /Gerry Price on the 31:03:09 using a Debit Card & the "Rusty" Unit was delivered promptly by TNT.

My local garage fitted the Air Compressor to the vehicle,but it would not function,the integral release valve was diagnosed as faulty,and the unit taken off,and the original replaced.

The car was then taken to an Independent Mercedes Benz repair shop,with all the expensive Soft Wear,the Compressor was again fitted,however it would not function and the diagnostic check illustrated that the integral release valve was not functioning and consequently the Compressor was USELESS!

I subsequently had to purchase a New Compressor Unit From Mercedes Benz,and this has been fitted,the car now back on the road & the Air Suspension is functioning correctly.

The Compressor Unit supplied by AGT Cars Ltd was in exactly the same condition as the Compressor Unit it was to replace ,ie the integral "Release Valve had Failed",in other words useless.This is a common fault with the Mercedes Benz V Class!

I contacted Gerry Price of AGT Cars Ltd by phone within the warranty period,to advise that the Compressor was faulty,indicating the fault,however he was very adamant that the compressor worked as it was taken from a "Working Vehicle".He told me to send it back at my cost,AGT Cars Ltd would attempt to resell it,and if and when this happened,I would only then get a refund less adminstration and shipping costs!

The Rusty Compressor was clearly not Fit for Purpose,and According to Distance selling practice I have requested AGT Cars Ltd to collect the Compressor and have it returned to their address for any inspection that they wish to carry out,and to refund the £170.00 paid.

1st Choice Spares UK Ltd ,David Clarke expressed doubt about the Validity of my claim,but advised that nothing would be done until I sent the Compressor back at my cost to AGT Cars Ltd for inspection.

Having spent well over £200.00 on this Rusty piece of Junk I have absolutely no intention of paying for it to be sent back to AGT Cars Ltd!

Additionally 1st Choice Spares UK Ltd suggest in their Customer Care section that they take "ALL THE HASSLE OUT OF BUYING USED PARTS" What a Joke!

Come on DAVID PRICE of 1st Choice Car Spares UK Ltd get your member Gerry Price of AGT Cars Ltd to collect this Rusty Compressor Unit if he really wants it and refund the £170.00 I Paid.

I have phoned,Faxed,emailed ,sent Recorded Delivery Letter,however I have had no written Acknowledgement from either AGT Cars Ltd & 1st Choice Car Spares UK Ltd,or indication that they will refund the £170.00 or collect the Compressor.

If I don't get the required refund of £170.00 very soon,I intend to make a claim all additional costs incurred plus interest from the date of purchase

I recently hired a car from 1car1 and was unfortunate enough to get a flat tyre. I rang the recovery telephone number and was given the number for the AA and told it would cost me £84. The AA were fantastic and were surprised when i mentioned the charge - apparently the AA have an agreement with Vauxhall which covers all new vehicles. When i returned home and received my credit card bill, i was surprised to see the charge had been made by 1car1. I rang the AA to check whether or not they charge the hire company and was again told no, there is no charge. After several phone calls to the hire company, i have now been told that i will receive a refund ..... but what about all the other people who have been wrongly charged? 1car1 do not seem to be interested in looking into this

In July 2009 I bought a Rover75 from Scottish Motor Services of Glasgow no complaint about the car it is ok. The car was sold to me with a tax disc till April 2010. While shopping in Edinburgh on the 16th of Nvember 2009 the car was clamped which left my wife and I stranded and having a hire a taxi home to Selkirk. next day I had to pay £100 plus £160 surety to get the car released I also had to pay for a return trip to Edinburgh to collect the car. When I informed Scottish Motor Services of my dilema they taxed the car for 6mths ( it appears that the tax disc that my car had been sold with was from another car) this enabled me to reclaim the £160 surety though that involved yet another trip to Edinburgh to claim it. While I am grateful to Scottish Motor Services for the prompt way they handled the car tax I feel that as the innocent party I have been left to pay the fines and costs of other not to mention waiting transport. Also my wife and I are OAP s and money is tight and my wife does not enjoy good health and the shock and embarrassment over this not to mention the waiting for hours in Edinburgh trying to arrange transport home has not done her any good at all

yours faithfully

O>J>FYFE

I purchased a 2005 Rover75 from this company in July 2009 the car was taxed and mot till April 2010. on the 16th of Nov while shopping in Edinburgh the car was clamped for being untaxed it appears that the tax disc on the car was illegal as it belonged to another car. I had to pay £260 to get the car released and my wife and I had to hire a taxi to get us home.Scottish motor services have paid to tax the car for 6 months but I am still £100 out of pocket plus £50 taxi fare also the inconveinence of traveling up and down to Edinburgh also the embarrasment

i had a crash in my car, the car went to spaytex for a new wheel bearing the bearing is broke again spaytex sent me to bmw at milton keynes, on 18/11/2009 they said the mileage is different and they can not fix? on about the 12/12/2008 i had to get a new speedo fitted as the old one broke, i have the mot which shows it has done about 8k since the crash, but the part is meant to have 2 year unlimited mileage warranty anyway? can you help please

I am shown to be parked in bay 17(photo on charge notice) which is a designated parking for Flat 31, City gate House 399-425 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6LQ. My aged parents live in flat31 and we visit them pretty much every other day of the week and park in bay 17. A valid parking permit was on display aswell. But UKPC is claiming that a permit was not display at the time of contravention. I was aked to pay £75 within 14 days and thereafter it would be £95. After speaking to Customer Services, i was asked to email appeals team on appeals@ukparkingcontrol.com, which I did three times already, requesting them to send photographic evidence that a permit was not on display. The appeal was declined and a standard letter was sent, but no evidence sent. I have today recieved a letter from Debt Recovery Plus Ltd to pay £152.50 or face court proceedings. I have sent them another email today requesting for photos yet again.

What should be my protocol now?

Thanks in advance

OUR 24FT HOBBY CARAVAN WAS LEFT ON THE HAGGERSTON CASTLE CARAVAN SITE, AND ONLY USED ON WEEKENDS, BUT PAID TO STAY THERE FOR 3MONTHS, IY WENT MISSING WITH NO EXPLANATION AFTER 1 MONTH. NO CAMERA FOOTAGE ACCORDING TO THE SECURITY. NO APPOLOGY OR ANYTHING ELSE!!!

I have a 2003 Mini One. The power steering pump suddenly failed and nearly caused me to crash as I could not turn my car. My local garage have advised that this is a known problem and to discuss with Mini. I contacted Mini customers services who advised me to take to the local service centre for diagnostics.Mini claimed goodwill as this is a known fault but have refused to pay for the repair. 8 days on and my car is still at their service centre with no contact(I can't drive it anyway as impossible to turn, can only go in a straight line) - also sent over 6 emails to their head office and all unresolved. Mini will charge me for the diagnostic work - even though I told them about this. Loads of forums on the internet regarding this and it is thought that 223,000 cars are affected. Mini should have done a recall whilst in warranty and replaced the part - instead they have chosen to ignore it and fit a different part to their 2005+ models.

Still waiting for this to be resolved - Mini experience, Mini customer services = poor customer experience.