Nick Oldham: Rights and Wrongs

And the consumer has very few rights under the law if something goes wrong.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards officer Bruce McKay said the second-hand car market was "an absolute minefield".

"People tend to have an inflated view of their rights," he said.

"It's worth pointing out that the law doesn't give very much protection to anyone buying anything second hand.

"It is a problem area because the law in many ways is rather vague and often open to interpretation.

"The main thing to remember is the phrase Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware."

One Rights and Wrongs reader paid a cheque for a second-hand car at a dealership after agreeing a price and inspecting it two days before.

But he then found the spare tyre and another had been changed.

"I had made a note of the make of the tyres - which were in excellent condition - when I looked at the car," he said.

"After I had paid the money, I noticed one tyre on the passenger side was different and then I found the spare had been changed for a remould.

"Neither of them was in very good condition.

"I had rung the previous owner after first seeing the car and he had told me he had never bought remoulds for the car and the tyres were all relatively new.

"I immediately asked for and got my cheque back and said I would pay once the tyres had been changed back.

"I tried unsuccessfully to contact the owner on his mobile to ask why two good tyres had been changed for two in poor condition.

"Later that afternoon an envelope containing my deposit was pushed through my letterbox with a note saying the dealer didn't want to do business with me because of my allegations, which they denied."

Mr McKay said: "It's not unknown for the dealer to swop the entire engine after the customer has viewed the car and paid his money."

The main rule is to confirm the history of the car by talking to the previous owner and checking to make sure the vehicle is not the subject of an old Hire Purchase agreement.

If it is and you didn't know before you bought it, it could be repossessed by the finance company - and you will be left with no cash and no car.

Some dealers rent off space on their forecourt to other people wanting to sell a car, so make sure you know exactly who you are buying the vehicle from.

Rights and Wrongs has had complaints in the past from people who bought from a forecourt only to have problems with the car afterwards.

When they took it back to the dealer they were told it was not one of their own vehicles but was sold by a man who rented a pitch and had since gone.

"The garage trade is riddled with loose partnerships which sometimes only last a short time," Mr McKay said.

"It's worth spending a bit of time and money beforehand to prevent problems later."

He said extended warranties should be thoroughly checked before they were taken out.

"Some will only entertain claims up to £150 and will limit the number you can make and others have a lot of exclusion clauses in them.

"They are generally not good value for money."

And he warned buyers to keep away from car auctions unless they knew what they were doing.

"Auctions are not for the fainthearted - you are entering a trade environment and you do not have rights under the Sale of Goods Act except where the vehicle is not as described."

How to avoid being ripped off...

Trading standards officers say the main thing to remember when buying a second-hand car is that you are planning to pay money for something someone else wants to get rid of. And they have put together the following tips to try to make the task easier...

If possible, make a note of the make and condition of tyres and battery beforehand and check they are the same after you buy the car.

Look at the engine number plate and the state of the engine - if it was clean the day you looked at the car and it's dirty now, then something is probably very wrong - and the engine may be different although the original engine number plate will be on it.

Ask to see all MoT and registration documents and take down the name and address of the previous owner so you can talk to him later.

If you are told the registration document is not available for one reason or another, walk away.

Sign nothing until you are sure you want to buy that particular vehicle.

Pay for a thorough inspection offered by many of the national motoring organisations if you are not mechanically-minded yourself - it could save you the price of the car.

Steer clear of car auctions unless you have a car buff with you who knows exactly what he is doing.

Remember you have even fewer rights if you buy privately - and some dealers pass themselves off as private individuals to get out of their legal obligations and get rid of stock.

Always go to the person's home to look at the car so you can satisfy yourself he is a genuine private seller.

Be wary of adverts which have only mobile numbers or specify a time to phone - it could be a phone box.

Perfume that left a whiff of disgust

Rights and Wrongs reader Christine Mathers - highlighted last week after waiting more than two months for Christmas presents - is now considering her next move.

Following our inquiries, she finally received a package from USA-based perfume firm International Direct Inc this week.

But its contents were hardly what she expected when she sent a £93 cheque off early in November.

She says she asked for seven bottles of perfume and some toiletries. But she claims she finally received five bottles of perfumes - four of them the brands she wanted - and no toiletries.

The total value was £57.95p.

"I was under the impression looking at the catalogue they would be 40ml or 50ml bottles," she said. "But they are all 3mls or 4mls - like little sample bottles.

"It's absolutely disgusting what I have got for the money. And they were all sent in a plain brown envelope without any wrapping or protection.

"But the order form says if you want to send them back they must be wrapped securely and cushioned against damage, they must be insured - and you have to send them to America."

Mrs Mathers, of Tong Street, sent her order off to a PO Box in London which Rights and Wrongs traced to a mail forwarding company in the Southwark area of London.

Southwark trading standards have issued a warning to householders to treat the company's mailshots with caution.

A spokesman said: "The perfumes at first sight appear to be good value but again, if you look at the quantity marking, the bottles tend to be of the miniature variety and are not the good deal you may think.

"People over here are perhaps not quite as familiar with metric measurements and may think 5mls - enough to fill a teaspoon - is more. "The problem of dealing with a company operating from a different country is that it is impossible to pursue them to obtain your money back."

He said the department had received 50 to 60 complaints about the company.

Rights and Wrongs contacted the company in New Jersey and in a faxed statement it said Mrs Mathers would be given her money back if she returned the perfumes to the London address.

It continued: "Because of the fact we have received many more orders than we expected during the Christmas period, when you consider 60 complaints out of over 50,000 customers, the percentage is miniscule."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.