We are getting some interesting cases at the moment that probably should be written up as articles. The first one concerns Enterprise rent-a-car that tried to charge a reader £1,675 for repairing a credit-hire car when the clutch failed, 30 miles after the reader picked it up. They claimed it was a result of "driver error" on the part of the reader - but the vehicle had more than 35,000 miles on the clock (which would imply an enormous income on a credit hire car). We persuaded them that the fault was almost certainly present on the car at time of collection. They said that under the terms of their contract the client was liable anyway as she had not taken out their waiver. After some pressure they have now withdrawn.

The second is more serious. A reader had a leased MINI that caught fire and was totally destroyed. The car was insured with Hastings Direct through its own Gibraltar insurer. Hastings has now come back saying it doesn't insure leased cars and has refused to indemnify her £12,000 loss. At no time was this explained or demanded as part of the buying process, nor is it contained in the policy or any other documents. We are asserting that this was a clear failure to meet her demands and needs. It will probably end up with the Ombudsman. Until we get a ruling she is having to continue to pay the lease on a car she does not have.