Trade Centre: Royton woman loses job after car nightmare

Dad Martin Andrew bought a Citroen DS3 from Rochdale’s Trade Centre in June, as a present for his daughter Amy’s 21st birthday.

However, within a week of having the car, which cost £8,000, warning lights were telling Amy to stop the car and she had to pull off the motorway.

She said: “I was driving to work and it broke down as I got off the motorway. I rang the AA to come and rescue me, and they had a look at the error system and they said that all of the faults on there had been wiped off the car.”

Mum Jacky added that the car had ‘no oil in it’, and the AA driver escorted her home due to the condition of the vehicle.

Car ‘unfixable’

Trade Centre took the car to its service centre to fix it. However, two weeks later, the company told Amy that the car was unfixable and needed a new engine.

Amy opted to swap the 2016 Citroen for a 2015 Ford Fiesta instead – hoping to put the problem behind her.

However, her hopes were soon dashed.

She said: “Within a day of me having the Ford Fiesta, an engine problem came up on my dashboard. They told me to bring it in for a service, which was a month later.

“We took it in, I was thinking it would be a two-day job or even an hour for a service. They got back to me a week later and said it would need a new timing belt, and it would be delivered within a week or so.”

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‘It’s just snowballed’

Now in September, Amy says she was told the Ford Fiesta would need a new engine as well.

Despite being offered what she thought was a courtesy car, Amy found out she would have to pay £50 per month to use it, and experienced issues such as tyre pressure warnings and fuel tank issues with two separate temporary vehicles.

After being without her Ford Fiesta for five weeks, Amy was let go from her job at a call centre in Wythenshawe.

She said: “It’s had a massive effect on me, I’ve not been able to get any income in, it’s also affected my mental health as well as I’ve just been sat in, I’ve not been able to go to work and do something and earn money.

“It’s had quite a big impact on everything else, it’s just snowballed.”

The 21-year-old estimates that the cost of setting up and cancelling different insurance policies has left her out of pocket for between £3,000 and £4,000.

Mum Jacky was not impressed by the company's response (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

Nobody answering the phone

Amy said when she tries to phone the repair line to get an update now, nobody answers the phone. The Oldham Times also tried to call the number, but the call did not connect.

She added that she thought the company’s behaviour seemed like ‘a big money scheme’. Amy added: “I should have looked at the reviews before we went, and mistakenly I didn’t. I thought it would be a trustworthy company. After all of this has happened, with all the cars going into the garage and everything, I looked online and there are hundreds of reviews from people in the same situation.”

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Trade Centre responds

Keston Griffiths, Trade Centre’s director of preparation and aftersales, said: “The Trade Centre UK Rochdale sell hundreds of cars to happy motorists within the region every month, I can confirm that on this occasion, unfortunately, Ms Andrew has experienced mechanical issues soon after purchase.

“We have already been in contact with Ms Andrew today, ahead of your enquiry and can confirm that her car will soon be repaired and ready to collect.

“Whilst we have no control over vehicle insurance costs, our general manager will meet with Ms Andrew when she collects her car and we will certainly cover any fees charged by her insurer for the cost of cancelling or transferring her policy.”

As of Friday morning, however, Amy confirmed that she was still without her car.