4 months ago I purchased a motor bike from a company and took out
their finance plan. The bike was meant to come with free insurance but
as yet I have recieved no documents (despite many attempts to get
them) from the shop. Am i in my legal right to not pay for my bike
because it hasn't come with what they said (and advertised) it would?

Dear Burgerfast,

That's really tough and frustrating.

But, no, dear, you do not have the legal
right to stop paying for the bike. 

You DO have the legal right to take them to
small claims court and sue them for the 
value of the insurance they haven't provided. 

Try this. Send them a certified letter,
return receipt requested, telling them:

"Please provide me with proof that I am insured,
and a copy of my policy within 5 working days. 

If I don't get it by then, I will have no choice
but to get and pay for my own coverage. I cannot
ride the motorbike without insurance.

Since I know that presenting you with the bill for
reimbursement would be useless, when I do get the bill 
for my policy, you will be served with legal papers so
that the court will  mandate that you reimburse me. 
I will also do some research to see what kind of 
punitive damages I can get for false advertising and
any other charges that apply to your misrepresentation
of this contract. 

And if, after repeated polite requests for my policy,
this is the way you do business,I can only assume you
treat all your customers this way. So, I will invite
our TV station and newspapers' consumer reporters to 
cover the trial, to alert other unwary customers. 

I'd hate to have to go to all that bother, time and
expense. Wouldn't it be so much easier if you'd simply
save us all time and honored your contract?

Thank you for your prompt assistance in clearing up 
this matter."

You will probably get their attention. 

Incidentally, you really might just want to call your
radio and TV consumer reporter. They just love this kind
of case.

But, whatever you do - DON'T stop making payments. 
They will mess up your credit, if you do. 

And DO get that insurance policy. I'd hate to see you
get hurt and not have the money to pay for proper care.

Good luck.

Your TaxMama-ga

Great service - answered in less than 2 hours!!!
This guy is great - answered my question AND offered great advice.

Top Marks

Dear burgerfast,

If I may interject a word of caution, you should never make threats
that you don't intend to keep, particularly when it comes to legal
action. It is one thing to say that you will file a lawsuit if you
don't get a response within five business days, if you fully intend to
march into the courthouse on day six and file a complaint. But if you
aren't entirely sure you will be taking any particular action you
describe in your letter, consider drafting it in the hypothetical -
speaking of what you may do, instead of what you will do.

For example, rather than saying, "If you do not do X, Y, and Z, I will
file a lawsuit," you may wish to say, "If you do not do X, Y, and Z, I
may find that I have no option but to file a lawsuit."

Another option would be to have a lawyer in your jurisdiction draft
your "intimidating letter", or to have a lawyer review the letter you
draft before you send it.

- expertlaw