Pregnant Potton mum left 'stranded' after Cinch car breaks down - just days after warranty ends

Sam Saterlay says he and his pregnant wife were left facing a £17,000 bill for a new engine or £10-12k diagnostics cost and claimed Cinch initially refused to provide any financial help.

The family says the loss of their Range Rover Velar left them "stranded" in the town, meaning his wife missed antenatal appointments and the couple and their toddler had to rely on taxi rides or lifts.

But after being contacted by the Biggleswade Chronicle, Cinch has apologised and offered a full refund.

Sam claimed: "I was driving down the A1M when all of a sudden the car started shuddering, and there was smoke coming from the boot.

"Luckily, it was just me in the car and not my pregnant wife and two-year-old. I managed to pull over and arranged recovery with the AA."

Sam claims the family were left "extremely stressed" when Cinch would not provide financial help – and says they struggled for around seven weeks without a car until the company "eventually" supplied a hire car.

Sam said: "Cinch later agreed to accept back the Range Rover and pay our finance company out. This was because Range Rover discovered that our car had not been correctly maintained before being sold to us. In its four-year history, it had only been serviced once. Cinch hadn't told us this.

"We faced emotional distress during what should have been a joyful time," he added.

Sam claims he initially received an "insulting" offer of £150 compensation – and said that it just about covered the taxi transport costs – let alone other faults he had to correct with the car before it broke down.

The company has now agreed a £2k refund, which includes the initial £150 compensation offered, taxi money, warranty cover, insurance, finance payments, the cost of an immobiliser that was installed and car tax.

A Cinch spokeswoman, said: "Our top priority is delivering great quality vehicles and ensuring that every customer has an excellent experience with cinch.

"The safety and satisfaction of our customers is incredibly important to us and all our cars undergo rigorous tests before being listed on our site.

"We are very sorry that on this occasion Mr Saterlay’s experience did not match our high standards and we have given him a full refund.”