Go to another dealer mate
not common i had it on both the 1.8 i owned i did find that getting the revs right helped for me.To be fair, that's not a common problem. Another dealer will probably tell you the same.
Is the car still under warranty?
The gearbox locking up is a common problem? Fair enough, I haven't heard of many cases.not common i had it on both the 1.8 i owned i did find that getting the revs right helped for me.