I leave my tow hitch permanently attached as I use it a lot. It has however become somewhat loose in that it will move up and down by maybe 1 cm. This makes for horrible towing, particularly at low speeds and over normal roads. I would expect a part such as this to last the lifetime of the car - but I don't yet know whether it's the hitch itself or the frame it fits into which has worn (or both). Has anyone else come across this problem ? I don't want to fork out £420 to LR (or even £200 + on Ebay) only to find that it's the frame that's the problem.

I presume you are talking about the removable one??, best seeing if you can borrow one to see if it is the bar, go to the dealer if you have to, I am sure they would have a spare one knocking about. If it is the female coupling on the chassis that has worn, I doubt that could be fixed other than getting a blacksmith to weld in a plate to make the hole smaller?
Cheers
Dave MY10 TDV6 SE (debadged ), Santorini Black, Flappy paddles, Privacy Glass, 20" Stormers, Mudflaps!

Gone: a comprehensive list of imprezas and a Merc ML AMG

As the codfather writes, best get it checked out- read this thread on the sister site for an RRS incident & mention of play in the fitment.