Troublesome car dealers breaking consumer rights act
Discussion
Hey everyone,
Finally stepping out of the shadows and into the light here. So, picture this: I'm cruising along, minding my own business, when I stumble upon a deal that seems too good to be true – a car that's practically begging me to take it home. Little did I know, it was a lemon in disguise!
Now, I'm not one to exaggerate, but I know a thing or two about cars. So, armed with confidence and a sprinkle of naivety, I seal the deal. Fast forward a bit, and surprise! The car's got more issues than a math textbook.
Cutting the long story short, I had to surrender the problematic car to my garage and exchange it for a less valuable but functional one. While I'm relieved to have a reliable means of commuting to work now, the trade-off has left me with a significant financial setback.
Throughout the ordeal of addressing the car issues with the dealer, their behavior escalated to hostility, including shouting and swearing over the phone. Despite presenting two independent reports highlighting major issues with the car, they adamantly refused to acknowledge their obligations under the Consumer Rights Act and denied me a refund. Attempting to resolve the matter amicably proved futile, and the stress prompted me to accept an offer from a mechanic to offload the car.
My question is, can I still pursue legal action against the dealer in small claims court to recoup the losses I incurred, even though I've already sold the car? Ideally, holding them accountable for violating consumer protection laws would be satisfying. I simply aim to recover the difference between the purchase price and the selling price, which amounted to a loss of £3,000 plus the equity from my trade-in vehicle.
Finally stepping out of the shadows and into the light here. So, picture this: I'm cruising along, minding my own business, when I stumble upon a deal that seems too good to be true – a car that's practically begging me to take it home. Little did I know, it was a lemon in disguise!
Now, I'm not one to exaggerate, but I know a thing or two about cars. So, armed with confidence and a sprinkle of naivety, I seal the deal. Fast forward a bit, and surprise! The car's got more issues than a math textbook.
Cutting the long story short, I had to surrender the problematic car to my garage and exchange it for a less valuable but functional one. While I'm relieved to have a reliable means of commuting to work now, the trade-off has left me with a significant financial setback.
Throughout the ordeal of addressing the car issues with the dealer, their behavior escalated to hostility, including shouting and swearing over the phone. Despite presenting two independent reports highlighting major issues with the car, they adamantly refused to acknowledge their obligations under the Consumer Rights Act and denied me a refund. Attempting to resolve the matter amicably proved futile, and the stress prompted me to accept an offer from a mechanic to offload the car.
My question is, can I still pursue legal action against the dealer in small claims court to recoup the losses I incurred, even though I've already sold the car? Ideally, holding them accountable for violating consumer protection laws would be satisfying. I simply aim to recover the difference between the purchase price and the selling price, which amounted to a loss of £3,000 plus the equity from my trade-in vehicle.
KungFuPanda said:
There’s nothing stopping you from issuing a small claim but nobody can guarantee whether you’ll be successful. If you are successful, there’ll be no guarantee that you can recover the monies either.
Sending in bailiffs is easy. The court will use recommended people. As long as the business that owes you money hasn't moved then the bailiffs have the power to take a car from the cowboys that dealt with you, sell it, give you your money and any costs and give the remainder back to the cowboys. AtillaVHung said:
Thank you for the response.
I have 2 written reports from independent garages stating issues with the car, a chain of emails with me asking for a refund multiple times as well as recorded delivered letters asking for a refund as well.
If you've followed all the steps here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation...I have 2 written reports from independent garages stating issues with the car, a chain of emails with me asking for a refund multiple times as well as recorded delivered letters asking for a refund as well.
- then the law should be on your side. Note the timescales.
popeyewhite said:
KungFuPanda said:
There’s nothing stopping you from issuing a small claim but nobody can guarantee whether you’ll be successful. If you are successful, there’ll be no guarantee that you can recover the monies either.
Sending in bailiffs is easy. The court will use recommended people. As long as the business that owes you money hasn't moved then the bailiffs have the power to take a car from the cowboys that dealt with you, sell it, give you your money and any costs and give the remainder back to the cowboys.OP - did you at any time ask the dealer to repair the car, or did they offer to do so?
They attempted a repair in-between me getting my two independent reports. I collected the car after their repair and immediately reported the issue hadn't been fixed. This is when the dealer started to get more and more aggressive and this is when I got the second inspection and switched over to sending recorded letters.
What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
AtillaVHung said:
They attempted a repair in-between me getting my two independent reports. I collected the car after their repair and immediately reported the issue hadn't been fixed. This is when the dealer started to get more and more aggressive and this is when I got the second inspection and switched over to sending recorded letters.
What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
What were the timescales?What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
When did you initially report the issue for the fault?
Under 30 days? Under six months? Then you'd probably be successful.
If you're going for the "miss sold" because they said it hadn't been in an accident, then timescales very different. But in that case you'd need a very convincing report about the accident damage. And dealer may be able to make deduction for usage.
So you have two reasons there you wanted a refund.
I'd go with the fault reason if under the 30 days, or six months. (Under 30 days, dealer can't make reduction for usage).
The "miss sold" might get tricky if you no longer have the car, and judge thinks report may not be credible enough. (you won't be able to get another report)
Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 28th April 23:46
Simpo Two said:
You may be thinking of High Court bailiffs - if you get judgement and they don't pay, it's easy to escalate.
No, County Court. Stockport, a couple of years ago. I had to fill in the paperwork but the bailiffs were the official ones used by the County Court. All very smooth and easy to organise online.Trevor555 said:
AtillaVHung said:
They attempted a repair in-between me getting my two independent reports. I collected the car after their repair and immediately reported the issue hadn't been fixed. This is when the dealer started to get more and more aggressive and this is when I got the second inspection and switched over to sending recorded letters.
What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
What were the timescales?What also stank was that after I got the second inspection on the car, the mechanic recons the car may have been involved in an accident causing the rear subframe issues so their fore I also think i may have been miss-sold as at the time of sale the salesman was "1 million percent sure" the car hadnt been involved in an accident. I suspect they did as they covered up mastic in between panels with boot polish.
I feel so stupid for getting this car
When did you initially report the issue for the fault?
Under 30 days? Under six months? Then you'd probably be successful.
If you're going for the "miss sold" because they said it hadn't been in an accident, then timescales very different. But in that case you'd need a very convincing report about the accident damage. And dealer may be able to make deduction for usage.
So you have two reasons there you wanted a refund.
I'd go with the fault reason if under the 30 days, or six months. (Under 30 days, dealer can't make reduction for usage).
The "miss sold" might get tricky if you no longer have the car, and judge thinks report may not be credible enough. (you won't be able to get another report)
Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 28th April 23:46
As I have already sold the car now, does the process of taking the dealer to court change ? Do I need to send a before action letter etc ? Im not sure on the process. I have done so far, tried to sort it out amicably, offered to use a mediation service and sent a formal letter of complaint.
AtillaVHung said:
As I have already sold the car now, does the process of taking the dealer to court change ? Do I need to send a before action letter etc ? Im not sure on the process. I have done so far, tried to sort it out amicably, offered to use a mediation service and sent a formal letter of complaint.
Personally, I'd say it does change. I also say you sold a car with known faults, making you as bad as the dealer. It must be just me then, but this thread reads like an episode of Columbo.
Steal the deal, boot polish over mastic, my mechanic.
What was that car, how much did you pay, what were the faults, what evidence do you have, what documentation do you have, why did you sell it?
Sounds all overly complex.
No I don't think you'll get anywhere, as I might be thick and tired and only a tiny bit interested, however I'm lost already!
Steal the deal, boot polish over mastic, my mechanic.
What was that car, how much did you pay, what were the faults, what evidence do you have, what documentation do you have, why did you sell it?
Sounds all overly complex.
No I don't think you'll get anywhere, as I might be thick and tired and only a tiny bit interested, however I'm lost already!
Sorry I've been on a night shift so apologies if this reads like columbo.
Just to clarify the car was sold stating the faults. I lost a lot of money and was a hard decision between selling it, fixing it or the costly pursuit of retrieving 20k back through the courts.
Either way I looked at it, I was losing money for a really bad decision I made and all I wanted to know is if it was possible to attempt to retrieve my loss through the court. In before people say why didn't you go to court to get the full refund back. It's far cheaper to lodge a claim below 10k. It's that much cheaper now it's worth the money just to see the dealer squirm a bit, even if I dont recover the money.
Thank you for the advise guys. I'll update you as go on.
Just to clarify the car was sold stating the faults. I lost a lot of money and was a hard decision between selling it, fixing it or the costly pursuit of retrieving 20k back through the courts.
Either way I looked at it, I was losing money for a really bad decision I made and all I wanted to know is if it was possible to attempt to retrieve my loss through the court. In before people say why didn't you go to court to get the full refund back. It's far cheaper to lodge a claim below 10k. It's that much cheaper now it's worth the money just to see the dealer squirm a bit, even if I dont recover the money.
Thank you for the advise guys. I'll update you as go on.
AtillaVHung said:
As I have already sold the car now, does the process of taking the dealer to court change ? Do I need to send a before action letter etc ? Im not sure on the process. I have done so far, tried to sort it out amicably, offered to use a mediation service and sent a formal letter of complaint.
Give citizens advice a call, it's a free service to consumers..You've suffered a loss because they refused to refund you..
Your defence as to selling the car would be that you needed a working car, rather than waiting for the rejection, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
AtillaVHung said:
As I have already sold the car now, does the process of taking the dealer to court change ? Do I need to send a before action letter etc ? Im not sure on the process. I have done so far, tried to sort it out amicably, offered to use a mediation service and sent a formal letter of complaint.
As far as I'm concerned you're still owed money. If you judge what you're owed to be enough to justify the time/energy I'd take them to court.https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money
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