Please help!!!!!!!!
Discussion
I was wondering if anyone had any legal experience that could help me. 8 months ago I sold a car, from my car sales business, which ended up having a oil leak. Despite the contract being 50/50 warranty I drove down and picked it up, fixed it and returned to the customer. 5 months later they took it to a garage where they told them it had an oil leak. They reached out to tell me this and I told them I was happy to fix it if they brought it back to me (the car was out of warranty and the contract states the car must be brought to us for fixes). He then ignored us and continued to drive until the car was beyond the original repairs. He is now threatening to take us to court as a refund has not been offered. We have been quoted over a grand for a letter from our solicitors and are now unsure of our next move. Does anyone have experience with this type of case and advice on what we should do? I can provide more details as this is very bare outline but we have gone out of our way with this customer and even offered a courtesy car. The company is in the process of being struck off and has been published in the gazette.
Thank you for your reply. We haven't had a trading license since November and haven't sold a car since October, there was £3.19 in the bank and my stress levels, marriage and mental health were/are suffering immeasurably. We decided to close àfter the customer had made contact but before he has sought/started anything legal. I'm just looking to see if we are forrect as our solicitor wants huge money for a letter. Thank you for any help. James.
I am not a lawyer. Solicitor wanting £1k to deal with that is not on imo. From what you have posted it would appear that:
a) original issue was resolved above and beyond the contract
b) car is now out of warranty
c) customer has failed to follow the goodwill you offered to deal with his new problems out of warranty
d) there is no money in the business to pay a claim if it was upheld.
I would not respond and ignore it. I cant see a claims court supporting a refund under those circumstances because you have always offered to fix the problem, and even if they did, the business is insolvent so there will be no money to pay it.
a) original issue was resolved above and beyond the contract
b) car is now out of warranty
c) customer has failed to follow the goodwill you offered to deal with his new problems out of warranty
d) there is no money in the business to pay a claim if it was upheld.
I would not respond and ignore it. I cant see a claims court supporting a refund under those circumstances because you have always offered to fix the problem, and even if they did, the business is insolvent so there will be no money to pay it.
IANAL, but surely if you were trading as a limited company and the company is now insolvent there is no one or nothing to claim against anyway? The whole point of setting up as an LTD is to mitigate personal liability. Apart from that, the whole thing sounds bogus and while I realise you could do without the stress, the temptation for me would be to let him waste his time and money pursuing this nonsense.
Thank you all for your replies as I'm trying to get my head around this. He says that we don't have a leg to stand on. My view is we have gone way above what our contract states that he signed to the point of offering a courtesy car. He says that the repair we carried out has failed. It took him 5 months to notice? I'm assuming he didn't open the bonnet in those 5 months to check the oil or perform routine maintenance. I'm just tired of trying my best and being straight and people just walking over you with I know my rights and their superior sense of enlightenment. Thanks again chaps and I'm so grateful for your input or any more forthcoming input. I might sleep a little tonight. Just a word of warning for anyone thinking of getting into car sales. DONT even think about it unless you are some kind of sadist.
marmitemania said:
I was wondering if anyone had any legal experience that could help me. 8 months ago I sold a car, from my car sales business, which ended up having a oil leak. Despite the contract being 50/50 warranty I drove down and picked it up, fixed it and returned to the customer. 5 months later they took it to a garage where they told them it had an oil leak. They reached out to tell me this and I told them I was happy to fix it if they brought it back to me (the car was out of warranty and the contract states the car must be brought to us for fixes). He then ignored us and continued to drive until the car was beyond the original repairs. He is now threatening to take us to court as a refund has not been offered. We have been quoted over a grand for a letter from our solicitors and are now unsure of our next move. Does anyone have experience with this type of case and advice on what we should do? I can provide more details as this is very bare outline but we have gone out of our way with this customer and even offered a courtesy car. The company is in the process of being struck off and has been published in the gazette.
If you can evidence all that - letters, e-mails, texts - then as long as you've fulfilled all your obligations as a motor trader then I don't see how they can touch you legally.Was the second leak in the same place as first? That might suggest you didn't fix it properly the first time - the only catch I can see.
Don't pay a solicitor for anything. This would be Small Claims, a system designed for you to do yourself. There's a good chance they're bluffing so don't lose any sleep over it. Just keep your ducks in a row and bat straight.
If your company no longer exists it can't be sued, but I'm not sure if any liability can be assigned to you personally - after all that's why many people have limited companies in the first place...
StevieBee said:
marmitemania said:
The company is in the process of being struck off and has been published in the gazette.
Is that related to the case or a separate issue? Voluntary- if the customer becomes aware, then they may object and halt the procedure.
Compulsory - the Insolvency Service now has a policy of objecting to striking off in case the striking off is being used to avoid repaying or hiding government Covid support abuse.
marmitemania said:
Just a word of warning for anyone thinking of getting into car sales. DONT even think about it unless you are some kind of sadist.
It isn't just car sales it is any sales of an actual product, customers come up with all sorts of japes these days. However as soon as they threaten court action and throw random bits of legislation at you you know they are bluffing.Do not loose any sleep over this, nothing will transpire.
Have you done anything business related (courtesy car offer, replied to anything in a business capacity etc) since applying to strike off the business?
Edited as I've just seen your reply.
It's not that hard to stop the dissolution, so it may be a case of waiting to see what happens. But to get something out of the company is a different matter.
Edited as I've just seen your reply.
It's not that hard to stop the dissolution, so it may be a case of waiting to see what happens. But to get something out of the company is a different matter.
marmitemania said:
Thank you. Unfortunately they already know. We are a month away from completion and I've looked into it and once the process is started I think it can be quite a difficult thing to stop. Ie you have to have really good grounds.
There needs to be a valid case raised and court papers filed, the receivers need to be notified by the plaintiff, to pause a liquidation, in any case there is no money in the business for the receivers to pay him if he won and that is unlikely anyway.Sounds to me like this ‘customer’ is a chancer and thinks threats of legal action will get you reaching for your pocket. He would need to be able to prove that the goods were defective and that you did not remedy the fault having had the opportunity to do so. Being reasonable is what any small claim magistrate would look at and from what you have explained he has not been reasonable in his actions of not allowing you the 2nd opportunity to remedy the issue (assuming he can prove it was the same problem as the 1st). On the other hand you have been entirely reasonable and have gone beyond the contract you agreed when you sold the vehicle. You simply cannot buy a car and notify the dealer of a (supposed) reoccurring fault, refuse to allow the dealer to fix it, and then claim for a full refund.
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