Service advice for car bought from dealership which is now under receivership

[Resolution4me]

Hello,

I bought a used car in May 2008. I paid a deposit of £500 using my credit card. The car was purchased with two years free servicing.

I spoke to my credit card company. They said that because it was a deposit, that I could not claim anything under the credit card protection since I had received the car.

I spoke to the manufacturer who offered too look into my issue. The only evidence I have is a print out of the offer. Unfortunately my receipt does not indicate this and so have declined to honor the free servicing.

I believe my entitlement was on the dealer's computer system. Can I get this information under the data protection act? If so, does any one have any advice on getting this information from a company under administration?

I was wondering if the receivers were in anyway liable or could assist me in proving my car was purchased with free serving?

[harveybobbles]

Please give us some more info regarding what car it is and how old it is.

It would be strange that the warranty would be with the dealer - they may have acted as an agent to sell warranties like I do. So it may be worthwhile finding out who the warranty was with. I sell AutoProtect warranties for 1 or 2 years but if I went into Recievership then the warranty would still be valid as I only sell the warranty, not underwrite it.

[Hintza]

But is servicing the same as a warranty Harvey? Or was it the dealer just adding an extra?

[AdrianHi]

I suspect this was a deal sweetener offer by the dealer (who was possibly getting desperate) and your chances of getting anything out of the receivers is minimal at best.
Last year anyone buying Zavvi gift vouchers before 27 November basically lost their money when they went into receivership. Possibly a reasonable comparison with your case here.
Note to self: don't buy anyone gift vouchers anymore, give them cash instead!

[Lemonade Pockets]

Yeah warranty hasn't got anything to do with it.

Contact the receiver and explain the situation. They will have a debtors list, i.e. a list of all the people the garage owes money too.
They may add you onto this (to give u some money in lieu of the service) - but to be honest you'd be almost at the bottom so its unlikely you'd get anything.

Or

You could try asking them for proof so you can go back to the MFR but then the receivers aren't gonna be wild about giving out information to support futher debts or obligations. Using the data protection card aint gonna make them more cooperative (you'd be surprised what you can't find if you don't look).

I personally would plead ignorant ask them for help, say that the MFR will honour the service agreement if you can provide (find out exactly what proof they will accept). If that fails ask them nicely what you can do to recover the money at which point they may put you on the afore mentioned debtors list.

Playing hard ball for 2xfree services aint gonna rank high on their list of priorities so in my experience if you try this method you'll not end up with anything but a lot of stress.

Does it mention the free servicing on the order form at all?
What car is it? How old? Which dealer group? and i maybe able to give u some better advice

[terryya]

I think I'd look back into the info given to you by your credit card company because as far as I am aware as long as you pay £100 on you card then they are liable under section 75. The fact that it was a deposit is irrelevant as the payment was as much towards the car as the final balance payment was. I'm fairly sure this is correct

I think that I'd ring them up and inform that you ARE making a claim, as is your legal right, under section 75 - and make a claim for the cost of two services.

There is a guide on this site if you want to have a look - MSE Section 75 Guide (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases)

[derrick]

As long as the item/services are between £100-30000, irrespective of how much you put on the CC, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act is applicable to the whole deal.

From WHICH; - (http://www.which.co.uk/advice/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/your-rights/index.jsp)
However, you don’t have to have paid the full amount on your credit card – the card company is liable even if you made only part of the payment (a deposit, say) on your card. And this part-payment can be as little as £1 (but no more than £25,000).