Please help a first timer!!!!

IRWM

Hello,

This is my first post so please bare with me.

I recently (2 months ago) put a deposit down on a car from a dealer on my tesco CC for £250. Long long story short, they kept me waiting two weeks, the day i was due to collect (saturday) i call and they tell me there is outstanding finance on the car and they can not release it call on monday after the weekend. They call me Sunday morning to say the car is now ready, i said i no longer want it, i have lost faith in them and so already bought another one that weekend. I politely asked for my deposit back. The guy went bonkers on the phone swearing etc and said i got no chance in getting my money back.

The next two weeks saw me try in vain to get my deposit back. they said they have done nothing wrong and so NO.

I called tesco and wrote a nice lengthly letter explaining all this. They said its tough, they want a copy of the origincal ad (it was online and i didnt print it) and a copy of my sales invoice showing the date on which i was due to collect the car - I never had anything from them. The deposit was taken over the phone and thats it.

can anyone help please, the car dealer in question (a38 autos) will not speak with me , I have e mailed and called the dealer & tesco have left me in the lurch!

£250 is big bucks for me.

Thanks in anticipation of any help / advice.

CannyJock

What evidence do you have that the car they sold you was subject to outstanding finance and not theirs to sell? Did you sign a sales contract?

Sounds to me like the car dealer had to pay out to clear the finance and isn't too happy that you've bailed out on the deal.

You're in a tricky situation, they took a deposit for a car you agreed to buy (you did see the car and take it on a test drive, look over the body work I assume?), the deal's fell through and they've kept the deposit. Personally, I'd chalk the £ 250 up to experience, can't see what grounds you can claim on. You were due to collect on Saturday, they called you on Sunday and you'd bought another car? Tricky to argue they failed to deliver on the day and whether that's grounds for breach of contract.

There is a site I've used before www.mycarcheck.com that you can use to get a report on whether a car is subject to finance/stolen/scrapped. Probably cheaper ones, but I've been happy with their charges.

IRWM

Thanks guys,

No i didnt chekc over the car or even see it it was purely a deposit to hold the car and then we colect on the sat if all is true and accurate to the photo.

They called us the day after we were due to collect. I took the day off on the saturday to colelct the car they said you can not have it it has finance outstanding, call us on monday. Then they called the sunday morning.

I lost all faith on the saturday before and just bought a new one. They have treated me awful though post this unsurprsingly i know but they didnt keep their end of the deal either.

td_007

Unfortunately with nothing on record i.e. written agreement, phone recordings etc. it is your word against theirs.

You could ask them to send an invoice for the amount they charged you (they have to do that) and see against what reason they attribute to the charge. You might then have something to dispute....it is a long shot but at this stage you have nothing to lose.

CannyJock

IRWM wrote: »

Thanks guys,

No i didnt chekc over the car or even see it it was purely a deposit to hold the car and then we colect on the sat if all is true and accurate to the photo.

They called us the day after we were due to collect. I took the day off on the saturday to colelct the car they said you can not have it it has finance outstanding, call us on monday. Then they called the sunday morning.

I lost all faith on the saturday before and just bought a new one. They have treated me awful though post this unsurprsingly i know but they didnt keep their end of the deal either.

Ouch. Would have hoped an IFA wouldn't have been caught out on a financial matter, but just goes to prove can happen to anyone. Good luck with it.

IRWM

I know, I just automatically assumed i would have been covered for this purchase as it was on CC.

Looks like i'll have to keep an eye out for a "purchases on credit cards" exam. Lol.

kilasuit

what about DSR that may cover you but i'm not goin to guarantee it