Scrappage Scheme Error

InkyFingers

Hi Everyone,

I've just bought a new car on the scrappage scheme. I had an old escort that was off road and mot had lapsed but was still insured. When I went in to the dealership I told them this and that I was getting the MOT and tax sorted, could I trade it in. They said yes, we went ahead and made a deal on a new car and then I paid a deposit. etc After one MOT failure the car passed a second time, I took it in and the rest of the deal was concluded. Now, two weeks later they have discovered that the MOT and tax needed to be in place 14 days before the start of the deal. They never told me this, in fact they did the usual dealership thing of rushing me to sign up etc Now the government won't pay them the scrappage allowance and they are asking me for more money after the deal is done.
The DVLA and gov website says the dealership will check the car is valid for scrappage and will handle the paperwork. They knew the car was off road and not yet MOT'd and if they hadn't made me rush, I would willingly have waited 14 days extra. Have they got a leg to stand on?

Many thanks for any help,

I.

Wig

IANAL TINLA

I would be reading the paperwork you signed very carefully. I would have thought it mentions in there something about you attesting that the car you are scrapping has a valid MOT.

This IMHO doesn't remove the blame from them totally. I would say you have some portion of the blame -for not reading the contract properly- but they have the majority of the blame for being the "professional body" involved in the transaction, they have a duty of care owed to you to make sure that they know all the requirements of the scrappage deal. Any idiot should have known that the MOT must be valid at time of the deal. Not everyone would have known the MOT had to be in place 14 days before the deal, but that is the sort of information the dealership should have known and made you aware of, and certainly they shouldn't have been pushing you to sign when they knew the car wasn't even MOTd yet!

If I were you I would talk to a solicitor. Take all the paper work with you and write down a step by step chronological order of events. Read the paperwork beforehand so you have some understanding of what the contract says.

InkyFingers

Thanks for replying.

As far as I can tell I did everything their (Mitsubishi) website requires - it stipulates that "The vehicle being offered for scrapping must have valid insurance, tax and a current MOT test certificate or one no
more than 14 days past the expiry date"; all which I provided on the day of cash transfer. The dealer had not realised that all this was needed on the day the car was ordered. He admitted this to me on the phone today. The website is not clear on this either. Furthermore, their website also states that:

"What is the process for consumers who want to participate in the scheme?
Consumers will take their car to the dealer to confirm eligibility and the dealer will take care of the rest. The dealer is
responsible for all paperwork and for getting the car scrapped in the right way."

I was completely up front about the fact that I still needed to sort the tax and MOT and the dealer said the car would be eligible. If it wasn't eligible, surely it was his responsibility to know the ins and outs of the scrappage scheme? I'm wondering what, if anything, they can do to get more money as it was their mistake?

Thanks,

I

Lemonade_Pockets

Can the dealer not just re-do all of the paper work? With today's date on it?

If not i take it they are trying you to cough up a extra £1k?

If this is the case i personally would try explain to them why its their problem. I.e. It was on their insistence that you completed the deal etc etc. Then if they are still wittering on about it tell them you'll wait for the court summons. (Read all the paperwork first)

InkyFingers

That's what I suggested but they said they're not allowed to redo it. They've already come down to suggesting I pay £500, but I blew all my cash on it in the first place and quite frankly I think it's their mistake and don't see why I should have to pay anything. I would have been perfectly willing to wait 14 days after the escort got its MOT to scrap it and buy a new car.
I also said I can give the new car back, but of course it has been driven for a couple of weeks now so they don't want that. I'm just worried they're going to try and claim I still owe them money somehow!

Wig

I'd take a hard drive copy of their website, and print out the website.

The website info is good and will help your case. But it doesn't rule out completely your responsibility to read the paperwork you are signing. IMHO I would say you are 10% to blame they are 90% to blame.

Lay it out in writing why you think they are to blame and send it to them.

And I agree, I wouldn't be thinking of paying them until they set a court date, and then I would offer them 10% = £100 in the meantime I would be looking for some better legal advice - for free of course - some solicitors will offer a free session, there are some law sites on the web and there are the newsgroups:
uk.legal
uk.legal.moderated

Do yourself a favour before posting there, write out chronologically all the events, and read the contracts you signed, and quote the relevants parts of that contract in your post i.e. "I declare that the car is MOT 14 days previously from today....etc etc". And link to the website.

InkyFingers

Brilliant - thanks for the advice. For what it's worth I've been through the paperwork and checked - I signed nothing that declared I already had an MOT at the point of ordering the new car. Pretty much all of the scrappage stuff is handled by the dealership and was done when I came in with all the required documents.

sheslookinhot

Have you got the new car ? If so no worries.

If not tell them to do one

Wig

InkyFingers wrote: »

Brilliant - thanks for the advice. For what it's worth I've been through the paperwork and checked - I signed nothing that declared I already had an MOT at the point of ordering the new car. Pretty much all of the scrappage stuff is handled by the dealership and was done when I came in with all the required documents.

Even more in your favour then.

InkyFingers

Thanks for all the advice - will see what they say tomorrow, and if necessary check with a solicitor. Cheers!

I.

MX5huggy

I would not even bother checking with a solicitor, just tell them you have the car and have paid every thing as asked everyone has performed the contract as expected when it was made. And find a different dealer to service the car!