could someone help me with my rights as a buyer?

youknowwho

my mother bought a caravan off someone for £1400, she had the seller sign a receipt which stated the caravan and the amount it was purchased for. Mum towed the caravan home and upon closer inspection it was riddled with damp and have been covered up very well. She started to clean it and the walls pratically came off!! She took it to a scrap yard who gave her a writen report on how unsuitable and dangerous it was for use. Anyhow, my mum has tried endlessley to ask for her money back but he wont as he is using the "sold as seen" excuse. Is there anyo0ne out there who could give me some advice on how my mother could get her money back? She has MS and wanted the caravan for an "escape" from the house - as she has MS she doesn't work and has a linited income. This was a private sale. The caravan is now at the scrap yard as it has now fallen apart!

Any advice would be greatfully appreciated - this is a sad situation as my mum had saved for 2 years for this and she is devasted - please, only constructive comments.

Thanks

neilmcl

youknowwho wrote: »

... upon closer inspection it was riddled with damp...

The time to do this was prior to the sale. I don't think she's got a leg to stand on, sorry. It was a private sale and "sold as seen" isn't an excuse but a statement of fact.

tabskitten

Sad sad situation and not fair- but sold as seen is just that!

mikey72

No it's not, it also has to be as described, and reasonably fit for purpose. Small claims court or CAB first. Try the aa or rac for legal advice if you're a member.

neilmcl

I don't believe the sale of goods act in terms of quality applies to private sales.

mikey72

It's been covered before several times, the op needs legal advice.

meritaten

mikey is right - it may be a private seller but it has to be fit for purpose. I suggest CAB as mikey says or if your mum has AA or RAC membership they may be able to help.
if not then the small claims court. tell your mum she needs the advert which tempted her to go see the caravan as this is the first description of it and can be important.

jaydeeuk1

Take it to court. There was an identical thread from the sellers point of view last year, and the court sided with the buyer (though that may be down to the seller stupidly defending themselves). Opinion has been sold as seen, you take your chances privately - but the court didn't see it that way. Sadly the thread has been deleted.

neilmcl

From the consumer direct website:

Satisfactory quality is defined as what a ‘reasonable person’ would regard as acceptable, and takes into account factors such as price paid, fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, freedom from minor blemishes, safety and durability. If it becomes apparent that an item is not of the quality you were led to expect, you were not aware of any such defect when you bought it, and you bought from a seller acting ‘in the course of a business’ (i.e. not an informal sale), you are quite within your rights to go back to the retailer, even after some months of use. If a product develops a fault within the first 6 months, the assumption will be that this defect was present at the time of purchase and you will not have to prove anything. If you are returning an item after this 6 month time period, this automatic assumption does not apply, and it may be up to you to prove the fault did not occur through misuse.

goldspanners

[QUOTE=youknowwho;31257725 The caravan is now at the scrap yard as it has now fallen apart!

[/QUOTE]

what are they doing with it? have they scraped it or are they storing it for her? it might be a better idea to keep a hold of the van for evidence as to how un fit it was. as others have said this has been covered several times before and it seems to lie in how the item was advertised in the first place, if it was sold as "first class condition" then she may have a chance, if it was sold as "in need of some work" then i doubt she would have a chance in getting anything back.

legal advise would be best here,and also updating this thread to help others aswell would be good.

mikey72

Keep the caravan as you will need it, either for evidence, or hopefully to return to the seller.

And also from comsumer direct



What about private sellers, does the Sale of Goods Act apply to them?

The Sale of Goods Act may apply to contracts between private individuals however only parts of it. If you buy from a private individual you can expect for the seller to have the right to sell the goods and for the goods to be as described.

Did he describe it as a wreck full of damp? Or as a working caravan?