£500 car deposit non refunded - section 75?

udydudy

I think the OP has a stand in small claims court as he did write "subject to inspection" which I am pretty sure a judge would look favourably. The OP has given a deposit which he by writing the endorsement put his condition prior o payment of the deposit.

The car dealer by taking the deposit even though the OP has put his condition would be deemed to have accepted the buyers condition to the sale. The buyer has put in a condition to the sale contract wherein it was "subject to inspection" not "subject to rectification of faults", it does not say about rectifying the fault.

The inspection in my opinion showed up defects not highlighted by the seller and hence the buyer is within his rights to back out of the deal. The FOS has judged based on what the OP has written to them. If the other person was not very clear the FOS has ruled on how they interpreted it.

Though I am unsure how the court would rule since the FOS has already ruled. I think the OP should learn from this but if the dealer is not very far from where the OP resides then OP should apply via moneyclaim site for the £500 and costs including interest and time spent.

lisyloo

The bank/FOS could hardly ignore a CCJ.

I think they could theorectically come to a different decision than the county court if the CCJ is against the dealer.
Different courts come to different decisions all time.
If the CCJ is against the bank or jointly then of course they would have to abide by it, providing it meets the critieria e.g. amount, date etc.

I'd be looking at the joint option, but I don't know if that costs double.

lisyloo

and time spent

There are pretty strict rules on what you can claim.
I'm not 100% but I don't think you can charge for your time unless of course you had written evidence from your employer of loss of wages.

Queries

I bought a dodgy 2CV years ago with 10 months MOT, from a small, independent garage for £1300 (a lot in those days). When it went for the MOT it failed as it needed a new chassis (which would cost £900 - apparently a common fault with 2CV's.

I contacted the previous owner who admitted that being a rather big man he had welded the chassis prior to passing it onto the garage (he even put this in writing).

I had a mechanical engineer (I think that was what he was called) inspect it - and it wasn't just the chassis at fault.

Wrote to the garage with evidence and the one-man owner told me to take him to the small claims court, which I did. I also, had the mechanical engineer with me (which I had to arrange with the court beforehand, as a witness, otherwise he would probably have not been allowed), and with his evidence I won the full cost of the vehicle back, along with the engineer's costs.

Within a week I had a cheque from the garage. I realise that this is slightly different from the deposit issue, but the gist is the same, i.e. I bought, whereas you paid a deposit for a vehicle unfit for the purpose it had been sold and like you robinia, I had to prove the garage was at fault.

Going to the small claims did not take too long i.e following the procedure and waiting for a date. Also, unlike yourself, I had to park my 2CV on a friend's parking space, due to its failed MOT - which also resulted in me having no road tax and no insurance.

These days they have sped the small claims court procedure up. Recently, I contacted the court for the necessary forms and relevant information (this is also a Section 75 Claim which the FOS did not uphold regarding a service). The forms (they send them in triplicate, one for the court, one for the defendant and one for the claimant, but it is ok to fill in one and photocopy it and the evidence twice - keeping a copy and the original evidence for yourself) arrived next day. When completed the claimant now forwards them to a local business centre (the court will have this address) which is supposed to speed the process up. I sent mine, getting a proof of postage, and the turnaround time was 4 days. I am now awaitng for the defendant to reply.

A slight side track does anybody actually know of anybody who has won a section 75 from either the retailer, the bank or the FOS, without having to resort to taking (in my case the bank) to the small claims court? What is the point of having Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, when it is so very, very hard to enforce?

I do realise that banks and garages (along with a lot of other businesses) will fob people off, but if you don't try you don't get. They want you to give-up so that they do not have to part with your hard-earned money!!

chattychappy

udydudy wrote: »

Though I am unsure how the court would rule since the FOS has already ruled.

The court isn't bound by the FOS decision. The FOS isn't a court. I suppose submissions to the FOS could provide evidence, if, for example one party was claiming that another was changing position with respect to the facts of what happened.

chattychappy

lisyloo wrote: »

There are pretty strict rules on what you can claim.
I'm not 100% but I don't think you can charge for your time unless of course you had written evidence from your employer of loss of wages.

Yes, very limited in Small Claims Track. You can get lost wages for attending a hearing, but it is capped. Some travel expenses. I forget the details. Of course you get court fees back if you win.

JimmyTheWig

OP, have you got more evidence to show a court than you presented to the FOS?
E.g. was the FOS aware what you'd written about "subject to inspection"?

I think if you presented your FOS case badly then it is worth taking some advice and going to court.
But if you did everything right with the FOS then I'd say it was time to cut your losses.

Queries

Dear udydudy, you are allowed to reject a FOS's decision on a Section 75 (by the date they give) and if you do, you are, in theory back to were you were before the FOS got involved (minus a year or so).

hartcjhart

Queries wrote: »

I bought a dodgy 2CV years ago with 10 months MOT, from a small, independent garage for £1300 (a lot in those days). When it went for the MOT it failed as it needed a new chassis (which would cost £900 - apparently a common fault with 2CV's.

I contacted the previous owner who admitted that being a rather big man he had welded the chassis prior to passing it onto the garage (he even put this in writing).

I had a mechanical engineer (I think that was what he was called) inspect it - and it wasn't just the chassis at fault.

Wrote to the garage with evidence and the one-man owner told me to take him to the small claims court, which I did. I also, had the mechanical engineer with me (which I had to arrange with the court beforehand, as a witness, otherwise he would probably have not been allowed), and with his evidence I won the full cost of the vehicle back, along with the engineer's costs.

Within a week I had a cheque from the garage. I realise that this is slightly different from the deposit issue, but the gist is the same, i.e. I bought, whereas you paid a deposit for a vehicle unfit for the purpose it had been sold and like you robinia, I had to prove the garage was at fault.

Going to the small claims did not take too long i.e following the procedure and waiting for a date. Also, unlike yourself, I had to park my 2CV on a friend's parking space, due to its failed MOT - which also resulted in me having no road tax and no insurance.

These days they have sped the small claims court procedure up. Recently, I contacted the court for the necessary forms and relevant information (this is also a Section 75 Claim which the FOS did not uphold regarding a service). The forms (they send them in triplicate, one for the court, one for the defendant and one for the claimant, but it is ok to fill in one and photocopy it and the evidence twice - keeping a copy and the original evidence for yourself) arrived next day. When completed the claimant now forwards them to a local business centre (the court will have this address) which is supposed to speed the process up. I sent mine, getting a proof of postage, and the turnaround time was 4 days. I am now awaitng for the defendant to reply.

A slight side track does anybody actually know of anybody who has won a section 75 from either the retailer, the bank or the FOS, without having to resort to taking (in my case the bank) to the small claims court? What is the point of having Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, when it is so very, very hard to enforce?

I do realise that banks and garages (along with a lot of other businesses) will fob people off, but if you don't try you don't get. They want you to give-up so that they do not have to part with your hard-earned money!!

neither US or the OP know for definite if the car was 'unfit for purpose' as I have already stated there could be contamination in the coolant/oil still there AFTER the HG had been fixed,
the OP has already said they did not ask about the HG being fixed

sadly I think the OP is on a sticky wicket with the court route due to what she has said here

If the dealer has another car that is ok then I would suggest the OP takes it, OR meet the dealer half way on the deposit he keeps 250 she gets back 250, BUT I would advise to negotiate that with the dealer BEFORE saying about the court route

hartcjhart

Lets not forget that if the court decide the OP was at fault it could leave the door open for the dealer to counter claim for the rest of the purchase price