Car warranty dispute

fudgeum

I purchased a car in February from a small local company. The car was supplied with a three month warranty that I was verbally promised covered "everything on the car". The car had an issue with starting, which the seller (and owner of the company) told me was due to the battery being flat, and would go away in a few days.

A week later I got the car checked over as there was still an issue, and was informed that a major repair was needed at roughly £600 cost. I had this confirmed with a different inspection/quote from a second garage.

I returned to the seller and was told to come in and collect a warranty booklet. When I did this the warranty was only to cover the first £300 of any repair. I mentioned to the seller that this wouldn't cover the full repair, to which he replied that he'd "sort something out"

the next day I received a text message from him saying that a new warranty document was in the post with a £500 limit. When it arrived I relised that it (and the original) will only cover problems that are discovered after the point of sale (there's a clause in the signature box to the effect of "there are no problems with the car and it has been fully checked before sale")

I sent a text message to the seller explaining that I couldn't use this warranty as the problem was known before it was issued/signed. He replied saying it wasn't his problem.

The car was becoming unsafe to drive, so I had it repaired at my own cost.

Based on the above I decided to pursue his company through the small claims court, using Moneyclaimonline.gov.uk. I first sent him a letter stating my intentions and giving him a few weeks to reply - he replied by letter again stating that it wasn't his problem.

After the stated time had passed I filled out the forms online, and paid the fee for the service, claiming for the £600 cost of repairs I'd had to have done, plus the fee. The seller didn't file a response to this and so it defaulted in my favour. I gave the seller until the end of the july to pay, after which I can request a warrant from the court.

My issue is that the seller appears to have closed down the company I bought from, and started trading under a new name (same phone numbers on the new copy/paste website.) I'm not sure how to check if the old company was an LLC, or if he is a sole trader. From googling the address, there have been a series of car selling companies based there all with similar names.

I'm not really sure how to proceed here?
- I'm going to get a county court judgement in my favour, but by the sounds of things there's no company to recover the money from.
- If he's a sole trader I have his name and home address, but don't know how to confirm this. Would I also need a new small claims court claim?
- I also paid a small fraction of the car's £2000 cost on my credit card, but am unsure if section 75 would cover this instance. I'd prefer to keep the car, but want the cost of repairs refunded.

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, and many thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

pooch

It takes months to strike off a ltd company!

Check out the current status of the company on the companies house website.

The court would have provided you with the options available to you of how to enforce a judgement, if it is not paid.

fudgeum

thanks for the reply,

I've looked on (companies house gov webcheck, I'm not allowed to post links) but can't see the original or new company names listed. Hence my confusion, not knowing if it is a limited company or not :S

Is there any other way to get more info on a company?

I'm looking to enforce the judgement, but can't do so until the end of the month

pooch

fudgeum wrote: »

thanks for the reply,

I've looked on (companies house gov webcheck, I'm not allowed to post links) but can't see the original or new company names listed. Hence my confusion, not knowing if it is a limited company or not :S

Is there any other way to get more info on a company?

I'm looking to enforce the judgement, but can't do so until the end of the month

What's the registered number of the company you took out the summons against, and which you say judgement has been given in default?

fudgeum

I've not got the number, just the name and address:

Metro Car Supermarket (now Village Car Supermarket)
West Strother Farm
Holywell Dene Road
Holywell
Whitley Bay
NE25 0LL

I still can't post links but if you google the new name you'll find it. The home page states "Company registered in England and Wales.", but with no further info.

The bit about them being an "Appointed Representative of AutoProtect (MBI) Limited" has a number (which hasn't changed between the old site and new), but I suspect this isn't the info you're asking for?

pooch

fudgeum wrote: »

I purchased a car in February from a small local company. The car was supplied with a three month warranty that I was verbally promised covered "everything on the car". The car had an issue with starting, which the seller (and owner of the company) told me was due to the battery being flat, and would go away in a few days.

A week later I got the car checked over as there was still an issue, and was informed that a major repair was needed at roughly £600 cost. I had this confirmed with a different inspection/quote from a second garage.

I returned to the seller and was told to come in and collect a warranty booklet. When I did this the warranty was only to cover the first £300 of any repair. I mentioned to the seller that this wouldn't cover the full repair, to which he replied that he'd "sort something out"

the next day I received a text message from him saying that a new warranty document was in the post with a £500 limit. When it arrived I relised that it (and the original) will only cover problems that are discovered after the point of sale (there's a clause in the signature box to the effect of "there are no problems with the car and it has been fully checked before sale")

I sent a text message to the seller explaining that I couldn't use this warranty as the problem was known before it was issued/signed. He replied saying it wasn't his problem.

The car was becoming unsafe to drive, so I had it repaired at my own cost.

Based on the above I decided to pursue his company through the small claims court, using Moneyclaimonline.gov.uk. I first sent him a letter stating my intentions and giving him a few weeks to reply - he replied by letter again stating that it wasn't his problem.

After the stated time had passed I filled out the forms online, and paid the fee for the service, claiming for the £600 cost of repairs I'd had to have done, plus the fee. The seller didn't file a response to this and so it defaulted in my favour. I gave the seller until the end of the july to pay, after which I can request a warrant from the court.

My issue is that the seller appears to have closed down the company I bought from, and started trading under a new name (same phone numbers on the new copy/paste website.) I'm not sure how to check if the old company was an LLC, or if he is a sole trader. From googling the address, there have been a series of car selling companies based there all with similar names.

I'm not really sure how to proceed here?
- I'm going to get a county court judgement in my favour, but by the sounds of things there's no company to recover the money from.
- If he's a sole trader I have his name and home address, but don't know how to confirm this. Would I also need a new small claims court claim?
- I also paid a small fraction of the car's £2000 cost on my credit card, but am unsure if section 75 would cover this instance. I'd prefer to keep the car, but want the cost of repairs refunded.

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, and many thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

If you have a judgement, you would know it's not for you to set the timescale :cool:

fudgeum

the online court thing asked me for a date by which I would like to recieve payment, since there was no reply to the initial documents - I can't get a judgement until after that date has passed (the end of june)

pooch

fudgeum wrote: »

I've not got the number, just the name and address:

Metro Car Supermarket (now Village Car Supermarket)
West Strother Farm
Holywell Dene Road
Holywell
Whitley Bay
NE25 0LL

I still can't post links but if you google the new name you'll find it. The home page states "Company registered in England and Wales.", but with no further info.

The bit about them being an "Appointed Representative of AutoProtect (MBI) Limited" has a number (which hasn't changed between the old site and new), but I suspect this isn't the info you're asking for?

So it's not a limited company!

Why didn't you issue the summons in the name of the individual that owns the business?

fudgeum

I didn't know that I was supposed to

do I have to file a new claim, and is there a time period before I can do that?

pooch

fudgeum wrote: »

I didn't know that I was supposed to

do I have to file a new claim, and is there a time period before I can do that?

I suggest you seek independent legal advice before wasting any more time, effort and most importantly, money on this.

fudgeum

that's probably for the best, thanks for all your help