Faulty Car bought on Credit Card HELP

suky1

Hello All

Bought a second hand car on credit card £2700.
Later in the week noticed the clutch juddered badly under certain conditions.
Tried to contact car sales company, did not get anywhere, emailed them twice for proof.
Filed for a refund for either 1.Whole amount or 2.Repairs from the credit card company.
I feel they are dragging this out, on their request I have sent them copies of email, copy of reciept and a quote from a garage to rectify problem at £500.
They have now said that they need a detailed report outlining the repairs in detail, the possible cause of the fault, etc.
All this costs money, as the garages will only give a estimate not a free report.
I am fed up now and thought it would be a easy process to get a refund of some type.
What am I doing wrong? This as been dragging on for 2 months now! How can I get a result. The credit card company said they can take as long as it suits them to make full enquires.

ILW

What is the retailer saying?

undaunted

You should probably be entiteld to a repair & if thats all you sought & you'd only had the car a few days I would have thought that the onus was on the trader to prove it was not sold faulty

Perhaps try contacting your local Trading Standards dept and mention the Financial Ombudsman to the credit card co.

Try these for info. in the meantime
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/brighton-hove/con1item.cgi?file=*ADV0003-1011.txt

http://www.whatcar.com/images/subscription/HELP.pdf

chanz4

Is it a fiat by anychance, as they are proan for the issue

lisyloo

and thought it would be a easy process to get a refund of some type

Well it can't simply be a case of just handing over money to whoever asks.
Unfortunately lots of people would take advantage of that.

You have a couple of choices.
1) You can continue with your credit card company although they are entitled to make sure it's a genuine claim. I am not saying it isn't but they are entitled to satisfy themselves. If it costs you to get a report then I'm sorry but I think that cost it down to you. They are entitled to take their time also.
2) You could file a claim through the small claims court. This may cost you a small amount e,g, around £30, but you may well get a quicker result. You need to be able to prove youc ase. A full report would help, but so would a video or photos. This is not a formal court with wigs. You simply have to convince he judge that your case is genuine. At the end if you win you will get a County court judgment against the business. There is always a chance you will have difficulty getting them to pay. You need to be prepared to spend time in court of course so might be time off work.
3) You could check if you have legal cover on your home insurance that gives you free legal cover for disputes. This means a solicitor will pursue the company on your behalf. This will also take time and they may also decide simply not to pay even with a court judgement against them.
4) You could stand outside their shop on a Saturday handing out leaflet. Takes time and they may still decide not to pay you.

BTW - did you get an inspection before buying the car.
Did that have any insurance with it? Can you claim off them?

If you didn't then I'd say consider a full inspection next time. Personally I chose to bung a trustworthy mechanic £50 for an hours work rather than paying the AA/RAC a lot more.

dalesrider

You do not say if its a visa or mastercard.

If its visa then your card provider are not dragging their feet.
For them to take it to visa they need as much proof as possible. And to be honest your case is not a strong one for a chargeback. As it was not faulty from when you bought it. In fact if they take it forward as a chargeback. I think its odd on it will be rejected on this basis by the retailer.
As a CCA claim you have to go the extra mile and provide proof at your cost to start with.

The retailer simply cannot ignore your requests.
You would be far better talking to trading standards (consumer direct) and your legal rights. In the 1st instance and then if that fails talk to your card co.

suky1

Yes the car is a Fiat.
The card co is Barclaycard Visa.

If I took it to small claims court and won, surely I could then send in the bailiff to recover goods to the value?

Are not all cars covered by law for 90days?? If so how does that work to make a claim?

Can anyone recommend on how to get a report and what detail it needs to go into.

If it is too much hassle could I not just return the whole car as faulty under my rights, but what if they don't refund my £2700.
I bought the car by credit card because all the articles on Martins Tips saying that you will get protection ?

chanz4

complain to fiat they will repair, used to happen when in first gear on the punto

KingElvis

Fiats tend to rust away long before the shoddy mechanicals and electrics stop working.

You could actually hear mine rusting at night on the drive.

dalesrider

suky1 wrote: »

I bought the car by credit card because all the articles on Martins Tips saying that you will get protection ?

We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

There is protection. Just you have to do some work to assist in getting it.
Many people cite CCA as the be all to end all to get your money back.....
It is not a quick and easy option.

Trading standards is your 1st point of call for legal advise on Sale of goods act. To go back to retailer with some sound advice.

Remember if you go via your card provider. The retailer has their chance to contest a chargeback. Visa/mastercard act like a judge in the middle. So the more information you can provide at the outset. The better the chance of winning.
As a aside for a chargback to be actioned. you need to return the car to the dealer.
Worst case you lose car and money with a weak case.

Report will need to detail what the problem is, that it has been ongoing from before you bought the car and the cost of repair.
Could just be that the clutch was on the verge of failing and you driving it for a short while was enough for it to fail.

I would also google the car you have and see if its a known common problem which will help prove the case a bit.

chanz4

It normaly is caused where the clutch is on its way out, hard to prove though if used car