can anyone help please?

laineyf

Hi, I wonder if anyone can offer any advice please?

My daughter saw an ad in AdTrader for a company called Car to Go in Birmingham, who were selling an 02 Peugeot 206. The car sounded just what she wanted, had remote controlled central locking, a cd player, steel wheels, etc etc, so we went to Birmingham on Thursday evening to view.

When we got there (after getting lost) they took us to another yard where the car was. It was very dark, and we couldn't do a test drive as there was no petrol in the car! My daughter loved it though, so left a £100 cash deposit, and a further £100 via debit card for 6 months tax and 'charges'. We planned to collect and pay the balance on friday, however, they said they could deliver, so we decided to pay £70 for delivery. They said they would deliver between 6-8pm on saturday. After numerous phone calls, they said it would be after 9pm. They said there had been an accident on the motorway, and they were caught in the backlog of traffic.

The car was eventually delivered at 11.30 pm. My daughter was out, so I gave them the balance - £790, and £70 for delivery (all in cash as they requested). This car that was advertised for £890 eventually costing £1060 - but we were agreeable to that. He apologised for the lateness of the hour, and said that the car was a bit wet as it had been valeted, and not dried out.
On Sunday morning, when my daughter returned, she got into the car to drive it. It became immediately obvious that there was a loud banging from underneath. Also, the car is over revving. The engine revs very fast and loud, but the speed does not increase. The rear indicator light on the right hand side does not work, the handbrake is very high, and the car is not a bit wet - it is absolutely soaking wet through!! There is no remote controlled central locking, and the steel wheels are just wheels with no hubcaps.

I immediately rang the dealer (mobile number only) to be told that the car was fine when it was left with us. He said that he would have to talk to his boss, and would call me back. Of course, he didn't. I emailed them, with no response.
Today, the battery is completely flat. I contacted Trading Standards, who told me to write a letter and send it by recorded delivery, which I have done. I have told the dealer that we are repudiating the car as it is clearly unfit for the purpose for which it was sold, and that we want our money back. Trading Standards say we have rights, and the law is on our side.

What worries me is - what do I do if they refuse to give the money back. We can't use the car - it is just parked outside - my daughter has no car and no money to get one with, and we can't help her.We would have overlooked the central locking issue (even though it stated quite clearly in the advert that it had it) and the steel wheels thing - but this car is undriveable. It came with an MOT until August 2013, and I checked the certificate online, and it seems to be OK. It is just a white piece of paper - a receipt, but it is showing as passed.

I feel very stupid and am extremely upset that my daughter has been ripped off. Does anyone know how these things work? Trading Standards say that if I have had no response to my letter within a reasonable period of time, I have to contact them (TS) and inform them, and they will tell me what to do. Does anyone know if there is any chance that we will get our money back please?
Many thanks for any help offered.

Sgt_Pepper_2

Good luck is all I can say.

funkycoldribena

My eyes,my eyes.....

laineyf

I'm so sorry for posting such a big post, didn't mean to annoy anyone. I was just asking for some help. It doesn't matter, I'll try to sort it out myself. Thank you.

warwicktiger

I feel sorry for you, but my considered reaction is still You paid cash for a car you had not even driven?

Its wet
Indicators not working
No hubcaps
Handbrake dodgy
MOT iffy

All these could have been checked easily.

Could not be driven because there was no petrol in it?
How did it get to this yard? (Suspect it may have been siphoned as the petrol would be worth more than the car)
Delivery again in the dark? Did you hear this loud noise when it arrived? How did the delivery driver get home? Maybe his mate towed the car there in another vehicle?

I honestly find your post hard to believe. I wish you all the luck in getting anything back for it, but really what were you doing?

Tilt

If you edit your post into paragraphs, more people may read it.

fannyadams

are you with a breakdown organisation? call them and ask if they can help.
call your house insurance? call their legal dept and ask them if they can help.
get your daughter to call her insurance company as she may have legal cover (I assume she's insured to drive the damned thing), maybe they can help.

Alternatively

Go back to the dealer's address and don't move/leave until you've got your money back AND got them to collect the car from your address.

good luck

laineyf

I know how stupid we were to take this car at face value. I should say that I don't drive, know NOTHING about cars, and only went to the dealer so my daughter wouldn't have to go to Birmingham alone. I am just trying to help my daughter. We did not know that the car was soaking wet, we did not know that the indicator wasn't working, we did not know about the handbrake, or the banging, or the over revving, because we couldn't take it for a test drive. I did not hear any banging when it was delivered, and the man who brought it was accompanied by his brother in another car who took him back to Birmingham. I didn't see the MOT certificate until after the car had been delivered. Yes, we were very stupid, very trusting, and very naive. My daughter thought she'd found her dream car, and it isn't. I really wish I hadn't posted anything on this site - don't you all think I feel badly enough? Thank you for your replies.

laineyf

thank you fannyadams, I hadn't seen your reply. I will contact insurance and see if there is anything that they can do. Many thanks.

pulliptears

laineyf wrote: »

Hi, I wonder if anyone can offer any advice please?

My daughter saw an ad in AdTrader for a company called Car to Go in Birmingham, who were selling an 02 Peugeot 206. The car sounded just what she wanted, had remote controlled central locking, a cd player, steel wheels, etc etc, so we went to Birmingham on Thursday evening to view.

When we got there (after getting lost) they took us to another yard where the car was. It was very dark, and we couldn't do a test drive as there was no petrol in the car! My daughter loved it though, so left a £100 cash deposit, and a further £100 via debit card for 6 months tax and 'charges'. We planned to collect and pay the balance on friday, however, they said they could deliver, so we decided to pay £70 for delivery. They said they would deliver between 6-8pm on saturday. After numerous phone calls, they said it would be after 9pm. They said there had been an accident on the motorway, and they were caught in the backlog of traffic.

The car was eventually delivered at 11.30 pm. My daughter was out, so I gave them the balance - £790, and £70 for delivery (all in cash as they requested). This car that was advertised for £890 eventually costing £1060 - but we were agreeable to that. He apologised for the lateness of the hour, and said that the car was a bit wet as it had been valeted, and not dried out.

On Sunday morning, when my daughter returned, she got into the car to drive it. It became immediately obvious that there was a loud banging from underneath. Also, the car is over revving. The engine revs very fast and loud, but the speed does not increase. The rear indicator light on the right hand side does not work, the handbrake is very high, and the car is not a bit wet - it is absolutely soaking wet through!! There is no remote controlled central locking, and the steel wheels are just wheels with no hubcaps.

I immediately rang the dealer (mobile number only) to be told that the car was fine when it was left with us. He said that he would have to talk to his boss, and would call me back. Of course, he didn't. I emailed them, with no response. Today, the battery is completely flat. I contacted Trading Standards, who told me to write a letter and send it by recorded delivery, which I have done. I have told the dealer that we are repudiating the car as it is clearly unfit for the purpose for which it was sold, and that we want our money back. Trading Standards say we have rights, and the law is on our side.

What worries me is - what do I do if they refuse to give the money back. We can't use the car - it is just parked outside - my daughter has no car and no money to get one with, and we can't help her. We would have overlooked the central locking issue (even though it stated quite clearly in the advert that it had it) and the steel wheels thing - but this car is undriveable. It came with an MOT until August 2013, and I checked the certificate online, and it seems to be OK. It is just a white piece of paper - a receipt, but it is showing as passed.

I feel very stupid and am extremely upset that my daughter has been ripped off. Does anyone know how these things work? Trading Standards say that if I have had no response to my letter within a reasonable period of time, I have to contact them (TS) and inform them, and they will tell me what to do. Does anyone know if there is any chance that we will get our money back please? Many thanks for any help offered.

Does that make it a bit easier?

Tilt

Not sure what your home insurance can do about it. When you say 'steel wheels', do you mean alloys? Steel wheels normally mean standard non-alloy road wheels.

If you have sent a rejection letter, do not attempt to use the car again or have any work done to it. I assume that your letter gave the seller a dead-line. Once that has passed, send a LBA (letter before action) giving a further 7 days for a full refund and then after that, commence a claim via small claims using the SOGA 1972.

Unfortunately though, there is no guarantee you will get your money back even if your claim is successful.