Dealing with dodgy car dealer/Trading standards

higda202

I wonder if anyone has any advice on how to make the most impact with a Trading Standards complaint or other routes of action. I bought a faulty car, and am going through the motions of rejecting, small claims court etc. My major concern is that this does not seem to be an isolated event - as more and more similar complaints are appearing online about this dealer.

My case:
- Bought 2004 Vauxhall Astra 130000 miles £2300
- Advertised with full MOT history. But recent failed MOT withheld which demonstrated pre-existing fault with engine.
- Engine management light came on as we drove away - engineering inspection demonstrated hole in exhaust manifold and numerous other problems, car judders and does not drive well.
- After much haggling dealer agreed to like for like exchange, refused refund. Refused test drive of proposed swap vehicle. Delayed AA inspection for 3 days - saying he might sell car in between unless we pay a deposit. Asked for £700 for swap car (of identical value to original) while AA in transit - thus incurring AA cancellation fees when I didn't agree.
- Multiple terms in contract of sale attempting to limit his responsibility under the sales of goods act.

I have continued to update trading standards and have managed to contact some others with similar issues who are doing the same. I suspect the small claims court will not get my money back as the company the sale has been routed through is in a poor financial state. VISA is another option.

I wonder if anyone else has some useful suggestions to effect some change in this dealers practice, maximise the impact of a trading standards complaint? I'm genuinely concerned that a large proportion of this rouge traders business is based solely on ripping off the public.

Thanks

David

motorguy

higda202 wrote: »

I wonder if anyone else has some useful suggestions to effect some change in this dealers practice, maximise the impact of a trading standards complaint? I'm genuinely concerned that a large proportion of this rouge traders business is based solely on ripping off the public.

Trading Standards wont do anything to help you as an individual, though they may chose to investigate the dealer. Or may not.

Consumer Direct will be very nice on the phone and tell you you have rights, but they have no teeth to actually do anything.

Your best hope is to take him to court, though if hes this slippery with you, he'll drag it out as long as possible, and probably not pay you back anyway.

Dont give this weasel any more money. Put the car right if you can then try to claim the money back.

arcon5

When did you buy it?
He is operating as a Ltd company or Sole Trader?

higda202

Bought it April 17th, informed him following engineer inspection 2 weeks later.

Have been chasing him since, firstly pursuing refund, then proposed vehicle exchange, and two letters with "reasonable" time for reply following this.

Hes operating through a limited company. Looks dodgy, we viewed the car in one business but the contract of sale is under another - which has not filed tax this year and there is a move to strike off by companies house.

arcon5

Do a search on the director at: http://companycheck.co.uk/director/index

See if he has a history of companies closed down. Will give you an idea as to whether it's worth pursuing or reporting to TS.

From what you so it sounds like he could have a holding company type structure who own the stock, and each company is sub-contracted as a 'sales' company, this way all his insurance and assets etc can stay under one company without the need to transfer assets out each time the 'sales' companies are shut down, leaving a trail of destruction behind.

There is a way of bringing a company director to justice, but for such you'd have to involve liquidators, who often look for payment upfront if you are winding up another company and probably in the region of £5k.

Also there are cases where a court has held a director liable for a company debt - but these are often not straight forward, requiring legal advice and usually not worth it for small debts due to the expense and risk.

higda202

The owner has a regular history of motor vehicle companies opening and closing in the same street.

The named storefront business looks clean, but a group of associated people have opened and closed at least one limited company a year, on the neighbouring site, where the contract of sale was through. I presume they are allowed to do this, and presumably this could be done to limit their liability.

This does not seem to be an isolated event as there are about 5 similar recent complaints about this business online. Although I suspect I have lost my money, I am more concerned that such people can continue to practice relatively untouched by the law/regulation.

I am not keen to get the car fixed as suggested in the second post - as this would be accepting the car. I have about 2 weeks to return paperwork for the VISA cashback, but I suspect the case is not black and white enough for this process.

motorguy

higda202 wrote: »

I am not keen to get the car fixed as suggested in the second post - as this would be accepting the car.

To reject the car you will have to hand it back to them and reject it in writing. At that point they will have your car AND your money.

= Bad Idea.

arcon5

Under the Sales of Goods Act, op isn't obligated to restore the car to them. Based on what ops said, I agree with above, I wouldn't trust them to have the money and the car.

higda202

I agree, returning the car has unacceptable risk - but they would not accept it back anyway.

Fixing it has a reasonable chance of costing more than the purchase price, I suspect the problems identified thusfar are the tip of the iceberg. The garage was unable to complete engine diagnostics without first repairing some components.

I will try my slim chances with VISA. Undecided whether the small claims court is even remotely worth the effort. It is disappointing that there are insufficient powers to effectively protect the public from this sort of activity. Although it emphasises the point to do your research, go to a reputable dealer and get an engineer inspection!

motorguy

arcon5 wrote: »

Under the Sales of Goods Act, op isn't obligated to restore the car to them. Based on what ops said, I agree with above, I wouldn't trust them to have the money and the car.

Rejecting the car means exactly that. Rejecting it.

You cannot reject it and continue driving it, and i dont think rejecting it and keeping it in your own driveway is really going to cause much concern for the lowlife dealer in question.

So reject it, and hand it back = bad idea.

Reject it, and just stop using it = fairly pointless in the context of this lowlife.

higda202

Its not really fit for the road, and so remains unused at any rate.

Any slim chance I have with VISA requires the car to be rejected.

Do you know if anyone has had much success with this route - there seem to be many grey areas that are potentially problematic.