Section 75 - Used Car dealer is a toe-rag

chewonit

Hi All,

I'm in a world of pain with a new car I brought in March and am hoping for some advice from you guys on my situation and what you think my chances of resolution are.

I brought the Car in march and as part of the deal the dealer agreed to carry out work on a number of minor faults, thisw has never materialised and since the purchase the car has developed a number of further faults that need fixing.

Essentially after the purchase if the car, the dealer fed me a pack of lies for 4 weeks about repairing the faults, but never did. this involved having me leaving the car with them for days on end only to collect it and find nothing had been fixed. I went on to write 3 letters to the dealer via recorded delivery, they have ignored these letters, and the owner refuses to take any calls from me.


My claim can be broken down in to thefollowing two areas:


A. The dealer has breached a verbal contract to undertakerepairs to the following areas of the vehicle:


· Door seal (Missing)

· Lock cover (missing)

· Paint work touch up (variousminor scratches)

· Radio fault (Radio does nottune, or play CD’s)


All of the above where present when the vehicle was purchased, however dealer made a verbal contract to carry out repairs to these areas aspart of ‘the deal’ to purchase the car. Despite repeated attempts by me to getthese points actioned; they are refusing to honor it.


B. Since purchase the car has developed a number of safety relatedproblems that were not evident atthe time of purchase. These include:


1. Loud rattling noise in steering column (audible when steering wheel is turned, or when car is travelling itvibrates,

2. Louder rattling noises from behind the dashboard – Something has come off and is rolling aroundin the back of the dashboard.

3. Seatbelt warning light warning of two seatbelt fault’s

4. Handbrake warning lights –fault (handbrake does not operate correctly)

5. Overwhelming smell of dog’s nowthe dealers masking agent has worn off.

I have put in a claim to my credit card company under Section 75 to reject the car and to claim a full refund. This was sent on the 1st May via recorded delivery, but its now the second week of June and i've heard nothing back from them - is it normal for the process to be this slow?

Should I contact the FSO if they don't respond in 8 weeks? is there anything I can do to help prove my case? do I have a case?

Any help here would be really appreciated, I'm pulling my hair out with worry.:mad:

Cheers :beer:

happygirl148

hi there is a bit of info on the AA website about your rights when buying a used car

theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-buyers-guide/cbg_legalrights.html

did you get any sort of warranty with the car ? if so check the terms and conditions as they should tell you what the dealers after sale responsibilities are.

a bit of info on section 75 claims
which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act

Taking your claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service
If your credit card company doesn't accept that you have a claim and refuses to pay up, ask for a letter of deadlock so that you can refer your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
If more than eight weeks have passed since you submitted your claim to your credit card provider, you can refer your claim to the FOS straight away without the need for a deadlock letter.

chewonit

Thanks Happygirl128

Yes the car came with a 3 month warranty from the dealer, but i've
lost hope in getting anything actioned by him as all he does is lie to me. this has been going on for 3 months now

I'm really hoping I have a case with the credit card, if i dont them i'm not sure what ill be able to do as the Small Claims court seems costly and with a low chance of actually seeing any cash back from it.

CKhalvashi

You may have a chance here, however as certain things were verbal, I must say I agree with the advice from 2 months ago.

Our fleet manager says that none of the faults on the car are dangerous, as long as the belts are working.

With the handbrake, assuming it's a manual, you may be best leaving it in gear until it's fixed.

CK

Nicholas-bloody-Parsons

Under B.
Item 1. Sounds like worn wheel bearings which should be checked out by a garage.
Items 2 & 5. sounds frivolous.... its probably not worth pursuing these.
Items 3 & 4. are likely to be MOT fails, so should be checked out by a garage.

As items B. 1,3,4 will require attention before the next MOT, it may be prudent to seek
expert advise at a local garage who appraise the vehicle for faults and will be able advise you on the cost of repair and whether they
think that this is down to wear or tear or a fault.

If the section 75 fails, you need to have evidence that there was a fault before the "3 month guarantee" lapses.
Getting a quote from another garage is an undisputable way of doing this.

chewonit

Guys,

Thanks for your help on this,

i have just called Barclaycard for an update on this and they have told me that they have written to the dealers bank (who in turn will write to the dealer) asking for an explaination - as yet they have heard nothing back. They also informed me that his bank has up to 120 days to respond! so I could be waiting a good while.

ON the upside they said the fully understood the details of my case, which hopefully means they have enough info to make a decision when his bank responds.

Onwards and upwards!!

ILW

Is this a newish car or a £200.00 banger?

chewonit

£6700 on Credit card + £1800 trade in.

chewonit

A quick update. My CC Company have today written to me asking for me to provide an independant assesment of the car ( I assume an AA Vehicle check will do) and a written quote from a main dealer for the cost of repairs.

Slightly frustrating as they have also asked me to resupply a load of other info that they already have (and have signed for) such as invoices, pictures and leters to the car dealer)

Watch this space, ill update as the process goes on...and on.

sharpy2010

Seems like at least they are doing something, which is better than a lot of the time when they just say no nothing we can do. At that point you're screwed, so at least at the moment there seems to be hope of some sort.

windingroad

Just to clarify, All car dealers are obligated to give 6months warranty on cars, Anything that goes wrong in this period is deemed to have been at fault when it was sold and it is their responsibility to fix it free of charge or to refund you the full purchase price if the vehicle is not economical to repair. They all try this 3 months nonsense or try fobbing people off with third party warranties.

As for cosmetic damage that was on the car when you bought it, Unless you have it in writing, I think you'll be hard pushed to get it done.