Car Finance nightmare!

serverking

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Well spotted, Apples. It is amazing how people, when confronted with a hole, will just dig deeper.

It's easy to cast aspersions on people and feel smug from the safety of your keyboard, but placing a deposit on a car, having only seen pictures is very commonplace.

I had test drove another example so knew the type of car it was, the distance wasn't an issue as I cover the South of England in my current job and cover large distances. I understand there are going to be obvious frauds out there, but the fact the guy has 66 cars on a national website (Auto Trader) seemed legitimate enough. In this case it was simple geography. One doesn't venture into darkest Wales 170 miles, the same way one would drive from London to, say Oldham to look at a car... motorways and length of journey make a difference.

Apples2 wrote: »

Just your signature on here is enough let alone a defaulted Welcome secured loan.

Splashing £16k (let's call it £32k for the sake of poor credit rates) because you fancy a nice X5?

Make me shudder that you've already paid a deposit, to a dealer who turns out isn't a dealer on a car with no identity from someone who has no money and a defaulted secured loan.... What can possibly go wrong?

Unlike you who appears to know every situation, and probably sits at home all day offering their "two cents" on every forum subject, some of us are employed and need a large car to carry a lot of equipment, plus their family :mad:

I know it might seem crass on such a site as this (where at times we've been burned and need advice) to be discussing a 'premium' car like a BMW and it may come across like eating the finest sliced salmon while the rest of the villagers are starving, but as said to the previous 'critic' above, most people interested in a car and using a site such as Auto Trader would not feel the need to do extensive Google searches on a garage, as nine times out of ten, the transaction would be legitimate.

It wasn't like a Gumtree 'the car's with me in Italy but isn't good as the wheel's on the wrong side, send me funds through Western Union' type advert. The car is for work, the current 5 series is too small (carrying computer equipment for retailers - till cash drawers in large boxes /receipt printers / computer server spares / other peripherals and a tool kit, plus my family of three. Having been pleased with the reliability of BMW having owned two previous, choosing a larger model that would accommodate my work equipment, with the same reliable M57 diesel engine isn't a crime...

If it makes you feel more comfortable, I can edit out 'X5' and put 'Punto', but its still fraud. It was only after doing some more digging of my own (such as the car's details on DVLA) and having heard nothing of the alleged 'progress with the Finance company', I smelt a rat. Close Bros in Swansea even took the time out to call me (as I'm a customer of theirs already) and inform me Jack Galinsky / Richard Safadi does NOT have a Consumer Credit Licence and had been barred from selling finance. Being from London, I'm NOT expected to know each finite details of current affairs in South West Wales

Apples2 wrote: »

Wonder what the "dealers" name was our OP gave his deposit to?

Mr S. seems to get around a bit in Wales, behind bars a few times too (and not serving Lager)

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/removals-con-man-jailed-four-2464565

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3181040.stm

He (and his sibling) also gets a mention here
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?483912-South-Wales-Guys-Please-Look!

Thanks for this info... it's amazing what you can find. I didn't know this guy was such a villain. Even if I don't succeed with legal recourse (am applying for CCJ via Small Claims Court), it's the principle of the matter. Yes, for some £250 is a lot, but weighed against the total cost of the car it was small potatoes. It was a deposit, in most circles a deposit would safeguard your prospective purchase from being bought by someone else who made an enquiry. It seemed odd as the BBC apparently used this 'friendly local dealer' to make a short film http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/9134872.Penybanc_car_centre_helps_provide_thrilling_climax/ unless the film was Watchdog: The Movie :rotfl: I've been scorched but it's a paper cut to me.

I never knew this guy and his brother has been doing this for over 10 years and are career criminals. Unless this is his bipolar alter ego, he has re-appeared as Jack Galinsky, according to Companies House.

serverking

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Exactly what I have said on many threads on this forum, yet they still do it.

It's not as if an X5 is a particularly rare car. There are thousands of them around.

Unfortunately, some people seem to fall in love with the first car they see (or read about) and then stop looking. Then they put a deposit down, fearing someone else is going to jump in and buy it from under their nose, despite it being on the forecourt for weeks due to it being overpriced in the first place.

Having worked for a car dealer many years ago, I know dealers always have it in their mind that someone, somewhere will buy any car no matter how overpriced it is if you wait long enough.

To a Londoner £15k isn't overpriced... There are loads of X5s around, sometimes travelling further afield can get you a good car. I had been looking for a while, so no it wasn't the first one I'd come across. The other X5 was in Cambridgeshire, I went to view it, it was a mess, Chinese tyres, filthy and tatty. You do have to view it in the flesh first. As I mentioned before, it was just £250 but it's the principle of the matter.

Yes I know scum like this have no morals so I'm not expecting him to feel a pang of conscience and send it back. But still, this should come up on Google in a search and warn anyone else planning to buy a car from this piece of work. I haven't lost a lot, unlike the people Safadi conned with his 'removals business' scam, and now it seems he's gone back to the 'car dealer scam'... Perhaps one day I will go to his garage and pour brake fluid over some of his stock to wreck the paintwork

serverking

ppc1 wrote: »

Obviously it's made me worried and I want to forget it and get back my deposit. As I'm 170 miles away, I think he's going to fob me off. Is there any law regarding deposit and claiming it back or do I have to notify my bank?

He said he doesn't give deposits back and said he is keeping my card details on file. Is there anything I can do?

A deposit is a bond on your part to purchase the vehicle, I understand the dealer took it off the market. it is highly unlikely you will get your cash back. Notifying your bank will not work as the dealer will dispute that the cash was taken as a deposit and you then changed your mind?

What checks had you carried out on the car regarding its status?

I would also add that the car dealer in question gets reasonable reviews and I could not see any county court judgements registered against this company and it is registered with companies house.

You must be looking at a Google search of Penybanc in a parallel universe...:D I did search after I didn't hear anything for a day. Being suspicious of all car dealers is bordering on paranoid schizophrenia I was just someone using Auto Trader to buy a car. I wouldn't know every finite detail... I will speak to Dyfed-Powys Trading Standards or whatever it is called in the area this conman is based.

As for checks, just a VED check on DVLA. I hadn't begun to do an HPI though I realise I should have done. The car could have come up HPI clear, but the issue is more to do with someone providing finance, with no Consumer Credit Licence, it was deception.

serverking

Apples2 wrote: »

Wonder what the "dealers" name was our OP gave his deposit to?

Mr S. seems to get around a bit in Wales, behind bars a few times too (and not serving Lager)

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/removals-con-man-jailed-four-2464565

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3181040.stm

He (and his sibling) also gets a mention here
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?483912-South-Wales-Guys-Please-Look!

I think it was Jack Galinsky...