stable door shut, after horse bolted, Loss of bargain?

bris

The dealer sent a hitch, your case is weakened by this fact.

Just mitigate your loss by selling the hitch, you need to do this anyway. Your claim, if any, is for the difference between what you get for the hitch and the cost of the one you bought. This is called mitigating your losses and is an essential part of any claim.

Tbh I too believe you are over complicating things, the hitch is not necessary, take towing lessons instead.

RFW

sadanorakman wrote: »

The second-hand hitch has cost me £176, (or think of it as 10% of the value of the van) and it is just the £176 that I wish to claim back from him, plus any costs that I may incur in recovering that £176, for example the £25 or £35 claim fee. If he wants to take it to court, then I would also look to seek my travel expenses, and any lost earnings for that day in court.

It is not ultimately about the couple of hundred quid, even though once again, it is not a paltry sum to me... It is about a lying scumbag that has sought to ignore, lie, and mislead me not only from the very first conversation I had with him, but continuingly for a further four months after we agreed our contract.

If you're taking him to court it is ONLY about the money, the court is interested in nothing else. I'd suggest that for £200 you could be throwing money away. A shady car(avan) dealer will not be bothered by a CCJ and may very well, if you win, get away with offering you £1 per month and that's all you'll get.

billyboggins_2

how did you pay? if it was by paypal get in touch with them or contact ebay resolution centre who are very good and if nothing else can remove him from ebay so that he doesn't scam any more victims ..good luck,,going to court will only get you judgement NOT your money or hitch without another load of bother (bailiffs etc)

pulliptears

billyboggins wrote: »

how did you pay? if it was by paypal get in touch with them or contact ebay resolution centre who are very good and if nothing else can remove him from ebay so that he doesn't scam any more victims ..good luck,,going to court will only get you judgement NOT your money or hitch without another load of bother (bailiffs etc)

He bought it in February. Paypal and eBay wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested at this point.

Personally I'd sell one of the hitches and move on.

mrs_sparrow

He paid cash.

Hard to not get emotionally involved and feel angry about it, I get that, but it is about the money only.

pulliptears

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

He paid cash.

Hard to not get emotionally involved and feel angry about it, I get that, but it is about the money only.

Exactly.
At the end of the day he did finally get a hitch from the seller. A court would at best give the difference between the two as has been said above. Factor in court costs, hearing costs, sending special delivery letters before action, sleepless nights worrying and then as has also been said getting £1 a week if you did win it's just not worth it at all.

Stick the extra hitch on eBay and be done with.

forgotmyname

Even without a stabiliser the caravan should not snake at normal towing speeds.

The stabiliser wont cure a badly loaded caravan or one with issues.

You need to cure the reason then the stabiliser is a belt and braces approach.

tykesi

forgotmyname wrote: »

Even without a stabiliser the caravan should not snake at normal towing speeds.

The stabiliser wont cure a badly loaded caravan or one with issues.

You need to cure the reason then the stabiliser is a belt and braces approach.

Exactly this! Tyre pressures ok, OP? You did check didn't you?

pulliptears

tykesi wrote: »

Exactly this! Tyre pressures ok, OP? You did check didn't you?

We've towed for years, admittedly not an enormous van (Old Lunars are particularly light) but we've never used a hitch and never had snaking issues.

You do need to learn how to load the van properly and as tykesi says check your tyre pressures. If the van has stood for any length of time the sun can damage and crack the tyres as well which will affect stability.

reehsetin

I'd pursue out of principle but that's how I am. He advertised the product in a certain way, at the point you saw it you agreed a specific contract with him i.e. the caravan and the hitch (to follow at a later date) for a specific sum
You chased the arrival of the hitch multiple times and you were given various assurances that it would arrive and you were let down. I would argue that in May you agreed on a specific set of dates and this formed part of the contract (31st May even though he offered sooner) (N.B. if this happens again make sure that you state at that point that you're 'making time of the essence' - the date of 31st I'd say would be likely to be reasonable as he said he'd be able to get it to you even sooner!)
You were clear that you were reliant on him getting the product to you within a certain time frame and he agreed to deliver within your deadline and failed