Im being sued after I sold my car

thewhiteavenger

OP - just to make sure you know that if you don't submit a defence, you get a ccj in default, and the claimant is permitted to enforce this.

straighttalker

OP, as others have said, make sure you file the Acknowledgment of Service with the court and serve it on the Claimant. This buys you more time to get your Defence drafted.

In your Defence, make sure you totally deny his claim. Do not agree anything. Deny the contents of the report, deny his version of events, deny the amount of damages he is seeking, deny his claim for interest. Try and put your own argument across but keep it short, to the point, and not too emotional. You can pad out your own argument within your witness statement along with any other evidence you choose to rely on. Normally statements and evidence are exchanged and filed with the Court at least 14 days before the hearing if allocated to the Small Claims Track. Also, at allocation, make sure you request that the matter be transferred to your local court.

poppasmurf_bewdley

If he didn't spot how 'dangerous' this car was, even after he presumably looked it over, how does he expect you to spot these same deficiencies?

darrensurrey

Can't help thinking he already has the same model and has swapped out the decent stuff.</paranoid>

Wig

Those of you who are dismissing his claim out of hand, and saying private sale, private sale, no responsibility ... etc etc.

Have you not read the CAB link I provided above?

SO rather that just saying "private sale, private sale, no responsibility, off my driveway etc etc ..... Why don't you back this up with a reference to the legislation and why in your opinion it does not apply to a private seller contary to what the CAB says on their website...? Or why there is no liability to a private seller.

And lets discuss this:
If this is the law, then what are your responsibilities as a seller to the buyer who then decides to drive it away?, if you want to cover your a$$ by saying "This car is sold "not for use on the road", buyer beware, no guarantee of roadworthiness is either given or implied" In other words as soon as this law (loophole) becomes common knowledge every private seller would just include that phrase as a disclaimer, but both parties will know they are buying for use on the road.

Do you have any responsibility to not allow them to drive the car away? Or is it a case of "You do whatever you want, it's your car now, I have warned you."....?

Retrogamer

Wig wrote: »

Those of you who are dismissing his claim out of hand, and saying private sale, private sale, no responsibility ... etc etc.

Have you not read the CAB link I provided above?

SO rather that just saying "private sale, private sale, no responsibility, off my driveway etc etc ..... Why don't you back this up with a reference to the legislation and why in your opinion it does not apply to a private seller contary to what the CAB says on their website...?

And lets discuss this:
If this is the law, then what are your responsibilities as a seller to the buyer who then decides to drive it away?, if you want to cover your a$$ by saying "This car is sold "not for use on the road", buyer beware, no guarantee of roadworthiness is either given or implied" In other words as sson as this law becomnes common knowledge every private seller would just include that phrase as a disclaimer, but both parties will know they are buying for use on the road.

Do you have any responsibility to not allow them to drive the car away? Or is it a case of "You do whatever you want, it's your car now, I have warned you."....?

As far as i'm aware, any civil claims against a private seller for selling a car that has unknown defects to the seller has failed, providing they didn't put false information on the advertisement or provide false information before / during the sale.

If you disagree, please feel free to provide a link to a case that shows otherwise.

It's not as clear cut as "selling a car that isn't roadworthy is an offence"
How do you think people purchase crash damaged cars to repair themself, or cars needing general repair? (it happens all over the country on a daily basis)

Wig

Lets put it the other way around... how many cases have you seen against private sellers on the basis of a independent engineer's report saying that the car is not roadworthy and seeking damages ?

What are the cases where the plaintiff lost?

I never knew this (what I read on the CAB website) before, I'm assuming the CAB knows what they are talking about, and they say it is against the law to sell an unroadworthy car unless this is made clear as part of the sale (i.e. 'not for road use' or 'spares or repair'). And they imply further down the page that you can seek damages against a private seller who does not do this.... I believe there would be obvious exceptions to this rule, if you were selling a write off vehicle with the front end smashed in, then it is obviously unroadworthy, or if you were selling just a chassis, then .......obviously....... no need to stipulate "spares or reapir" or "not for road use". But if you are selling a car that outwardly appears normal then that stipulation would have to be made in order to cover your a$$.

Swipe

Well, lets hope the OP keeps us updated on their case, then you'll both have your answer.

Armorica

How old was the buyer?

Retrogamer

Wig wrote: »

Lets put it the other way around... how many cases have you seen against private sellers on the basis of a independent engineer's report saying that the car is not roadworthy and seeking damages ?

What are the cases where the plaintiff lost?

There are quite a few threads, with the case details on both the Pepipoo forums and Speed Plod Law section on Pistonheads forums where private seller as submitted a claim and nothing ever came of it.

Feel free to do a search on there if you like. I've seen a few cases now and all were in the sellers favour. Not seen any in the buyers.