Agreed to sell car to aggressive buyer

hoggy52uk

Help please!
I have mental health problems (under care of Psych etc) and as I cant cope with driving and am short of finances, advertised my car for sale. Allowed myself to get hooked by a very aggressive buyer, who "persuaded" me to sell to him for only half of what I would have hoped to get for it. I suffer severe anxiety and depression and didn't have the strength to get him off my back so to speak- he was relentless with e-mails and texts.
He is coming to buy it on Monday, and he also persuaded me to email him a contract to sell, which I did. This is it

"To Mr .....
This is to put in writing the agreement we made over the phone tonight, namely that I sell my Freelander (reg xxxx xxxx) to you for the sum of £x cash. I understand you will be here
to purchase on Monday 9th Feb.
Yours,
My name"

I know I have been duped and fear that when he arrives he is going to keep on finding faults (he has not seen the car yet- we have just emailed and spoken on phone) and keep on knocking price down. I also fear that if he buys it and then finds wrong he is going to make my life hell (I am not aware of any faults, but fear he is the type to "find" them) and that until I've almost given the car away to him, he is going to be a problem. He says he has now purchased a train ticket to travel here on Monday.

No money has been sent, and I still have the vehicle.

What can I do? I have allowed this to happen, but I did not expect such an aggressive person to hound me in to doing this. My anxiety is through the roof.

Is the agreement/ contract binding? Can I cancel? (If he can show me receipts, would refund his train fair) To put you in picture, hoped to get some £2K for car- he has beaten me so far down to £700.

Please, any advice gratefully received!

unholyangel

An agreement is binding when both parties mean for it to be binding.

In a situation such as this, its unlikely theres a contract in place unless he is coming on monday with the sole intention of collecting the car and payment was agreed to be paid upon collection.

If you have a mental health disability, contact your social worker and ask them to provide support. If not, ask friends/family or even a neighbour if they will help/be present when he visits. But please also keep in mind (and i'm not trying to offend or belittle you, i do understand) that your condition is likely making the situation seem worse than it actually is...you can't help it, its part and parcel of anxiety.

As for faults once the sale is complete....I'm assuming you're a private individual (rather than a business who is trading) so its effectively "sold as seen".....the only thing it must do is match any description. So if you have listed it as including a cd player, there is a reasonable expectation the cd player will work (since its listed in the advert).

If you really dont want to sell the car for the price mentioned, you're better telling him now. Providing (as above) there is no agreement to sell atm - because once a contract exists, you can become liable for the other persons losses if you pull out.

daytona0

unholyangel wrote: »

An agreement is binding when both parties mean for it to be binding.

In a situation such as this, its unlikely theres a contract in place unless he is coming on monday with the sole intention of collecting the car and payment was agreed to be paid upon collection.

If you have a mental health disability, contact your social worker and ask them to provide support. If not, ask friends/family or even a neighbour if they will help/be present when he visits. But please also keep in mind (and i'm not trying to offend or belittle you, i do understand) that your condition is likely making the situation seem worse than it actually is...you can't help it, its part and parcel of anxiety.

As for faults once the sale is complete....I'm assuming you're a private individual (rather than a business who is trading) so its effectively "sold as seen".....the only thing it must do is match any description. So if you have listed it as including a cd player, there is a reasonable expectation the cd player will work (since its listed in the advert).

If you really dont want to sell the car for the price mentioned, you're better telling him now. Providing (as above) there is no agreement to sell atm - because once a contract exists, you can become liable for the other persons losses if you pull out.

All well and good, but the OP has allegedly sent an email to the potential buyer which may have outlined a makeshift contract...

To quote:

"To Mr .....
This is to put in writing the agreement we made over the phone tonight, namely that I sell my Freelander (reg xxxx xxxx) to you for the sum of £x cash. I understand you will be here
to purchase on Monday 9th Feb.
Yours,
My name"

That looks like a contract to me, but if you have any further thoughts then I'd certainly address THAT part of OP's post to further assist... At the very very least I would say that the OP is going to be liable for the travel costs if they change their mind (assuming that the email sent it not a contract of course, otherwise things will get a bit dicey)

marleyboy

Just tell him you had a better offer and sold it already

unholyangel

daytona0 wrote: »

All well and good, but the OP has allegedly sent an email to the potential buyer which may have outlined a makeshift contract...

To quote:

"To Mr .....
This is to put in writing the agreement we made over the phone tonight, namely that I sell my Freelander (reg xxxx xxxx) to you for the sum of £x cash. I understand you will be here
to purchase on Monday 9th Feb.
Yours,
My name"

That looks like a contract to me, but if you have any further thoughts then I'd certainly address THAT part of OP's post to further assist...

Well I did say it was providing there was no agreement to sell

But if there is an agreement to sell then best to have a witness there to offer support (hence my comments about asking if someone can be there with OP).....plus if he haggles on monday and says he wont buy unless its cheaper....it can be used to show there was no legally binding agreement in place - which again is where the witness comes in.

marleyboy

Make sure the cash is authentic with that amount too.

Gavin83

hoggy52uk wrote: »

I know I have been duped and fear that when he arrives he is going to keep on finding faults (he has not seen the car yet- we have just emailed and spoken on phone) and keep on knocking price down. I also fear that if he buys it and then finds wrong he is going to make my life hell (I am not aware of any faults, but fear he is the type to "find" them) and that until I've almost given the car away to him, he is going to be a problem. He says he has now purchased a train ticket to travel here on Monday.

Then don't reduce the price any further. If he arrives and complains about aspects of the car just say the price is low already and you won't be adjusting it further. If it helps get someone to be there with you when he arrives.

If you don't wish to sell it then don't. Email him saying whatever you wish, the car has been sold to someone else, it's developed a fault that means it's a write off, whatever. Offer to cover the cost of his train ticket if he sends you a scanned copy of it. I'd personally ignore any phone calls as I'd imagine written communication would be easier. If he does happen to turn up at the house don't answer.

Your choice.

You'll always get these people when selling a car online. Last time I sold a car I had it up for £2200. A guy emailed me offering £1000 and got extremely angry and aggressive with me when I refused. Told me he'd seen that car sell for less than that and there was no way I'd get more than his offer. I told him I'd take my chances. Sold it 2 days later for £2000. Know what price you want and don't take any less.

Laz123

Your email isn't a contract. A contract is when monies have changed hands. Get a friend/neighbour/relative to give you support when you tell him to !!!!!! off.

Nodding_Donkey

Just email him today and tell him it's sold. Then mark his email as spam and block his number.

N9eav

Contact him today and tell him you no longer wish to sell the car to him as it is no longer for sale.


If he shows up and causes a problem, then call the Police. While they cannot resolve any property dispute, if you explain to them the situation (being a vulnerable person) they should make him go away to prevent a breach of the peace


If he wishes to take any action about the contract, then let him do so before a court, but personally I can't see it getting very far.

visidigi

Tell him you sold it for £2,000 already and as you got its true value you'll pay for his train ticket so he's not out of pocket