2nd hand fridge freezer faulty - Refund?

AGray

So I have an update in regards to this and I'm absolutely seething. Typing on phone at moment so keeping it brief...

I finished work and someone mentioned that the trader has been closed for over a week. For curiosity I went down to see and it was locked up. I asked the trader next door who confirmed they hadn't been seen in over a week.

Concerned I went to market manager who was being very cryptic.. I phoned trading standards who said.... Here we go... They have ceased trading. Amazing.

For data protection they can't give his home address to me but this seems to be the way it's leading.

Scammed I have been

bod1467

I don't see the question asked, and I haven't read the OP in its entirety, so .... how did you pay? Cash? Credit Card?

If the latter, and it was £100 or more, you could look at raising a Section 75 claim on the CC provider.

AGray

This was paid cash in hand so there is unfortunately no basis for protection. I did offer to pay on credit card but they didn't have any facility to take payment.

Anyway, things have been somewhat straightened out, but the story continues sadly. I received a call this morning from the Trading Standards, enquiring on if i had completed the exchange - I told them he no-showed, to which they agreed this was unacceptable and she would chase this up for me.

A few hours later i was told that the trader might have stopped trading in the market, so curious about this i went down myself.

The stall was closed up, and the next door stall confirmed they hadn't seen him in over a week. Ominous. I went to the market traders office and said that i suspected they had stopped trading and i had an ongoing dispute over it. She was aware of the case (This was someone different than i previously dealt with).

Something struck me that she was holding out on information, almost secretive and making me lead with questions to which there was no answer.

I then phoned Trading Standards back up about this, and they told me the news - Confirmed by the trader himself he had ceased trading. This obviously had snowballed and left me thinking i was totally screwed, she said because it was not a company any type of court action would have to be directed at him personally.

I returned to the market, and then all of a sudden the secrets poured out - They knew he ceased trading (Why they couldn't tell me i don't know, made me a bit angry at them). I asked for his personal details for any potential court action, but they refused citing data protection (Knew this would happen, but i just had to lead the question again).

They said if Trading Standards were to contact them directly, they would offer up all the address details. I ripped a piece of paper off my notepad and gave her my contact in Trading Standards and told her to call her immediately and provide her all the necessary details, she agreed.

A few hours later i was busy, but the trader phoned me directly - Couldn't answer though. 10 minutes later, the Trading Standards phoned me saying they had his personal details extracted - But she stated that there was a bit of crossed wires/miscommunication over the previous collection date on Tuesday and he was expecting a call back from Trading Standards to confirm i was okay to do what was agreed.

I phoned him back, once again, he's nice as pie and saying even though this has occured (Ceased trading) he will continue with his promise of collection/exchange/testing the appliance and then refunding should there be a confirmed fault.

So we have agreed on next Tuesday now, so the saga continues...

[Deleted User]

The problem is.., how exactly (if there is a leakage of gas from the back of the fridge) are they going to establish that it is down to you or the trader? How do you establish that a gas leakage is down to malicious damage, faulty securing on the van or a straight forward knock during all the shoving around it must have undergone?

They have established its not working. Job done. They can't establish it was working when it arrived at your premises. The problem you have is they don't have to offer you just a refund as has already been explained. They can simply offer a replacement/repair. You're not lining their pockets any further than you already have. Then there's the complication of it being second hand.., but you seem to imply there was a warranty.

Personally, with all these twists and turns, I'd be very suspicious of this trader. But you were buying a second hand fridge freezer. For not much less than you could have gotten a cheap new one.

Having bought a second hand fridge freezer many many years ago when there wasn't the possibility of buying one online, comparing prices to get one I could afford, (and it also didn't work on arrival), I'd never buy second hand again. A person just doesn't need to anymore.

hollydays

he won't cease trading- he will just stand a different market .probably selling more stuff " or a pile of !!!!! " , as is the technical term which they've probably pulled out of someone's shed after a year or stood outside someone's house in the rain before being collected by the scrap man. This is the type of places people like this get their stock from. And buying off a stall holder who's only been their a month wasn't a great idea at all.
Surely you should have thought about this first?

On 20th of April it was suggested you got the traders address-you forgot to ask. Now another three weeks down the line you've got the address. You do seem to be making very heavy weather out of this, and I'm thinking the stress is going to outweigh the end result.

I think you've not factored in that if you deal with a market trader you may well not get the same attitudes and morals you'd get from a b & m trader. If it turns out they are itinerants you've no chance.

If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck..

AGray

In terms of the potential gas leakage, it's very likely it could have happened in transit especially if it was rocking around. However i guess we won't ever know.

I will be satisfied with the "supplier" completing the results and confirming that we didn't do anything to it, or if there is anything inconclusive i would hopefully be able to dispute this and again challenge for my full refund.

This was in a sense the first time i've gone and bought an appliance like this from a market, anywhere else (Even charity shops!) if there's ever been a problem it's been rectified swiftly.

I am 90% certain the trader won't cease trading - I know of at least one more shop which is part of his "umbrella" in the next city, however the original trader (The one who sold me the appliance) isn't the named-trader at the market, but he is "the boss" so i'm lead to believe "the boss" is the owner in the next city.

The address i am in possession of personally is the address of the market, this is where all my correspondence had previously been going. This means diddly now since he's no longer there - The market won't give me his home address due to data protection, but as he registered the premises in his details they have them.

They have given the home address to the Trading Standards now, so should things go awry in a few days then i will go straight to them with the matter.

Thankfully i'm not stressed about this matter, more frustrated, but i imagine this is the last leg of the course now, if anything happens from here-on it will be going straight to the Small Claims Court, so a resolution will be met one way or another.

wealdroam

AGray wrote: »

... if anything happens from here-on it
will be going straight to the Small Claims Court, so a resolution will
be met one way or another.

But you need an address for that.

AGray

Yeah. The Trading Standards/Market Managers have his personal address, so there's no issues, at least i have confidence in my discussions with them that should he pull a fast one they'll release his address to me.

timbstoke

AGray wrote: »

In terms of the potential gas leakage, it's very likely it could have happened in transit especially if it was rocking around. However i guess we won't ever know.

I will be satisfied with the "supplier" completing the results and confirming that we didn't do anything to it, or if there is anything inconclusive i would hopefully be able to dispute this and again challenge for my full refund.

But that's the point. There's no way for anybody to know whether it was damaged at the market, on route to you, or when you installed it. All that can be determined is "gas leak due to impact", which the trader will immediately say is your doing.

unholyangel

timbstoke wrote: »

But that's the point. There's no way for anybody to know whether it was damaged at the market, on route to you, or when you installed it. All that can be determined is "gas leak due to impact", which the trader will immediately say is your doing.

Yeah I imagine putting a plug in a socket is at high risk of causing physical damage.

It may have happened in transit (and imo is most likely to have happened in transit) but again, thats the traders responsibility, not the OP's.