Car deal changed but dealer won't return deposit

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m0bov wrote: »

You can also remind the dealer they are also liable for any consequential loss should you have to stump up more money to purchase a similar car elsewhere.

Why?

The legal position would be damages to return the injured party to the position they were in before the contract was made, not provide betterment.

The argument here is who is the injured party, and who has to pay damages. (who broke the contract)

Hermione_Granger

arcon5 wrote: »

You don't lose you sue the person who sold you the watch and report the criminal offence.

What criminal offence would that be then?
An offence under the Fraud act maybe?
Nope. For selling a counterfeit watch to be an offence under this act it is a requirement that the seller of the watch knew or had reasonable suspicion that the watch was not genuine and was specifically asked if it was real or fake.

How about an offence under the Trade Marks act?
No. Again, nothing illegal. It is an offence to sell counterfeit goods but it is a valid defence if you believed on reasonable grounds that the goods were genuine.

rhino_horn

I'm a dealer...

It is up to the dealer to check the HPI status of a vehicle before making the deal. The fact that he didn't is his fault. Yes, you should have declared it if you knew about it... but... it's up to the purchaser to do the due diligence. EDIT - that makes me sound like all of my customers have to do an HPI check before buying a vehicle. We always provide an HPI report when we sell our cars... it's up to the customer if they want to carry out their own check.

He cannot send off the new keeper details until the customer has come in and paid for the vehicle in full and completed the deal.

If he wants to be an !!!! about it then you will need to go through small claims court to get your money back. What he's effectively done is now added another keeper to the vehicle, he's got all upset because he's now knocked off a bit more money on the value of the vehicle. That's not your fault.

david_a

I would very much be surprised if he has sent off the V5 or done it online. Once DVLA issue a V5 he would be unable to tax the car using the existing V5c (green slip) You would have to wait for the new one to arrive. Personally I never tax a vehicle for a customer until it is paid for in full,having done an HPI check of course. Also with the 30 day right to return I leave it at least a couple of weeks before filling in the V5,online, with the new owner details.

In response to the OP it sounds like he is trying it on, as if a Cat D would be worth £2000( @40%) less!! The dealer may feel you were aware of the situation but I don't think that would give him the right to keep your deposit.

almillar

I think the op knew it was a cat d and thought he could pull a fast one.

Good luck proving that.
There are dealers/ex-dealers on here taking the side of the consumer (motorguy for one often gets accused of the opposite!), explaining that the dealer should have done the HPI check before doing the deal. That's his job. The car having a Cat D marker on it - which the dealer MUST disclose when selling - will certainly have an effect on the VALUE of the car, but he offered the VALUE he wanted to buy it for, before inspecting it properly (the HPI check being part of that). How a punter is meant to 'pull the wool over' in this circumstance is beyond me - the info is out there.

burlington6

almillar wrote: »

Good luck proving that.
There are dealers/ex-dealers on here taking the side of the consumer (motorguy for one often gets accused of the opposite!), explaining that the dealer should have done the HPI check before doing the deal. That's his job. The car having a Cat D marker on it - which the dealer MUST disclose when selling - will certainly have an effect on the VALUE of the car, but he offered the VALUE he wanted to buy it for, before inspecting it properly (the HPI check being part of that). How a punter is meant to 'pull the wool over' in this circumstance is beyond me - the info is out there.

I'm not saying it's not the dealers responsibility, I'm saying I have little respect for the average joe public. Doesn't hurt to try ( in this case it has i suppose )

Imagine how many thousands of cars are traded in a dealerships every week with hidden faults whilst the person trading it in acts like they are the image of a morale person

Joe_Horner

burlington6 wrote: »

I'm not saying it's not the dealers responsibility, I'm saying I have little respect for the average joe public. Doesn't hurt to try ( in this case it has i suppose )

Imagine how many thousands of cars are traded in a dealerships every week with hidden faults whilst the person trading it in acts like they are the image of a morale person

True enough, but not falling for that is all part of being in business and, if you slip up, as a business it's your problem. Heat, kitchens & all that jazz.

almillar

burlington6 - I absolutely understand your general point, but in this specific case, about the one thing you shouldn't be able to fool a dealer (or anyone) about, is any Cat - status on a car. A dealer singing on a car BEFORE HPI check isn't doing his own job properly, no matter what scrapheap it is.