Being sued for breach of contract - legal advice needed

Marktheshark

OP Send this to the man making threats.

Pre action protocol :
You are warned under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to cease and desist from contacting or making threats or nuisance that may or are intended to cause alarm and distress to Mr XXXXXXXX of xxx address on this date .
This is a warning letter sent by certified post and serves as pre -requisite of a
Personal information notice request (harassment warning) to the police.
Should you fail to adhere to this warning notice and continue to cause nuisance harassment alarm and distress the police will be requested to serve formal written notice upon yourself.
This notice is stage one of that procedure.

david_a

If he had a legitimate case imagine what that would do to the house buying process!

jenza8

gonzo127 wrote: »

depending on how far this goes you could contact the police about harassment, might even be worth while contacting the local police station to lodge a complaint so that if it gets worse you will have history on the complaint

I think he should go to the police but he is very worried that this will aggravate the situation even further.

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I know this is mean before I say it, but if your father-in-law has a £300,000 car, he can afford proper legal advice.

I can understand what you are saying but he is asset rich and cash poor. He purchased the car many many years ago, well before it was worth anything like this. I was looking for some legal advice from someone who would set his mind at rest until he saw someone. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as clear cut as I think it should be given the circumstances.

He has managed to see a solicitor today who has said that he can't say for sure but that worst case scenario is that he could be sued for breach of contract and for unlimited punitive damages. It would just depend on the judge on the day and what kind of a solicitor the other man has. This could potentially cost many thousands of pounds to fight, if the man pursues it.

pathtofreedom wrote: »

If you check your and his home and car insurance, you might have some legal cover included, so you can have a chat with a solicitor and put his mind at rest.

This was a great idea. I've asked him to check though and unfortunately, none of his insurance covers a situation like this.

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

My thoughts above. I must say, I'm curious as to what car is valued at £300K used ?

It's a 1960s sports car. Probably being over cautious, but don't feel comfortable saying exactly what, given the circumstances of what is happening.

facade wrote: »

He probably has read the "Porsche Loving Pensioner" case, who got £35,000 which was the money he "lost" by not being able to buy the car for £135,000 and immediately sell it for £170,000 to the next person in the queue. (If he was a real enthusiast, he'd have intended to keep it, and only suffered the loss of the interest on his £10,000 deposit)

So he probably feels he is entitled to the difference between the £28,000 he was trying to raise to buy it and whatever he could have sold it on for.

I'd get some proper advice for peace of mind, as if he actually goes through with it, should you respond with "What contract? show it to me", or "We waited over a month for him to buy the car, and he never paid a penny" (Which suggests there was at least a verbal agreement.

He feels he is entitled to all my father-in-law owns apparently! He's told him that he will leave him penniless.
The car was being sold at market value. It was valued at £300K which the man agreed to pay but he then revised his offer a couple of days later to £280K.

AdrianC wrote: »

A supercar or very posh classic of some flavour. It's eminently plausible, if a bit high-end.

It is a very smart vintage sports car. 300K isn't particularly high end when it comes to vintage cars believe it or not!

Marktheshark wrote: »

OP Send this to the man making threats.

Pre action protocol :
You are warned under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to cease and desist from contacting or making threats or nuisance that may or are intended to cause alarm and distress to Mr XXXXXXXX of xxx address on this date .
This is a warning letter sent by certified post and serves as pre -requisite of a
Personal information notice request (harassment warning) to the police.
Should you fail to adhere to this warning notice and continue to cause nuisance harassment alarm and distress the police will be requested to serve formal written notice upon yourself.
This notice is stage one of that procedure.

Thank you. That is really useful. I really appreciate everyone's advice.

david_a

If he offered made a verbal offer of £300000 then wasn't he then in breach of his contract when he offered £280000?

Surely you Father in law is now very cash rich!

jenza8

No, because the money is to buy a house. That was the whole reason for selling the car.

force_ten

if there was any form of contract then surely the buyer broke the contract by failing to pay for the goods by the agreed date

to me this whole thing sounds a bit bizarre

Ebe_Scrooge

jenza8 wrote: »

He has managed to see a solicitor today who has said that he can't say for sure but that worst case scenario is that he could be sued for breach of contract and for unlimited punitive damages. It would just depend on the judge on the day and what kind of a solicitor the other man has. This could potentially cost many thousands of pounds to fight, if the man pursues it.

He feels he is entitled to all my father-in-law owns apparently! He's told him that he will leave him penniless.

OK, so your FIL has seen a solicitor. A solicitor is eminently more qualified to advise him than pretty much any of us on this forum - pretty much all of us are well-meaning ordinary people, with a lot of experience in life but no formal legal qualifications ( with one or two exceptions ). I must admit I find this whole story pretty incredulous, particularly that last statement about leaving your FIL penniless. But that aside, it sounds like he really does need to seek professional legal advice. We don't know the full details of the history of this, and I fear that you may end up taking incorrect, if well-intentioned, advice.

One thing is for sure though - if this guy is making threats, then it's definitely a matter for the police, quite aside from any other legal uncertainties regarding the sale of the car. You said earlier that "I think he should go to the police but he is very worried that this will aggravate the situation even further. ". This is totally understandable, but make sure you/he makes the police aware of this. Report the guy.

There are 2 issues here as I see it. Firstly, the contested "contract", You need a solicitor for this. Yes, this will cost money ( if you don't have legal cover on any of your insurance policies, as mentioned by a previous poster). But if it goes to court and you ( by which I mean your FIL ) win, then you'll most likely get costs awarded as well.

Secondly, the harassment - this is a matter for the police, and is potentially much more worrying for your FIL (after all, the car is just a "thing", it can be replaced - well, for £300K maybe not, but you know what I mean). Keep records of all communication with this guy, as much as you can ( if it's email or text message then brilliant, this is all legally admissible in court, just make sure he keeps it all ).

Sorry for the rambling post - like I say, most of us here are ordinary people trying to offer advice as best we can, I hope I've been of some help.

AdrianC

jenza8 wrote: »

It's a 1960s sports car. Probably being over cautious, but don't feel comfortable saying exactly what, given the circumstances of what is happening.

Understandable. It's a small market at that level.

It is a very smart vintage sports car. 300K isn't particularly high end when it comes to vintage cars believe it or not!

60s isn't vintage, and that IS high-end... It's not the very top end, but it's certainly in the very high percentiles.

British or Italian?

bod1467

E-type Clarkson?

patman99

I have a feeling that it would be very obvious to a Judge that the potential buyer did not have the means to complete the purchase without another person assisting him. As he failed to disclose his lack of finances, does this not nullify any verbal agreement that may or may not have been in place?.