Legalities of returning a deposit

Fraser.Mitchell

Looking for advice here. Saw a used classic car for sale online and contacted the private seller. He described the car bodywork in "good condition" and that the car had failed mot on brakes and that they would need some attention. I agreed to pay the asking price based on his description and I sent a £100 deposit to hold until I could collect the car. When I travelled over 6 hours to view/collect the car his description compared to the condition of the car was totally ridiculous, "body work in good condition" it had a terrible respray in the wrong non original colour with overspray all over the rubbers, he said it failed mot on brakes and they would need attention, they weren't even connected, he also said it would run off a petrol can, the guy that was there to meet me (as the person in question wasn't available coincidently) he took a petrol can and never returned, we travelled over 14 hours round trip and spend over £250 in fuel and a total waste of our time due to your inaccurate description.

I phoned him when we were standing next to the car describing the situation, he then agreed to return the deposit if I send over the bank details, I text the details and he then confirmed again that he would send it that evening.

Two days later still no deposit back, so I ask him why it still hasn't been returned, his attitude totally changes and says he has contacted his solicitor and has made a claim to the court ordering me to pay the outstanding balance for the car even though it was a million miles away from his description and all this after he'd already agreed to return the deposit.

ADVICE PLEASE!

Thanks.

agrinnall

Letter Before Action followed by Small Claim if necessary.

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

mcpitman

1. do the above
2. tell him to screw

3.... what car do you drive that uses £250 worth of fuel to travel 6 hours in each direction (at 40 mph average, this equates to a 480 mile round trip). That's £1.92 per mile in fuel cost or ~8mpg. Did you drive a lorry there?

agrinnall

I did wonder about that fuel cost...

wgl2014

What one persons idea of good condition bodywork is can be very different to someone elses. Immaculate is clear, good is less so. Is it good for the age of car, good compared to one with rust spots dents and scratches or what?

Whilst disappointing the car did not meet your expectations is it worth the hassle of claiming for £100?

Out of curiosity what was the car and the asking price?

AdrianC

Frankly, the paint issues would have been clearly visible on decent photographs (were any asked for?), and the rest is irrelevant on a car that's being sold as needing work.

The fuel cost isn't totally unreasonable for something big and thirsty with a trailer on the back, or a transporter truck. But that's not the vendor's problem, really. There's no way trying to claim anything over HMRC mileage rate is realistic - 45p/mile.

mcpitman - your maths are a bit wonky, though. £250 for a 480 mile round trip is 52p/mile. Which does, it's true, equate to about 8mpg. £1.90/mile would be nearer 2.5mpg. I s'pose it could have needed a tank transporter...

Simple answer - if you're going to arrange to buy something sight-unseen from a distance away, make sure you've satisfied YOURSELF about the condition first. And consider a viewing visit before arranging collection...

arcon5

How did it fail an mot if brakes was disconnected? An mot station wouldn't have been able to test that!

shaun_from_Africa

If the brakes were disconnected at the time of the test then in all probability the inspection wouldn't even have begun.
If the vehicle is not in a fit state to be driven then the inspector would refuse to carry out the test and unless the person presenting the vehicle actually drove it into the workshop and onto the ramp, this defect would have been obvious.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the reason the brakes were disconnected was simply because after the MOT failure, the owner decided to have a go at fixing them and then gave up when an offer to purchase the car was received.

BeenThroughItAll

I have begun to suspect that this car and the deposit may not actually exist...

mcpitman

AdrianC wrote: »

mcpitman - your maths are a bit wonky, though. £250 for a 480 mile round trip is 52p/mile. Which does, it's true, equate to about 8mpg. £1.90/mile would be nearer 2.5mpg. I s'pose it could have needed a tank transporter...

I standed corrected, on my maths :rotfl: (school boy error, dividing the wrong way round), however point remains the same (8mpg).

Anyhoo, just wondered where the cost of £250 came from. Was it pure fuel cost or trailer hire etc?

Fraser.Mitchell

Fuel, service station prices, food etc etc plus it was a large 4x4 towing a heavy car transporter trailer.