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Bought an ATV with the serial numbers removed. What are my rights?
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If you remove the VIN number on a car that is ILLEGAL. If you remove the serial number's from an off road ATV that is NOT ILLEGAL. That is why you can't compare it buying a car with no VIN numbers.
Hindsight means that you can only see what should have been done after an event has occurred. This is NOT hindsight because it is common sense and it is widely publicised that you should carry out basic checks on a vehicle BEFORE you buy it.
Well if the serial numbers had been present it wouldn't mean it hadn't been stolen. So if your so concerned about it being stolen why wouldnt you have carried out checks using this information?.
You do realise that someone has already beaten you to the [sucking air through teeth] "Tut, Tut. You should have done full checks on the bike before you bought it" comment?
I've said that I didn't do full checks before I bought it. I've haven't denied that there is some responsibility on my part.
Are you happy to allow this thread to move on now?0 -
gwernybwch wrote: »You do realise that someone has already beaten you to the [sucking air through teeth] "Tut, Tut. You should have done full checks on the bike before you bought it" comment?
I've said that I didn't do full checks before I bought it. I've haven't denied that there is some responsibility on my part.
Are you happy to allow this thread to move on now?
My comment was directly in reply to your comment comparing buying an ATV to buying a car. So i was explaining to you how it is a different situation to buying a car.
Just because the point had been raised earlier in the thread doesn't mean i can't use it as part of my post!.
I also added to it by saying that even if the serial numbers were intact then that doesn't mean it wasn't stolen.
There really isn't any more advice your going to get from people that's going to be helpful to you until you post the results of the police investigation.
You have already done the correct thing by reporting suspected stolen goods to the police so there will be two outcomes from that:
1. It is determined not to be stolen or it can't be traced. That means you get to keep the ATV as it was when you bought it.
2. It is found to be stolen and it gets returned to the owner/insurance company. You can then go back to the seller and demand a refund and take them to small claims court if they don't comply.0 -
My comment was directly in reply to your comment comparing buying an ATV to buying a car. So i was explaining to you how it is a different situation to buying a car.
Just because the point had been raised earlier in the thread doesn't mean i can't use it as part of my post!.
I also added to it by saying that even if the serial numbers were intact then that doesn't mean it wasn't stolen.
There really isn't any more advice your going to get from people that's going to be helpful to you until you post the results of the police investigation.
You have already done the correct thing by reporting suspected stolen goods to the police so there will be two outcomes from that:
1. It is determined not to be stolen or it can't be traced. That means you get to keep the ATV as it was when you bought it.
2. It is found to be stolen and it gets returned to the owner/insurance company. You can then go back to the seller and demand a refund and take them to small claims court if they don't comply.
Thanks for the reasoned reply. Apologies for the tone of my reply, it has felt like I have mostly been getting replies that didn't really answer my query. Or at least to me, didn't feel like it was answering my query :-(
I've since done a bit more research on outcome (1). This outcome (that it can't be traced) is what I suspect is likely to happen.
I'm paraphrasing a bit here, but -
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that goods must be “satisfactory as described” and if they are faulty, we have the right to, within 30 days, reject the item and request a full refund. After 30 days there is the right to ask for a full or partial refund. These rights are implied into all consumer purchases and cannot be limited or varied by the retailer via terms such as ‘sold as seen’.
I guessing that the real question would then be whether failing to mention that the serial numbers had been removed would be deemed as “satisfactory as described”?
To me, an ATV where the advert doesn't mention that the serial numbers have been removed isn't satisfactorily described, but I guess that an ATV is somewhere on a continuium between a car and a garden mower. I'm not sure is there is a comparable vehicle? A JCB perhaps?
As far as I can tell, the consumer rights act doesn't not place emphasis on the buyer ensuring that the purchase is as described?
Nor limits our rights if a consumer has been negligent in ensuring that it is satisfactory described?0
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