Dealer Administration Advice

pj2015_2

Hi,

Just seeking some advice on the best way for me to proceed in this situation. I think I will refrain from identifying manufacturer/dealer at this stage.

So, I pre-ordered a new car on 31st Dec. Scheduled for delivery on 1st March.

I paid the £1000 deposit on my credit card.

I was advised on Tuesday 27th Feb, that the car would indeed come on Thursday 1st, and I could collect on Friday 2nd. So I needed to transfer the outstanding balance, and arrange to collect on Friday afternoon.

So I did a CHAPS transfer on Wednesday 28th for £25k. Friday rolls around and I get a phone call in the morning, saying there are issues with the online DVLA registration portal, they will phone me back. With the bad weather in South Wales, I don't really think too much of this, but no phone call comes.

I finally get through to them this morning, after trying all weekend. I am told all staff have been sent home, one person is left in to man the phones, he doesn't know what decision will be made. But my money is safe, in a separate deposit account, I will either be refunded, transferred to another dealer, or they will continue to operate. They can't give me the car yet as it hasn't been registered and still belongs to the manufacturer. He will phone back when he knows more.

So I assume administration at this point, confirmed this evening by local news.

I immediately phone the manufacturer, and lodge a complaint, I don't know how liable they are, but felt it important to start getting stuff logged. I didn't receive a call back from the dealers, and got no answer when I tried at 6. So phoned the manufacturer again, logged developments, and this has been escalated to urgent, and await a call from a case manager, hopefully tomorrow.

I am also planning on going to the dealer tomorrow, and seeing what I find. I am told the car is there. (It's 35 miles away, so haven't been yet.)


Sorry for the length, I needed to vent.
A few questions I have:

1. How likely is what the dealer told me to be true? I.e. the separate deposit account etc.

2. How much will the manufacturer likely do for me?

3. At what stage should I just proceed with the section 75 claim? Should I give them days, or weeks to come through on what I've been told?

Thanks,

thescouselander

This sounds complicated - I think you need proper legal advice. If you've got legal expenses cover on your household insurance it might be worth using that.

m0bov

If you paid the deposit, your credit card company are liable. I would be speaking to them urgently, don't waste time on the now defunct dealer or manufacture.

Frozen_up_north

Doing the CHAPS transfer was a big mistake... as was paying a deposit of £1000. It sounds like the dealer was in a financial mess back in December.

I've bought a few cars from main dealers in recent years and never paid a deposit, and paying when collecting the car using a debit card... Sounds like you could kiss goodbye to the £25K.

AdrianC

So the dealer is now in administration. Your car is on-site, and probably PDId, just awaiting registration. Your money has been transferred and receipt acknowledged.

The administrator's legal responsibility is to clear everything up as well as possible. If continued trading isn't possible, then there's a very simple way forward here - they get your car registered and delivered. Job jobbed. There might be a slight delay, but I'd not be too worried. Talk to the administrator. They've only just been called in, at a time of maximum transport and business disruption for the weather. Give them a day or two to figure out what's what, but make sure you're on their radar. This is their job, and yours is a nice easy case.

I'm not sure this has much to do with the manufacturer - the dealer is a separate business, and your car has been delivered to them.

Tinks74

The Administrator is your first call.

The person you spoke to in the dealership has explained the situation pretty well, they also said something very important, "my money is safe, in a separate deposit account", assuming that is true it is good news for you.

The problem with many companies is that they fail to hold customer deposits in a separately identifiable clients monies account, if the funds are not in a clients monies account and the company becomes insolvent they are often caught up in the general finances of the company and that is when customers lose their money.
Funds that are held in a clients monies account are identified and cannot be taken for the benefit of the company's creditors by the Administrators.

The car being at the dealership does not mean that it is possible for you to take it.
If the dealership owed the manufacturer money it is probable that they have a retention of title over the vehicle until they are paid for it, and although you have paid the dealership the money has probably not yet gone to the manufacturer, until they get the money themselves they won't want to let their asset go.

None of this is necessarily insurmountable, the Administrator may sell the business on, in which case your order could pass to the new company, they may come to an arrangement with the manufacturer to complete the sale because you have already paid in full and the car is already on site, or you may just end up getting your money back.

However if the separate deposit account is not what it seems then you are back to approaching your credit card.

But go to the Administrator first.

Ectophile

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

Doing the CHAPS transfer was a big mistake... as was paying a deposit of £1000. It sounds like the dealer was in a financial mess back in December.

I've bought a few cars from main dealers in recent years and never paid a deposit, and paying when collecting the car using a debit card... Sounds like you could kiss goodbye to the £25K.

Quite the reverse. Paying a deposit by credit card is a very good thing to do, as it brings in Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Which makes the credit card company jointly liable if the OP doesn't get their car.

gettingtheresometime

I used to work for a main car dealership & we never had a separate bank account for customers deposits / payments.

Frozen_up_north

Ectophile wrote: »

Quite the reverse. Paying a deposit by credit card is a very good thing to do, as it brings in Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Which makes the credit card company jointly liable if the OP doesn't get their car.

My point is the issue of paying the deposit at all... it’s a buyers market, why tie up money on a deposit?

benten69

Call the credit card company and do a Section 75 chargeback. They are liable for the FULL £26,000 (£1,000 deposit + £25,000 CHAPS transfer).

Just count your lucky stars you used a credit card for your deposit and not a debit card!

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases