visa chargeback for faulty car -Distance sale

lydecker_777

dear all,

im asking for advice here as we are completely stuck,
My wife purchased a car from a garage in JAN 2021 - the garage looked fairly reputable, and offered free delivery and 3 years warranty..So we did due diligence, checked previous mots etc and she bought a car for £2550, car arrived the drivers door was badly scratched & dented, and had dropped making it hard to shut, the garage promised service history, there wasnt any, the warranty was worth £150.., overall the car wasnt up to purpose.. i was at work at the time so didnt see it until i was home..However we emailed and telephoned the garage the following monday and stated we wasnt happy and as its within 14 days and a distance sale we are entitled to return the vehicle.. we was promised a phone call back ..nothing.. we sent another letter via recorded delivery..numerous emails etc..nothing..

so as it was paid via debit card, we asked TSB for a visa chargeback.. and ever since we have been jumping through hoops they set for a chargeback...we got an independent report stating the car was faulty,, sent them all the proof we have contacted the dealer, and all they keep asking is you need to provide a receipt you returned the car.. the dealer is nearly 200 miles away.. the car is unroadworthy and even if i got there the dealer would certainly not provide a receipt!

has anyone been in a simliar situation? or is a small claims court the only way now? 

thanks in advance

jon

David713

A dented, scratched and difficult to close door wouldn't make it unroadworthy.
What age and mileage is the car as this will have a big influence on what sort of condition will be acceptable.

neilmcl

Are you sure about the 3 year warranty thing. No dealer is going to offer 3 years warranty on a used, £2550 car, are you sure you didn't mishear/misread and in fact it was 3 mths warranty?

Do you have a link for this dealer?

macman

Chargeback is not going to work here, because it's generally limited to disputes about whether you received the goods or services you purchased. Your card provider is not going to cough up £2250 for a dispute about a scratched and dented door.
Why did your wife not do the most basic inspection of the vehicle on delivery, by walking around it, opening the door and closing it, which would have made the fault obvious? And then rejecting it?
And why does anyone buy a cheap car from a dealer 200 miles away, unseen? It's madness.
The correct way forward is an LBA, then the small claims process.

lydecker_777

hi, cheers for your input, i was at work at the time so didnt have chance to check it,

the warranty is via a separate company to the claim limit of £150 and its for 3 years, not worth the paper its printed on..
also we had an independent check, which concluded all four tyres are perished, one being out of shape ( car been stood during lockdown)
various bulbs were out- odd since it had an mot before delivery ( 'friendly mot') and various other faults inc noisy timing chain and the drivers door.
These faults wouldnt be immediately present when the car was being delivered except to someone more knowledgeable than my wife,
the car is a 2011 peugeot 207 convertible on 75k miles, weve had several models of these over the years so i know a bit about them.

the car dealer is a company called carzona from peterborough?

what would be the best way to proceed with this?

neilmcl

lydecker_777 said:

hi, cheers for your input, i was at work at the time so didnt have chance to check it,

the warranty is via a separate company to the claim limit of £150 and its for 3 years, not worth the paper its printed on..
also we had an independent check, which concluded all four tyres are perished, one being out of shape ( car been stood during lockdown)
various bulbs were out- odd since it had an mot before delivery ( 'friendly mot') and various other faults inc noisy timing chain and the drivers door.
These faults wouldnt be immediately present when the car was being delivered except to someone more knowledgeable than my wife,
the car is a 2011 peugeot 207 convertible on 75k miles, weve had several models of these over the years so i know a bit about them.

the car dealer is a company called carzona from peterborough?

what would be the best way to proceed with this?

If you get no joy via the chargeback, then it's LBA time. I would keep trying to call them though.

lydecker_777

Hi, theyve had two letters sent via recorded delivery, no response..the car looked all great on the pictures, frustrating to say the least.

neilmcl

lydecker_777 said:

Hi, theyve had two letters sent via recorded delivery, no response..the car looked all great on the pictures, frustrating to say the least.

Yes, but was one a proper LBA, if so and you've had no joy then you need to follow through and go down the small claims route. I don't think you're the first one to be ripped of by these lot.

Hasbeen

Op: Your wife  bought a car from someone on line who was 200 miles away?  Not viewed in person.

You do not have a receipt for car?


Ok Then go down the LBA route.  And in future go with your wife to somewhere local and kick a few tyres before purchasing?

burlingtonfl6

lydecker_777 said:

hi, cheers for your input, i was at work at the time so didnt have chance to check it,

the warranty is via a separate company to the claim limit of £150 and its for 3 years, not worth the paper its printed on..
also we had an independent check, which concluded all four tyres are perished, one being out of shape ( car been stood during lockdown)
various bulbs were out- odd since it had an mot before delivery ( 'friendly mot') and various other faults inc noisy timing chain and the drivers door.
These faults wouldnt be immediately present when the car was being delivered except to someone more knowledgeable than my wife,
the car is a 2011 peugeot 207 convertible on 75k miles, weve had several models of these over the years so i know a bit about them.

the car dealer is a company called carzona from peterborough?

what would be the best way to proceed with this?

The bulbs in my house went over the weekend.......guess I'll have to buy a new house as it's not fit to live in

born_again

lydecker_777 said:

dear all,

im asking for advice here as we are completely stuck,
My wife purchased a car from a garage in JAN 2021 - the garage looked fairly reputable, and offered free delivery and 3 years warranty..So we did due diligence, checked previous mots etc and she bought a car for £2550, car arrived the drivers door was badly scratched & dented, and had dropped making it hard to shut, the garage promised service history, there wasnt any, the warranty was worth £150.., overall the car wasnt up to purpose.. i was at work at the time so didnt see it until i was home..However we emailed and telephoned the garage the following monday and stated we wasnt happy and as its within 14 days and a distance sale we are entitled to return the vehicle.. we was promised a phone call back ..nothing.. we sent another letter via recorded delivery..numerous emails etc..nothing..

so as it was paid via debit card, we asked TSB for a visa chargeback.. and ever since we have been jumping through hoops they set for a chargeback...we got an independent report stating the car was faulty,, sent them all the proof we have contacted the dealer, and all they keep asking is you need to provide a receipt you returned the car.. the dealer is nearly 200 miles away.. the car is unroadworthy and even if i got there the dealer would certainly not provide a receipt!

has anyone been in a simliar situation? or is a small claims court the only way now? 

thanks in advance

jon

You will also have to factor in returning the car for a chargeback (at your expense) Unless you could prove the dealer is refusing.
If the dealer contests the chargeback, then you could be looking at losing both the money & the car. (known a few in that situation)

Remember a chargeback is over & above you legal consumer rights, as such the dealer has the right to contest and could well win.

As they are now open, maybe time for a day trip.