Van purchase and refund…

jimmypick

My mate bought van from a limited company based in the east mids. He soon realised it was in poor condition and when he took it to his local garage, they listed numerous faults. He emailed the company, who agreed to refund him in full within 14 days. 

However, they failed to do this and another week has passed. They appear to be stalling and making excuses like “the boss is off work and is in a bad phone reception area.” They said they had money coming in over the weekend and they would make the refund after that, but they still haven’t. They have possession of the van by the way. 

I have two questions:

1) the purchase price was £5500, so it appears to be a small claims matter, but can my mate claim for loss of earnings as he is a joiner who cannot work without a van?

2) according to google reviews, the people behind company seem to have a history of shutting down a limited company and leaving those owed money high and dry. I don’t know if they’re planning on doing this again, but what steps can my mate take to protect himself from this?

Thanks in advance! 

Grumpy_chap

Just to confirm, this van purchase was a business-to-business transaction, not a consumer purchase.  Is that correct?

Rights to a refund depend on the terms of sale.  Given it was a Bank Holiday yesterday, if they said they would pay after the weekend, then at least allow the working week to begin.

Claiming consequential loss is not usually achievable.

The time to research the integrity of the company selling the van was prior to purchase.

bris

1. Business to business contract so he needs to read the contract., but usually no as the contract will protect them from this type of claim.

2. Nothing, he needs to get the small claims process started as quick as possible and try and catch them before they have time to wind up the company, But usually they wind up the company after a court order to avoid paying it.

jimmypick

Thanks for the replies. My mate trades as an individual (he works for someone else and does other random days work for people on a self-employed basis), and the van was for both personal and work use. 

born_again

So is this a garage the van was bought from or a company selling their own old vans?

DB1904

jimmypick said:

Thanks for the replies. My mate trades as an individual (he works for someone else and does other random days work for people on a self-employed basis), and the van was for both personal and work use. 

Amazing how every van is when there's a problem. For there to be consumer rights you best find out what your mate declares in relation to the use of the vehicle. 

sheramber

Was it bought with business finance?

is it claimed a business asset in his accounts?
 

jimmypick

Thanks for the latest replies. In response: it’s a garage that he bought the van from. It wasn’t bought with business finance and isn’t claimed as a business asset. He trades as an individual so he owns the van personally. I’d imagine he’ll claim mileage expenses for work-related journeys on his tax return. Based on that, does he have a realistic chance of claiming loss of earnings?

Anyway, still no refund and more broken promises and excuses. Citizens Advice advised a 3-stage letter to prove we have tried to avoid court, but my mate wants to start the county court process straightaway. Is this the best way forward? 

pinkshoes

jimmypick said:

Thanks for the latest replies. In response: it’s a garage that he bought the van from. It wasn’t bought with business finance and isn’t claimed as a business asset. He trades as an individual so he owns the van personally. I’d imagine he’ll claim mileage expenses for work-related journeys on his tax return. Based on that, does he have a realistic chance of claiming loss of earnings?

Anyway, still no refund and more broken promises and excuses. Citizens Advice advised a 3-stage letter to prove we have tried to avoid court, but my mate wants to start the county court process straightaway. Is this the best way forward? 

It may not be claimed as a business asset but as it has cost him earnings (which he wants to claim for) then it IS a business van and consumer rights do not apply. It would therefore be a business to business contract.

He needs to mitigate his losses. Has he hired another van? Where I live you can get quite cheap weekly rentals for vans as a friend of mine had to do this when his work van (self employed) broke down.

Where is the van now? Does he still have it?

He needs to send them a "Letter Before Action" giving them 14 days to refund £X (the cost of the van) and collect the van, otherwise court action will be take. He might want to state that if it goes to court he will also be claiming any loss of earnings.

jimmypick

Thanks for the reply.
He hasn’t hired another van because he’s managed an alternative arrangement and money is tight. The van is back with the garage. 

Does he have more or less protection with a b2b contract?

Grumpy_chap

jimmypick said:

Does he have more or less protection with a b2b contract?

Less.