Dodgy car purchase

MikeyBe

Hi.

Two weeks ago I purchased a car from a dealer.  It was advertised as having a full MOT, recently services and being a good reliable family car despite having a few cosmetic scratches and marks.  I arranged to view the vehicle, but since they were working on it when I arrived, I was unable to test drive it.  I was however made aware of the scratches and marks on the bodywork.  I agreed to purchase it, so long as it was as described and paid a £200 deposit plus £50 for it to be delivered, since the garage was fair distance away.

On the delivery day, the car arrived on the back of a waggon, but the guy refused to take it off the waggon until I'd paid the remaining £2300 balance.  Once I'd paid, I asked for the vehicles paperwork and a receipt for the money.  The delivery guy said he'd get it once the car was off the waggon, since the paperwork was in the glove box.  After unloading, he got back in the waggon and drove off.  The glove box contained part of the V5 document, but no receipt or MOT certificate.

When I checked the vehicle over, the dealer had misrepresented the mileage in the advert along with the length of the remaining MOT.  I also observed that it has several bald tyres - to the point where it would not pass another MOT until they'd been replaced.  On starting the car, large plumes of while smoke came from the exhaust.  Once the engine had reached normal operating temperature the oil pressure warning light started to illuminate and a loud rattling noise came from the engine.  In the two weeks I've owned it I've managed to drive 5 miles and had to have it recovered twice.

Several times I've attempted to call them, but once they know who it is, they put the phone down.  I've sent emails that remain unanswered, along with a couple of letters (send signed for), but haven't had any kind of reply at all.

When I google the address of the garage there is a long list of difference business names with terrible reviews that have been operating from there.

Since they appear intent of ignoring me, I think this matter will not be resolved without proceeding to the court.

Thanks

Aylesbury_Duck

Letter before action (don't send it signed for, they can refuse to accept it) giving them 14 days to respond with a resolution, then take them to court.

MikeyBe

My last letter gave them 28 days to resolve the issue before taking legal action.  They signed for it so I know they received it.  My question is, do I have to find the real name of the guy running the business and name him, or can I just use the business name in the court papers?

Ectophile

Neither.  You have to find out the name (and registered address) of whoever sold you the car.  If you have any paperwork, it should be on that.

Suing the wrong person or company will get you nowhere.  They will say that they didn't sell you the car, and the case would fail.

MikeyBe

This, I guess is the issue.  Everything I have says "xxx vehicle sales".  Now there's nothing at companies house for that name so I believe they're a sole trader.  How do I find out who's behind "xxx vehicle sales"?

The person who replied to my emails has the same name as the secretary of the failed/disbanded companies listed at the same address, but I don't think that's the owner - possibly partner/wife.

ThumbRemote

I don't have very high hopes that they will ever refund you. You can take it to court and they'll still not pay. Then they'll wind up the company and start again. 

Your best bet, difficult though it may be, is to play really hard ball and send your most violent friends round to 'encourage' them to refund you. 

Ms_Chocaholic

How did you pay?

MikeyBe

ThumbRemote said:

I don't have very high hopes that they will ever refund you. You can take it to court and they'll still not pay. Then they'll wind up the company and start again. 

I believe you're right. Truth is, I actually like the car and would be happy for them to repair or replace the engine but I honestly think they have no intention to do that either. 

I paid cash, by the way.

I know this isn't really relevant, but I'm disabled and buying the car was a means of being able to get out of the house.  It was paid for via the back pay in PIP I'd recently received, so have no means of getting it repaired myself at the moment.  Over the years, I've always been prepared to pay a little extra and buy from a dealer for the added protection but I guess I was wrong...

Mike

MikeyBe

I'm quite confident I can prove what happened, happened.  I'm also confident that what happened was contrary to consumer protection laws.

However, what I'm not so confident about, is proving ownership of the business.  I know who they are, but proving it is a different matter.  I believe these people have enough experience in closing businesses down and reopening them in different names that they'd run rings round me.  On their website they managed to avoid any mention of ownership.

However, if they were to take me to court I believe a case could be made for a counter claim with far more chance of success.

macman

If its a ltd company, you don't need to 'prove ownership'. You sue the company and if you get judgement, you attempt to recover from whatever assets that company has. 
For a car dealer with stock, that means you already know they have some assets.
On what basis could they successfully counterclaim?
Yes, they could wind the company up, but for a small investment of £115, you don't have much to lose.
I'd start with an LBA and see if they respond.

HillStreetBlues

macman said:

If its a ltd company, you don't need to 'prove ownership'. You sue the company and if you get judgement, you attempt to recover from whatever assets that company has. 
For a car dealer with stock, that means you already know they have some assets.
On what basis could they successfully counterclaim?
Yes, they could wind the company up, but for a small investment of £115, you don't have much to lose.
I'd start with an LBA and see if they respond.

The OP has stated it's now a different company using  the site than the one the OP bought the car from.