Private van sale gone wrong 23 September 2022 at 9:24PM in Motoring 17 replies 1.3K views

Missdotty1993

Hi I really need some advice please 

Sold a van 10 days ago 
prior to buying the van the buyer was in contact with me for 13 days and saw the van several times, drove the van & finally purchased the van
buyer contacted me several times since saying how happy he is and how amazing the van is.
suddenly getting constant messages off his girlfriend and mum kicking off as the van cambelt has now gone.
the cambelt was never asked about on any viewing and it was only replaced 4K ago which is recorded under the bonnet. 

They are now looking forward ever possible excuse to take us to court. 

Everything listed on the advert we can prove with receipts but the cambelt was not listed as we had replaced and never asked about. 

The van had very little history and had bedding sat for 2 years prior to us doing work on it to get it through an mot to sell, it came with 12 months mot and no advisories we spent a lot of money on the van prior to sale to get it up to standard.

how worried should we be about going to court and losing? 

Thanks for your help 

flashg67

Is this a private sale - if so, from what you've said, very unlikely to get to court or win if they do. Personally I'd cut off all contact and definitely don't offer them anything. 

Missdotty1993

Yeah private sale, 
I want to stop replying but have a feeling they’ll turn up at our house kicking off if I do 

Ectophile

These sorts of questions come up repeatedly on this forum.

Someone buys a vehicle, private sale.

Then a few days or weeks later, they say it's broken and demand money.

If you pay them, they will find another fault, and demand more money.  And so it goes on.

Your only solution if to firmly say "no", and then stop communicating with them at all.

With the exception of court papers, just file everything away and don't respond.

Your only obligations are that:-

• You had a right to sell the van.
• It was honestly described.  But anything you didn't say can't be held against you.
• It was roadworthy at the time you sold it (or else you warned the buyer that it wasn't roadworthy).

Breaking down after you sold it doesn't mean that it was unroadworthy.

daveyjp

Not another one.

It hasn't gone wrong, you are being scammed.

Its a private sale.  If they wanted consumer protection garages also sell vans.

Missdotty1993

Thanks for the confidence boost I’ll stick with my first thought and stop all contact 

Grumpy_chap

Missdotty1993 said:

 stop all contact 

^this.    

chrisw

From the initial messages it is clear there was nothing wrong with the van when you sold it. You could not have foreseen the belt subsequently snapping, particularly as it was only replaced 4k ago.
Unfortunate for them if it's true but I can't see they have a leg to stand on. Stuff happens.

shiraz99

Missdotty1993 said:

Yeah private sale, 
I want to stop replying but have a feeling they’ll turn up at our house kicking off if I do 

So what if they do, just call the Police if they make any threats or disturbance. As others have said, just ignore them.

Missdotty1993

shiraz99 said:

Missdotty1993 said:

Yeah private sale, 
I want to stop replying but have a feeling they’ll turn up at our house kicking off if I do 

So what if they do, just call the Police if they make any threats or disturbance. As others have said, just ignore them.

I’d rather avoid this happening I have young children I’d rather not be disturbed and I’m not a confident person dealing with drama. 

Grumpy_chap

Missdotty1993 said:

Hi I really need some advice please 

Sold a van 10 days ago 
prior to buying the van the buyer was in contact with me for 13 days and saw the van several times, drove the van & finally purchased the van
buyer contacted me several times since saying how happy he is and how amazing the van is.
suddenly getting constant messages off his girlfriend and mum kicking off as the van cambelt has now gone.
the cambelt was never asked about on any viewing and it was only replaced 4K ago which is recorded under the bonnet. 

They are now looking forward ever possible excuse to take us to court. 

Everything listed on the advert we can prove with receipts but the cambelt was not listed as we had replaced and never asked about. 

The van had very little history and had bedding sat for 2 years prior to us doing work on it to get it through an mot to sell, it came with 12 months mot and no advisories we spent a lot of money on the van prior to sale to get it up to standard.

how worried should we be about going to court and losing? 

Thanks for your help 

Thinking on from my earlier note when I supported the "stop all contact" approach, I wondered whether this is actually a private sale.

It is a van.  If the van was owned by the OP's business and sold, then this becomes a business sale.  May not be a motor trade business sale, but still a business sale.  If the purchaser was a private individual, they may then be covered under consumer rights.  If the purchaser of the van was another business, then this could be a B2B sale.

Has the OP kept the initial messages saying it was all OK?