Claiming compensation for distress and inconvenience from Big Motoring World

678D

I have bought a car and after 41 minutes the car started to overheat , the dealer initially wasn’t agreeing to get the car fixed , this had lead to a lot of stress  , I couldn’t work properly , I couldn’t eat , I spent hours on the phone arguing with the Dealer ? Was worried I would loose my money ,around  35 emails there and back , after 2 weeks the car got fixed and the dealer paid for it , but I couldn’t use the car that I had just bought  for two weeks and I depend on the car to get to work . I end up having to consult my GP with chest pains , at no point the dealer offered a courtesy car and had I not been on their case they would have not get the car fixed at their cost (initially they wanted me to pay today the repairs) for a car the broke down less than 1 hour in my possession.

My question is can a take them to small court claim for distress and inconvenience? Or should I contact them first and ask them for compensation 

I have  all the calls time logged 

All emails copy’s 

Some recorded calls as I started the recorded once I realised they were not helpful , in one of calls a burst  crying saying I want to look myself looking back it affected me more than I realise.

It is wide recorded all over the internet and forums , their tactics and misleading adverts (I wish I was aware of it before buying the vehicle ) , it is time some trading standards agency start to look at them.

Thank you for any advice 

Keep_pedalling

You can only make a claim for any actual financial loss you suffered.

powerful_Rogue

678D said:

I have bought a car and after 41 minutes the car started to overheat , the dealer initially wasn’t agreeing to get the car fixed , this had lead to a lot of stress  , I couldn’t work properly , I couldn’t eat , I spent hours on the phone arguing with the Dealer ? Was worried I would loose my money ,around  35 emails there and back , after 2 weeks the car got fixed and the dealer paid for it , but I couldn’t use the car that I had just bought  for two weeks and I depend on the car to get to work . I end up having to consult my GP with chest pains , at no point the dealer offered a courtesy car and had I not been on their case they would have not get the car fixed at their cost (initially they wanted me to pay today the repairs) for a car the broke down less than 1 hour in my possession.

My question is can a take them to small court claim for distress and inconvenience? Or should I contact them first and ask them for compensation 

I have  all the calls time logged 

All emails copy’s 

Some recorded calls as I started the recorded once I realised they were not helpful , in one of calls a burst  crying saying I want to look myself looking back it affected me more than I realise.

It is wide recorded all over the internet and forums , their tactics and misleading adverts (I wish I was aware of it before buying the vehicle ) , it is time some trading standards agency start to look at them.

Thank you for any advice 

Stress etc  - No

Inconvenience - How much are your reasonable expenses?

If you get stressed/ill so easily, do you really want to goto the small claims court with everything that entails?

Devongardener

They fixed the fault. OK it took 2 weeks but unless you were financially out of pocket there is nothing to claim.    These things are part of everyday life and certainly part of buying a second hand car.  I can’t help feeling that dealing with them calmly without all this emotion might have helped to get it resolved faster, with less stress on both sides.

678D

Thank you for the replies.

The stress was caused due to the fact they didn’t want take responsibility for the issue , had I not kept chasing them I would have had to pay for repairs myself. I tried to deal with them calmly but they were very dismissive and were telling me I would have to pay for extra costs of diagnoses etc and I had to keep getting back to them telling then that it wasn’t correct how they were dealing with the issue.  

I know this are the risks of buying a second hand car but my point is a had done less than 20miles when the car was overheating , I paid for the car and couldn’t use for 2 weeks .
surely I should at least report then to Tading agency ?

Below is one of many emails received from less 24 hours I had the car in my possession and was asked to await 2-3 weeks for repairs or pay towards repairs ,is this correct ? the car was not drivable and I had just bought it .

“As advised on our phone call today we can get you booked in at either our Fengate Peterborough workshop or our Snodland Kent workshop, this would be free of charge. We are booking 2-3 weeks in advance as advised earlier. 

You advised you did not want to wait 2-3 weeks for a booking with ourselves, I advised I can transfer the call to the warranty team however this would come at a cost to yourself. You agreed to have the call transferred.“

powerful_Rogue

678D said:

Thank you for the replies.

The stress was caused due to the fact they didn’t want take responsibility for the issue , had I not kept chasing them I would have had to pay for repairs myself. I tried to deal with them calmly but they were very dismissive and were telling me I would have to pay for extra costs of diagnoses etc and I had to keep getting back to them telling then that it wasn’t correct how they were dealing with the issue.  

I know this are the risks of buying a second hand car but my point is a had done less than 20miles when the car was overheating , I paid for the car and couldn’t use for 2 weeks .
surely I should at least report then to Tading agency ?

Below is one of many emails received from less 24 hours I had the car in my possession and was asked to await 2-3 weeks for repairs or pay towards repairs ,is this correct ? the car was not drivable and I had just bought it .

“As advised on our phone call today we can get you booked in at either our Fengate Peterborough workshop or our Snodland Kent workshop, this would be free of charge. We are booking 2-3 weeks in advance as advised earlier. 

You advised you did not want to wait 2-3 weeks for a booking with ourselves, I advised I can transfer the call to the warranty team however this would come at a cost to yourself. You agreed to have the call transferred.“

You said initially they wouldn't agree to fix your car, however the email above says they would. Is it just the 2-3 week time frame that is the issue as the email implies?  If they haven't got the resources to book you in sooner, I don't know what you would expect them to do.

How much are you thinking of attempting to claim?

678D

I would have expected them to book at another local garage at their cost and provide a courtesy car while the car was being fixed , a very simple solution in my view .
 

I’m sure if I have taken the car and told them I would come back to pay in a couple of weeks they wouldn’t have let me drive the car away , so why I am expected to pay the full asking price and not be able to use it for 2weeks ?

How many people had they pushed into a corner and make them give up 

Sounds all very unfair to me !

678D

I don’t have in mind any figure of how much I want to claim , to be honest as much or at least have some regulating agency to look at their procedures .

Lets be clear I’m not someone trying to chase a east pay cheque , all I wanted to was to have paid for the car as I did and used it for at least a few months and a few 1000 miles before I had to deal with any issues , since they were so reassuring the  car had passed their rigorous 200 points inspection.

powerful_Rogue

Why didn't you just reject the car for a full refund?

What it seems like so far is that you contacted them to report the issue, they said they will look at it, but it would be 2-3 weeks as workshop is fully booked. You wasn't happy with that and that's where the issue has come from.

2-3 weeks isn't ideal, but I would think a court would see this as reasonable.

678D

I didn’t reject the car as they gain would have to book a towing truck to take to their workshop , they then would have to diagnosis to then issue to  then  refund, in all of that I would still have remained without the car without having the money to buy another car.
Ofcourse I wasn’t happy with that , why should I? I was having to discuss car repairs and costs on the very next morning I bought the car from them ( I drove out of the dealership 6.21pm)

I will still take them to the court and see what happens . I believe Big Motoring Wolrd needs to be help accountable at some level for guaranteeing a customer thy their vehicles had passed rigours inspections and them less than 20 miles driving out of their dealershop 
1- expect me to wait 2-3 weeks to have a car they sold me hours earlier not fit for purpose to be repaired 
2-expects me t pay for the vehicles they sold me hours earlier to be fixed if I wanted to use it .

powerful_Rogue

678D said:

I didn’t reject the car as they gain would have to book a towing truck to take to their workshop , they then would have to diagnosis to then issue to  then  refund, in all of that I would still have remained without the car without having the money to buy another car.
Ofcourse I wasn’t happy with that , why should I? I was having to discuss car repairs and costs on the very next morning I bought the car from them ( I drove out of the dealership 6.21pm)

I will still take them to the court and see what happens . I believe Big Motoring Wolrd needs to be help accountable at some level for guaranteeing a customer thy their vehicles had passed rigours inspections and them less than 20 miles driving out of their dealershop 
1- expect me to wait 2-3 weeks to have a car they sold me hours earlier not fit for purpose to be repaired 
2-expects me t pay for the vehicles they sold me hours earlier to be fixed if I wanted to use it .

In which case I wish you the best of luck.

However be aware that going to court on a whim will be a stressful experience. Vehicles break down, even brand new ones. These things happen and is unfortunate - replace the word vehicle with any other item you can buy new or used.

The crux of the matter is you either had to wait 2-3 weeks for them to fit you in at their workshop OR go via the warranty which may have entailed a cost depending on the T&C's of the warranty.

In law it comes down to what is reasonable, I believe 2-3 weeks would be seen as reasonable. You also had the option to reject the vehicle for a full refund which you did not explore.

Also if you do take them to court as you seem intent on doing, you need to put a ££ on this.