Faulty Vehicle returned - HELP!!

PennyD2023

I purchased a vehicle on 14.07.23, purchased for £17k via online sale, never saw the vehicle before purchase. 

On delivery the boot wouldn't lock, dealership said they would fix it locally to me but at their cost. Drove the vehicle and within 10 mins noticed something not right. In park (auto) the revs were going between 600/100rpm constantly. Told the father I wanted a refund, they collected the vehicle on 27.07.23 and have not had a chance to inspect it as of today. So they have the vehicle, my money and I have no idea of when I'm going to be able to receive my refund.
I'm devastated, my husband has no car (we part exchanged it for the new one and they wouldn't unwind the deal), anyone have any idea of the law, how long they have to inspect, what a reasonable time is? They have lied every step of the way and the locksmith that came and changed the handle so the vehicle was secure, still hasn't been paid! They said they'd pay him on 24.07.2023..
I don't know what to do! 

Wonka_2

You talk about online sale, dealership and Father - is it genuinely a named dealership or a purchase through an online portal that could be anyone ?

Did you actually see the car before you purchased or was it an absolute 'distance sale' ?
How did you pay ?
Who did you pay ?
Do the 'dealership' physically exist as a business (via Companies House) and do you have documentation that supports this ?
Does their Social Media footprint show anything of any concern ?

To be fair if they collected on 27th there's only been one working day (plus today) for them to inspect/refund. What timescale have they given you when you've asked them (and to be honest depending how you paid you don't have a lot of leverage to speed up the process)  

And as for the 'I don't know what to do' you now know that next time you want to drop £17k on a car you don't do it remotely without some guarantees/assurances in the background 

PennyD2023

Farther was a typo, don't know how to edit my post. I meant dealer.
They are a real dealership, with a physical location, companies house records, social footprint etc. They do distance selling, with warranties in place, I have signed the 14 day distance selling t&c's, have an invoice. I paid via bank transfer and part-exchanged a vehicle. They delivered the vehicle and collected it.  

I have asked for advice here due to the 'reasonable time limit to inspect a faulty vehicle'. I am hoping someone may have some idea of the process. They have had Friday, Saturday and today, after assurances the vehicle would be looked at on Friday. I am aware they have 14 days to refund me, my concern is how long they can draw out 'inspecting the vehicle'. 

I did have assurances and guarantees , your comment is unhelpful, condescending & rude! 

Wonka_2

PennyD2023 said:

I did have assurances and guarantees , your comment is unhelpful, condescending & rude! 

Thanks for your feedback - the questions/comments were for a reason and certainly weren't intended in the way you've taken them

As per the below they have 14 days to refund following return and only then, if they haven't, can you start any process to escalate. Had you funded any part of it via credit card/credit agreement you'd have more leverage

Accepting returns and giving refunds: the law - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The only additional glimmer you have is if the T&C's you signed offer a quicker turnaround than this.

Given the tight financial situation some dealers are in at the moment (e.g. Cazoo) I'd be expecting them to be pushing you to take another car or to be refunding on day 14

Grumpy_chap

PennyD2023 said:

I purchased a vehicle on 14.07.23, purchased for £17k via online sale, never saw the vehicle before purchase. 

On delivery the boot wouldn't lock, dealership said they would fix it locally to me but at their cost. Drove the vehicle and within 10 mins noticed something not right. In park (auto) the revs were going between 600/100rpm constantly. Told the father I wanted a refund, they collected the vehicle on 27.07.23 and have not had a chance to inspect it as of today. So they have the vehicle, my money and I have no idea of when I'm going to be able to receive my refund.
I'm devastated, my husband has no car (we part exchanged it for the new one and they wouldn't unwind the deal), anyone have any idea of the law, how long they have to inspect, what a reasonable time is? They have lied every step of the way and the locksmith that came and changed the handle so the vehicle was secure, still hasn't been paid! They said they'd pay him on 24.07.2023..
I don't know what to do! 

PennyD2023 said:

Farther was a typo, don't know how to edit my post. I meant dealer.
They are a real dealership, with a physical location, companies house records, social footprint etc. They do distance selling, with warranties in place, I have signed the 14 day distance selling t&c's, have an invoice. I paid via bank transfer and part-exchanged a vehicle. They delivered the vehicle and collected it.  

I have asked for advice here due to the 'reasonable time limit to inspect a faulty vehicle'. I am hoping someone may have some idea of the process. They have had Friday, Saturday and today, after assurances the vehicle would be looked at on Friday. I am aware they have 14 days to refund me, my concern is how long they can draw out 'inspecting the vehicle'. 

I did have assurances and guarantees , your comment is unhelpful, condescending & rude! 

You seem to have established this is a genuine Dealer.  The Dealer has accepted the return with relative simplicity.  That is the biggest concerns done with.

The concern now is the time for the payment to be refunded and whether the trade-in should be "unwound".

In terms of the latter, it is almost certain that the trade in cannot be unwound.  That trade in will have been sent off to auction probably the day of collection.  In terms of unwinding the trade in, there is a value of the trade in £x against the new car and that can only now be unwound as a return of £x in monetary terms.

In terms of the time for the payment, the faulty car was collected on Thursday and it is only now Monday.  The very quickest the financial refund will happen is three working days.  I think you need to assume that the car was collected on Thursday but the receipt of the car back at the Dealer did not happen until Friday and that is therefore the earliest the refund would have been processed.  You need to allow until at least Wednesday for the refund and possibly a few more days beyond that.  As you stated, the Dealer has 14 days so that is nearly another one-and-half weeks away from now.

I understand the inconvenience this is and the worry it is causing you, but I do think that a little bit of patience is probably required.  I hope you will have a good outcome and can come back in a few days to update the process completion and all satisfactory.
If that does not happen, then do return for further advice on next steps.