We Buy any Car - Changing their mind

Bmd1989

Hello all, I’m new here but seen a similar post here from a few years back, I’m pretty much in the same boat.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

in a nutshell..

I basically carried out an online evaluation on Friday the 8th January, they re-evaluated my car when there in person by a couple of hundred pounds, I agreed, signed and left my car and keys alongside my logbook to expect the outstanding finance to be paid and the difference in my account in 1 working day as I paired the £25 fee for them to then phone me on the following Monday that they’ve re-evaluated the car to a much lower amount and they want to drop my car off at my home address if I don’t agree with the new amount. 

I’ve been reading the small print in the contract which says in my opinion in a manner of words when signed it’s a done deal, but unsure.

Also, the car is now uninsured and untaxed and I can’t even drive it. Also if I was to have the car back it would now have another keeper on the logbook, I’d need to reassign the car back to me so it’s actually 2 new keepers devaluating my car by a considerable amount of money, so in my opinion I’m being scrutinised for their mistake

It was evaluated originally at £43k online, reevaluated when there in person at £42,738 which was agreed, signed for, in their possession and now they’re going back on their offer and asking for 33k after the sale. I paid 44k for it 6 months ago., something doesn’t seem right.

MorningcoffeeIV

Bmd1989 said:

I’ve been reading the small print in the contract which says in my opinion in a manner of words when signed it’s a done deal, but unsure.

This sounds suitably woolly.

What does it actually say?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

You need to check what you've signed to see what it says about cancelling the agreement, terms need to be balanced so if both parties can walk away penalty free then that may be fair.

If it allows them to but not you then that is more likely to be unfair and if a term were to be classed as unfair that term would be void. 

If they didn't buy the car it's unlikely a court would award specific performance but rather cover your loses which would mean selling the car for the best price you can and then claiming any difference as damages. 

WBAC has a complaints policy:

https://www.webuyanycar.com/frequently-asked-questions/complaints-policy/

You also need to know why they are lowing the offer so much, if it was because they felt you hid something you ought to have known perhaps that would give them legitimate cause to walk away. 

If you end up with the car back I'd insure it even if you aren't going to drive it, if it gets stolen you'd be in a real bad spot, if you had to pay cancellation fees for the insurance first time around that may be a legitimate thing to claim as a loss. 

If you decide to, taxing the car shouldn't make much difference (you might lose a few days tax).

pinkshoes

Have they definitely signed the logbook to a different owner?

You dropped it on the Friday (5th??)  and they phoned you the next working day (Monday 8th) , so it's possible they hadn't finalised the money side yet and didn't send it off. 

What has happened in the last 7 days? Have the dropped the car back off with you? Have they told you why it has been valued £10k lower? I appreciate mistakes are made, but this doesn't sound like a mistake. Did anything in the T&Cs say it was subject to a thorough check of the car?

As above, the T&Cs need to be fair.

Bmd1989

Contract 

Scheme - Second Hand Goods

We Buy Any Car Ltd will inform the DVLA that the vehicle has been sold using their online service the day after sale. If the online service does not accept your V5 document reference number, it is the responsibility of the seller to inform DVLA or by sending your notification slip which can be detached from the V5 at the point of sale. We Buy Any Car Ltd does not accept responsibility for any fine issued before our day of purchase.

Terms and Conditions

1. THESE TERMS

webuyanycar.com is a site operated by We Buy Any Car Limited (we or us). We are a company registered in England and Wales under company number 05727953 and our registered office is at Headway House, Crosby Way, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7XG.

These terms (together with the documents referred to within) (the "Terms") set out the terms on which we, We Buy Any Car Limited, will buy from you and you will sell to us your car (the "Car").

Please read these Terms carefully before you sign our standard written purchase contract (the "Contract") to which these Terms apply. We recommend that you keep a copy of them for future reference.

 By entering into the Contract, you confirm that you accept these Terms and that you agree to comply with them.

2. MAKING YOU AN OFFER

Even if you have obtained an online valuation for your Car on our website webuyanycar.com ("Website"), we always carry out a physical inspection of the Car (the "Appointment") before we make you an offer to buy it. Once we have inspected the Car, we may make you an offer to purchase the Car at a given price ("Price"). The Price may differ from any online valuation you obtained using our Website if, on inspection of the Car at the Appointment, we consider that the value of the Car is affected by any aspect of its history or condition, including any unusual feature or customisation or anything which affects or limits the Assumptions (as set out in the Website Terms and Conditions) that we made about the Car, which was not apparent to us when we gave the Online Valuation.

We are not obliged to purchase any Car brought to an Appointment (in particular we reserve the right to turn you away from an Appointment if you are selling the Car for commercial purposes, e.g. in the course of a motor trade business) and neither are you obliged to sell any car brought to an Appointment.

3. ENTERING INTO THE PURCHASE CONTRACT

If you wish to accept our offer to purchase the Car at the Price, a binding agreement to purchase the Car will only be made between us once both you and we have signed our standard written purchase contract (the "Contract") on the terms and conditions set out in these Terms.

Any negotiations or discussions which take place prior to signing the Contract will not be binding on you or us.

4. YOUR REPRESENTATIONS

If we buy a Car from you, we will be relying upon your representation that:

a. you are legally capable of entering into a binding contract to sell the Car; b. you are at least 18 years old;

c. to the best of your knowledge, information and belief:

i. you are the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Car;

ii. other than in respect of any finance outstanding on the Car which you have disclosed to us, no person has any claim to the Car;

iii. the mileage reading on the Car is true and accurate and the odometer has not been tampered with;

iv. you have disclosed to us all matters which a prudent purchaser would want to know about, such as physical defects in the

Car (e.g. if it has any material mechanical problems or damage);

v. all information supplied by you in respect of the Car (whether in obtaining an Online Valuation, at any Appointment or

otherwise) is true and accurate in all respects; and

vi. the Car is registered in the UK; and

d. you are not (nor are you acting on behalf of anyone who is) selling the Car in the general course of business.

In the event that we discover (at any time) that any of the above representations are (or are likely to be) inaccurate, untrue or false then we reserve the right (at our sole discretion) to:

5.

a.

b. c. d.

request any documentation or information we deem necessary to determine whether the above representations are untrue or false; and/or

withdraw any offer to buy the Car with immediate effect; and/or

to rescind any Contract with immediate effect; and/or

(where appropriate) seek damages from you.

HAND-OVER REQUIREMENTS

At the time of making the Contract, you will need to provide us with:

all copies of the Car's keys you have;

the Car's registration document (together with appropriate proof of purchase if requested by us); the Car's service history (if any);

the Car's MOT certificate (if any);

the Car's user manuals (if any); and

any accessories there may be such as a locking wheel nut, radio fascia or remote controls.

We will also expect you to remove any personal possessions from the Car once the Contract has been concluded. We will not be responsible for any personal items lost once the Car is in our possession.

In the event that you fail to comply with these hand-over requirements, you agree that we have the right to withdraw any offer to buy the Car with immediate effect, to rescind or terminate any Contract with immediate effect and/or to indicate a revised Price at which we will be prepared to purchase the Car. If we elect to rescind the Contract, we will return the Car to you, and you will refund the Price to us.

6. PRICE AND PAYMENT

Once the Contract has been made and we are in possession of the Car, we will pay you the Price for the Car, less the amount of any transaction fee (see below), by electronic transfer to the bank account of your choice.

Our standard means of payment is by Future Dated Faster Payment which takes 4 working days, after the day of sale, to arrive in your account. In most cases faster payment options are available for an additional fee and if selected the cost and speed of payment is displayed on the invoice.

 It is possible that events beyond our control may delay payment, and if that happens we will not have any liability to you for the delay, save that we will refund the payment fee if it has been paid, or deducted from the Price, for the enhanced payment speed if the payment is not made the timescales quoted on the invoice.

7. TRANSACTION FEES

There is no transaction fee if you choose not to sell your vehicle to us. Our standard transaction fees;

No transaction fee applicable for vehicles valued below £99.99 (subject to minimum valuation of £50) A transaction fee of £49.99 is applicable for vehicles valued at £100.00 to £3,999.99

Where the price is £4,000 or more, the transaction fee is £74.99

We periodically trial different transaction fees. Where this applies, your transaction fee will be displayed on our website when you obtain a valuation, and you will be informed of the transaction fee before you sell your vehicle. The transaction fee is displayed on the invoice as a deduction prior to you signing our contract.

8. CARS SUBJECT TO FINANCE

We may make you an offer to purchase the Car even though it is the subject of a finance arrangement between you and a third party ("Finance Agreement"), provided that we receive a written statement of the amount required to settle the Finance Agreement in full from the third party.

We will only pay to a third party such sum as we agree with you in writing. Following receipt of any sum due from you under condition (b) below, we will forward such sum to the third party on your behalf, as soon as is reasonably practicable after we enter into the Contract.

If the Price is:

a. higher than the settlement figure required to fully settle any sum outstanding under any Finance Agreement we will pay you the difference; or

b. lower than the settlement figure required to fully settle any sum outstanding under any Finance Agreement you must pay us the difference.

If you have an outstanding finance agreement with Blackhorse Limited, or any finance company part of the Blackhorse Group, You consent to Black Horse Limited issuing a settlement figure to We Buy Any Car Limited (WBAC), for the sole purpose of WBAC purchasing your vehicle and settling outstanding finance payable to Black Horse Limited. WBAC will provide personal associated with your agreement to Black Horse Limited for validation, to ensure the settlement figure is given in relation to the correct finance agreement / vehicle.

This activity may need repeated should the settlement quotation expire during this transaction. If you wish to withdraw this consent, you can contact Webuyanycar’s Customer Service Team

9. LIMITATION OF OUR LIABILITY

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we will not be responsible or liable to you for any indirect or consequential losses or loss of income or revenue, loss of business, loss of profit, or loss of anticipated savings (whether direct or indirect). However, this shall not prevent you from claiming for loss of, or damage to, your physical property which is caused by our negligence.

Subject to the above, our maximum aggregate liability to you under or in connection with any Contract with you shall not exceed the Price of the Car.

10. YOUR LIABILITY

You will compensate us in full for any losses or costs, including reasonable legal fees, we incur as a result of (i) any breach by you of these Terms; or (ii) infringement of the rights of another person.

11. MISCELLANEOUS

If any term of these Terms is held to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, the remaining parts of the Terms will continue to be enforceable.

You may not assign, sub-license or otherwise transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms to any other person.

These Terms do not give rise to rights that are enforceable by any person who is not part to these Terms.

If we do not exercise or enforce a right under these Terms against you at any time, this does not prevent us from doing so at a later date.

12. APPLICABLE LAW

 These Terms, its subject matter and its formation, are governed by English law and you and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction in connection with any dispute or claim arising in relation to these Terms, except that where the Appointment takes place in Scotland, these Terms shall be governed by Scottish law and the courts of Scotland will have exclusive jurisdiction in connection with any dispute or claim arising in relation to these Terms.

13. USE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We use and record the information you give us for any Online Valuation and/or in entering into a Contract, for the purpose of making payment to you and in case we need to address any complaint, in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy which can be found at 

 14.

OUR GUARANTEES

We guarantee our online valuation for 4 days.

If your car is in the condition you say it is, we promise to pay the price we quote.

Don't worry, if we jointly identify further discrepancies, we will be happy to remove those items from our inspection if you can rectify them to a professional standard. If you rectify them within the 4 Day Guarantee period, you'll get the initial valuation quoted online

Bmd1989

Correct I’m no longer the owner on the logbook. I have a confirmation email stating that too and they’re also saying that they will give me some money out of Goodwill so they’re admitting the mistake.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Thanks OP, so have they informed you of why they wanted to drop the price down to £33k? It really hinges on this?

First step would be to use their complaints process, it says you get a single person working on your complaint and "Investigations into written complaints are held within 21 days."

Either they'll back down and buy the car as signed or give a reason why not, if it's a reason why not then you have to confirm that isn't a reason in the terms and if it isn't you go back to above of selling for best price and claiming the difference from WBAC. 

I understand it's frustrating and ideally you'd like this sorted asap but it's likely to take a bit of time to go through, you'd hope best case the complaint sees them pay the agreed value of the car you signed for. 

Bmd1989

It’s very frustrating mate. They said when doing a further HPI check the car is valued actually less than the two quotes provided initially after the contract was signed. I payed 44k for it in May, doesn’t seem correct. 

Grumpy_chap

Bmd1989 said:

Hello all, I’m new here but seen a similar post here from a few years back, I’m pretty much in the same boat.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

in a nutshell..

I basically carried out an online evaluation on Friday the 8th January, they re-evaluated my car when there in person by a couple of hundred pounds, I agreed, signed and left my car and keys alongside my logbook to expect the outstanding finance to be paid and the difference in my account in 1 working day as I paired the £25 fee for them to then phone me on the following Monday that they’ve re-evaluated the car to a much lower amount and they want to drop my car off at my home address if I don’t agree with the new amount. 

I’ve been reading the small print in the contract which says in my opinion in a manner of words when signed it’s a done deal, but unsure.

Also, the car is now uninsured and untaxed and I can’t even drive it. Also if I was to have the car back it would now have another keeper on the logbook, I’d need to reassign the car back to me so it’s actually 2 new keepers devaluating my car by a considerable amount of money, so in my opinion I’m being scrutinised for their mistake

It was evaluated originally at £43k online, reevaluated when there in person at £42,738 which was agreed, signed for, in their possession and now they’re going back on their offer and asking for 33k after the sale. I paid 44k for it 6 months ago., something doesn’t seem right.

A £10k devaluation after they have the car is substantial.
Have they given a reason for this?
Is there something they will have identified after taking the car that may not have been obvious to them at the time?

What are your potential losses on this?
What valuations did you receive from other car buying services before settling on the WBAC offer?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

I would have thought the time for them to do such would be before they asked you to sign anything, them simply deciding it's not worth as much as they thought isn't covered by the terms, they'd need to point to something specific in the terms (part 4 or 5) that they feel give them the right to terminate.

Should they do so then it's a question of whether their position is valid or not, complaint with WBAC is definitely the way forward to start, simply because it's the easiest step and gives them the opportunity to state their position exactly which will then allow you to establish a position counter theirs. 

Bmd1989

(Removed by Forum Team)

That’s a letter I sent to WBAC.