Dealer refuses to return or repair

stellab5150

Current situation: what to do about insurance and road tax on a vehicle that won't pass its MOT and is held ransom at a mechanics garage. 
I am taking court action to recover £13 k from a dealer who sold a faulty campervan. He won't mediate , refund or communicate.  The fault was there at the time of purchase and this is acknowledged by the dealer. But  he has the vehicle at a mechanics garage who have been unable to fix it for the past 4 months..
The MOT is due to expire, so my insurance won't be valid and I won't be able to re insure as the cam won't pass its MOT. However the dealer has told the garage not to communicate with us as he is the paying customer. The garage won't release the vehicle as the dealer is slow at paying them. Despite driving the vehicle into the garage it is now basically not driveable. As the ECU is totally scuppered. 
I don't know what to do, the dealer could decide to get the van on a flat bed truck and dump it on the road outside my house. The garage insurance won't cover any problems arising with my vehicle, such as theft or vandalism etc. 
Even winning the court case could take 24 months and I think the dealer is still likely to avoid having to pay me. In the meantime the vam will deteriorate and be worth nothing. 
So what can I do to sort out insurance and encourage the dealer to pay up. 

Ganga

Can you not SORN the vehicle ,this will at least stop you getting fined for no VED or insurance.

Mark_d

The vehicle is currently under control of the dealer and is at a garage.  As the vehicle is back with the dealer, I'm not sure you are responsible for it in any way.

It sound like a crystal clear case to me.  The dealer has admitted the critical fault was there at the time of purchase and you have taken the vehicle back to the dealer (or someone working in the dealer's behalf).  It has become evident that the issue can't be resolved so a refund is due.

You're already taking court action to recover this refund.  Why do you want to insure a vehicle that's been returned to the dealer?  The value of the van no longer matters - you are due a refund of the money you paid.  Court action does take time but this is the correct action and I think it's all you can do

Mildly_Miffed

No MOT does NOT invalidate insurance.

You won't be covered if you have an accident caused by your vehicle being unroadworthy... but you can't drive it at the moment anyway.

But why are you paying to insure and tax a vehicle that's off the road? Just SORN it and let the insurance lapse (or cancel it if it's worth doing).

If you want to reject it, and you think you've got solid grounds, then just drop off all the keys and paperwork to the garage (the one that sold it is the one that has it now, right?), and if they still don't pay, launch a claim for the money.