Sold Campervan buyer wants money back

Herzlos

born_again said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

Good luck to the OP. I can't help thinking that if there had been zero contact with the buyer from the outset then they may not have had the impetus to issue a claim.

It was a private sale. Buyer beware. Let's hope the court agree.

OP, you seem to be providing rope to the buyer which will be used to hang you. Just keep your defence simple. Private sale, buyer saw, approved, paid & left. No warranty implied or offered. End of story.

Private sale, buyer representative approved, paid & left. No warranty implied or offered.

From Op

 Anyway, he lives about 4 hours from me but has a friend near me who came to inspect it for him, he agreed it's a great van and even said if his mate didn't have he would buy it.

TBH, this all the hallmarks of someone buying a van for a holiday & then finding reason to give it back & get their money back, or a serious case of buyers remorse..
Thankfully OP is fighting this.

It's more than that. buyer representative approved, then buyer looked at it, paid and left. Either the buyer or rep spent 2 hours looking at it.

I sort of agree with your suspicion in that it's a scam. My assumption was that they have one already and needed some bits from it, so the rep confirmed the bits were suitable, buyer bought it, took it home, swapped bits and is then trying to return it.

Or it's a dodgy dealer trying to scam more money of out it by complaining later. I actually wonder if either of their mobile numbers flags up with any camper van sales already, because if so that'd completely sink their argument.

KeithP

BlueHarbourBouy said:

If you have to go ",to court", nothing too formal. really an office in a court building. Judges go out of their way to put defendant at ease

To reenforce that view, have a look at this short video...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n93eoaxhzpU

Just three or four people sitting round a table having a discussion.

That video was made a few years ago and many hearings nowadays seem to be via telephone or video link.

mandy1955

I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you that have advised, encouraged and helped me with this awful situation.   I am truly grateful.  I promise to update you all even though it could be a while as the form asked if there are any dates I'm not available in the next few months.  I'm free any day as I'm retired.  I never thought for one minute I'd be in this situation at my age, I sold my beautiful van bought with money my late mum left me.  So it was treasured, I saw it as her last gift to me.  I used to have an old vw caravelle and I took her out in it a few times, she loved it.    I know from reading on here there are people buying vehicles then claiming faults etc but I thought this was a lovely couple.  You live and learn eh x

lydecker_777

Just incase anyone hasn't mentioned here ,

- get a paper copy of all messages you exchanged regarding the sale etc, and do it sooner than later incase anything happens to your phone ?

- download an app like vehicle smart or something to get copies of the previous mots incase you have given them the only copies to have ?

-repairs done in Jan 2021 ie replacement pipes etc, it's 3 -1/2 years later, they will be rusty and corroded? New parts are not the best quality these days and simply don't last , and chances are with it being a Japanese manufacturer,  the parts used would of been either cheaper copy parts or 2nd hand from someone breaking one?

For peace of mind you could even ask the dvla for a letter or subject access request which would provide official solid evidence of when you owned the vehicle, if you haven't got it ?

And lastly If the garage where you had repairs done are quite friendly, you could ask for copies of any invoices or work done ?

The main concern with selling a vehicle is there is often a lot of paperwork relating to the vehicle which gets passed on to the buyer, and when something like this happens,  the seller has effectively given their evidence away?

As previous posters have said, there should be ni case to answer as its a private sale etc but I would get as much evidence as possible about the vehicle repairs/maintenance during your ownership and that should be enough to show your a genuine seller . 

Hope it all works out

mandy1955

Thank you.  I have printed out the messages between us already, and I have my copy of the V5 showing when I bought the vehicle.  My regular mechanic is going to write a statement for me confirming my regular maintenance of the vehicle and invoices.  I appreciate your help and thank you for the advice.   I'll let you all know when I hear from the court.  

mandy1955

Still no news on court date.  I'm not expecting it to be very quick as the form asked if there are any dates I'm unavailable in the next few months.   Anyway, I'll keep you updated.  I'm so grateful for all your replies.  

motorguy

mandy1955 said:

Still no news on court date.  I'm not expecting it to be very quick as the form asked if there are any dates I'm unavailable in the next few months.   Anyway, I'll keep you updated.  I'm so grateful for all your replies.  

"I never thought for one minute I'd be in this situation at my age, I sold my beautiful van bought with money my late mum left me.  So it was treasured, I saw it as her last gift to me."

You put that in a previous post.  I think that sums it up beautifully.  If you can get that in to paperwork / express that at some point in the case, i definitely would.

Okell

motorguy said:

mandy1955 said:

Still no news on court date.  I'm not expecting it to be very quick as the form asked if there are any dates I'm unavailable in the next few months.   Anyway, I'll keep you updated.  I'm so grateful for all your replies.  

"I never thought for one minute I'd be in this situation at my age, I sold my beautiful van bought with money my late mum left me.  So it was treasured, I saw it as her last gift to me."

You put that in a previous post.  I think that sums it up beautifully.  If you can get that in to paperwork / express that at some point in the case, i definitely would.

I don't think I would.

It leaves the OP open to being asked why, if it was so treasured, they sold it.  I'm sure they have a good reason for selling, but to raise this could be seen as an attempt to introduce sentiment and doesn't necessarily help the OP's case.  It won't affect a judge's decision and might alienate them.

WellKnownSid

Okell said:

motorguy said:

mandy1955 said:

Still no news on court date.  I'm not expecting it to be very quick as the form asked if there are any dates I'm unavailable in the next few months.   Anyway, I'll keep you updated.  I'm so grateful for all your replies.  

"I never thought for one minute I'd be in this situation at my age, I sold my beautiful van bought with money my late mum left me.  So it was treasured, I saw it as her last gift to me."

You put that in a previous post.  I think that sums it up beautifully.  If you can get that in to paperwork / express that at some point in the case, i definitely would.

I don't think I would.

I tend to agree.  Stick to the facts, as these are what would be used to make the decision.  Private sale, caveat emptor, not in a position to make assertions on what was an old camper van, buyer sent their competent technician around to check it over and had plenty of opportunity to review the paperwork.

mandy1955

Thank you all.  I did only sell it as I'm living on my state pension and the tax was £345 a year and insurance was more than I'm paying now for my tiny van.  It's sad, but I had to do it and as I've lost my winter fuel payment it was the right decision. I do miss it though.