Sold Campervan buyer wants money back

Okell

jimjames said:

mandy1955 said:

I will ask them both to stop harassing me and see what happens.  thank you.

If you just block them you won't need to worry. 

@mandy1955 -  so long as you are satisfied that you described the campervan accurately and didn't give them any misleading information then follow this advice.  Block and ignore them.

You only need to be concerned if you receive either a Letter Before Claim (aka Letter Before Action) which is a formal requirement in the legal process that they must take before they can sue you.  It doesn't mean that they necessarily will sue you - it might just be that they are trying to intimidate you into paying up.

The only time you really need to worry is if you receive notification from the courts that these people have actually issued a claim against you.  That can't be ignored and you will need to act on it within tight timescales.

However, as everybody else has said these people are almost certainly trying it on and just trying to bully you into giving them a refund.  I doubt very much that they have any intention at all of taking you to court 

Herzlos

The cynic in me wonders if the mate viewed it to confirm it had parts they needed for their Bongo, and now they've swapped them over they are trying to unwind the deal.

The advice is the same anyway, a single message of "You inspected the car and paperwork twice, it's a private sale, end of" and then don't respond to them at all. The more you reply the more you tell them you're uncertain and likely to cave and pay.

ontheroad1970

I suspect that the 'mate' is in on the whole thing.  So be prepared for messages from him too.

GadgetGuru

When they told you they loved it and it was a great drive home - was that via text message also?
If so, that's fantastic evidence - keep it!

Echo all the other good advice. They checked it all over. They could have had a mechanic come and check if they wanted. So it was sold as seen. They have no comeback unless you sold something and withheld any information, which you clearly haven't. 

Judge Judy would say the same!

GrumpyDil

GadgetGuru said:

When they told you they loved it and it was a great drive home - was that via text message also?
If so, that's fantastic evidence - keep it!

Echo all the other good advice. They checked it all over. They could have had a mechanic come and check if they wanted. So it was sold as seen. They have no comeback unless you sold something and withheld any information, which you clearly haven't. 

Judge Judy would say the same!

Sorry withholding wouldn't be a problem for a private sale, deliberately lieing would be. Just saying as withholding known information isn't great but not grounds for returning a vehicle. 

mandy1955

hi, thank you to everyone that has posted advice on here for me.  I am a natural worrier and I have never been in court before, so their threats have been a bit upsetting.  I am retired and the money for my campervan has been put on a micro camper so I can still go away at times.   The last message I got from the husband was 3 nights ago saying his wife has been to CAB and I will be getting a recorded letter in a week or so.  My CAB Consumer advisor told me he will find it extremely difficult to prove misrepresentation as I said the previous owner told me the cam belt was changed, I never once told them I had it done.  At the end of the day my van was so well looked after and my mechanic who did just that told me he would endorse what I have told them. 

MeteredOut

mandy1955 said:

hi, thank you to everyone that has posted advice on here for me.  I am a natural worrier and I have never been in court before, so their threats have been a bit upsetting.  I am retired and the money for my campervan has been put on a micro camper so I can still go away at times.   The last message I got from the husband was 3 nights ago saying his wife has been to CAB and I will be getting a recorded letter in a week or so.  My CAB Consumer advisor told me he will find it extremely difficult to prove misrepresentation as I said the previous owner told me the cam belt was changed, I never once told them I had it done.  At the end of the day my van was so well looked after and my mechanic who did just that told me he would endorse what I have told them. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who would love to see a redacted photo of the letter they send. I can't see how they have any meaningful claim here.

mandy1955

FOUND a copy of my original sale post:

Mazda Bongo 2.5 diesel. P502JMS located in Cheshire. km120.513 so roughly 75,000miles.

Looking for a new home for my 1996 2.5td Mazda Bongo. I have owned this van for 3 years and anything its needed it's had. It's got a 200w solar panel fitted on the roof with mppt controller, 2 ring hob, sink and water tank. Electric blinds work off leisure battery, also silver covers on wing mirrors, There's a fridge with small freezer compartment. It has a 12v television/dvd player installed on a drop down between front seats I'll include an aerial. Gas bottle in metal lined cupboard in rear of van. I have a folder containing receipts for all work done over the 3 years, Inc all welding, front and rear arches, all sills, and bottom half respray done this year. The rock and roll bed has been recovered by me recently and is more set back than most vans giving more floor space. I had heavy duty vinyl fitted to replace the black carpet in there when I bought it. There's a rustys bleed kit and coolant alarm. I had a new water pump fitted 18 months ago. Autofree top goes up and down as it should, new tyres on 15in wheels, not alloys. I changed these from 18in ones. I had the Autofree top resprayed to look as good as the rest of the van, its had new brakes and drop links. I have lavished money and attention on the van and kept on top of all maintenance. It's time to downsize and let someone else enjoy this lovely vehicle. It has led lights under the top cupboards, and a new leisure battery installed this month with the mot. There is a diesel heater installed but this needs a bit of attention. All this van needs is to be loaded up and off you go all the work has been done. Asking in region of £8,750 ovno. There's probably loads I haven't mentioned, so any questions just ask.

maxmycardagain

Sold a camper conversion a while back, guy paid and off he went

3 weeks later he messaged me via Ebay, said they had been away in it for 2 weeks and now it wouldnt start .....wanted his cash back


needless to say he didnt get the money

Okell

mandy1955 said:

FOUND a copy of my original sale post:

Mazda Bongo 2.5 diesel. P502JMS located in Cheshire. km120.513 so roughly 75,000miles...

Has your buyer queried the mileage?  There appears to be a discrepancy on the MOT history.  Is it km or miles...?

Regardless - as I said earlier - you should ignore them.

Before they can issue a court claim against you they must send you a Letter Before Claim (aka Letter Before Action).  You don't need to take any notice of them until you receive one - and even if you do it doesn't mean they will actually sue you.  It's often just sent as additional intimidation.

You only need to worry when you receive an actual claim issued by the court.  Then you need to take action and put a defence together.