Section 75 claim for used car

GoingMad24

Hi, 

I purchased a car November 24 using my credit card for the deposit, traded in my car and paid the balance by debit card. ( the one I used was my husbands but it's a joint account. The bulk of the purchase was the car we traded in. 

There was 6 months warranty provided, the card had been having issues and I contacted the retailer January 25. They booked it in for the beginning Feb 25. The car was with them for almost 2 weeks, returned once during this time but unfortunately was still faulty. When I eventually got the car back it seemed OK but very quickly the issuestill returned. I contacted them at the beginning of March and asked for my money back. After many phonecalls and attending the retailer they offered some money. 

Based on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a retailer should refund any item that's faulty within 6months of purchase except for a car were they can make reasonable deductions for mileage etc.  The deduction the retailer offered was excessive and I stated my case. Unfortunately I was told basically take it or go legal. I reluctantly accepted and nolonger have the car and have received the refund offered. 

I have contacted my bank to raise a section 75 claim for the excessive charge.

- how successful do you think this might me? 
- my car is now advertised for sale. The price is only reduced by £1500 from the amount I originally paid whereas they withheld £4000 from my payment. 
- is this a good enough argument for their deduction being unreasonable?


I really need this money back and whilst I understand the retailer can withhold a reasonable amount of money I really don't think if fair or reasonable the i should take a financial hit from a faulty product I was sold?!

Also the fact my husbands debit card was used for part of the purchase is causing the bank major issues. They keep saying it's very complicated.  Will this be an issue? 
Even though the credit card is in my name they raised the claim in my husbands name and are now refusing to speak to me. 

I am very confused about all of this. 

Thank you

Grumpy_chap

GoingMad24 said:

Hi, 

I purchased a car November 24 using my credit card for the deposit, traded in my car and paid the balance by debit card. ( the one I used was my husbands but it's a joint account. The bulk of the purchase was the car we traded in. 

There was 6 months warranty provided, the card had been having issues and I contacted the retailer January 25. They booked it in for the beginning Feb 25. The car was with them for almost 2 weeks, returned once during this time but unfortunately was still faulty. When I eventually got the car back it seemed OK but very quickly the issuestill returned. I contacted them at the beginning of March and asked for my money back. After many phonecalls and attending the retailer they offered some money. 

Based on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a retailer should refund any item that's faulty within 6months of purchase except for a car were they can make reasonable deductions for mileage etc.  The deduction the retailer offered was excessive and I stated my case. Unfortunately I was told basically take it or go legal. I reluctantly accepted and nolonger have the car and have received the refund offered. 

I have contacted my bank to raise a section 75 claim for the excessive charge.

- how successful do you think this might me? 
- my car is now advertised for sale. The price is only reduced by £1500 from the amount I originally paid whereas they withheld £4000 from my payment. 
- is this a good enough argument for their deduction being unreasonable?


I really need this money back and whilst I understand the retailer can withhold a reasonable amount of money I really don't think if fair or reasonable the i should take a financial hit from a faulty product I was sold?!

Also the fact my husbands debit card was used for part of the purchase is causing the bank major issues. They keep saying it's very complicated.  Will this be an issue? 
Even though the credit card is in my name they raised the claim in my husbands name and are now refusing to speak to me. 

I am very confused about all of this. 

Thank you

When you buy a used car, the expectation against which your consumer rights apply is moderated for the age, mileage, condition of the car?

What car is it?
How old?
How many miles?
How much did you pay?
How many miles did you cover in the car?
What were the faults?

GoingMad24

Thanks for the reply GRUMPY CHAP
CAR: BMW X3
AGE:5YEARS
MILES: 80K
COST: £24K
MILES: 6000 HAD THE CAR 4MONTHS
Faults: noises from the steering and suspension noises which were covered under the warranty provided. They attempted to fix these on 2 occasions. As per consumer rights act 2015 I had to give at least one opportunity. 

It's very unfortunate, it was my dream car and after 2 attempts to fix the problems I didn't trust them to do anything of than a botch job again.

Yes, I get that they can made reasonable deductions but they kept £4000 of my money but have now readvertisted the car for £1500 less than I originally paid....

MattMattMattUK

6,000 miles at 45p per mile would normally be reasonable, so £2,700. Did they break down the cost, a cost per mile, a cost for damage to the vehicle?

What was the split of the payments between the different methods, your credit card, husbands debit card and trade in value?

GoingMad24 said:

Faults: noises from the steering and suspension noises which were covered under the warranty provided. 

Do you know what the noises were, was the fault ever identified?

GoingMad24

MattMattMattUK said:

6,000 miles at 45p per mile would normally be reasonable, so £2,700. Did they break down the cost, a cost per mile, a cost for damage to the vehicle?

What was the split of the payments between the different methods, your credit card, husbands debit card and trade in value?

GoingMad24 said:

Faults: noises from the steering and suspension noises which were covered under the warranty provided. 

Do you know what the noises were, was the fault ever identified?

Hi MattMattMattUK,

No, they didn't breakdown anything. It was a very fraught couple of days were at one point I was told by the company owner he wasn't listening to consumer rights nonsense and I could go legal if I wanted a penny!🙈

No, the vehicle had no damage, I watched then go round it with their clipboards and a fine toothcomb. 

I was to recieve an email with confirmation of the work carried out but it never arrived. They was talk of control arms, top struts or mounts rose bushes or something like that. The noises were awful, knocking when turning the wheel. They even tried to tell me knocking n noises were normal depending on conditions such as if I had my foot on the break. 

Credit card: £500
Debit card: £7500
Trade in: £16000

Grumpy_chap

In order to pursue a claim under consumer rights / S75, the OP will really need to be able to articulate what the actual root cause of the fault was.  That is not clear from the thread so far.  

Not every fault on a 5yo 80k car would be grounds for rejection.

It may be possible that the Trader has treated the return as a normally trade in and not a rejection under consumer rights.

With regard to the bank, are both the Husband's Debit Card and the OP's Credit Card with the same bank?

Under S75, the CC is liable jointly and severally with the Trader for the full value of the purchase, irrespective of whether part of the purchase was completed by other means.  The Creditor - Debtor - Supplier triangle has to be in place.  Is it? 
In whose name is the purchase order paperwork? 
In whose name is (was) the car registered?

It rather sounds as though the bank are considering this as a Chargeback on the Husband's Debit Card and not as S75 claim on the OP's CC.

born_again

Grumpy_chap said:

In order to pursue a claim under consumer rights / S75, the OP will really need to be able to articulate what the actual root cause of the fault was.  That is not clear from the thread so far.  

Not every fault on a 5yo 80k car would be grounds for rejection.

It may be possible that the Trader has treated the return as a normally trade in and not a rejection under consumer rights.

With regard to the bank, are both the Husband's Debit Card and the OP's Credit Card with the same bank?

Under S75, the CC is liable jointly and severally with the Trader for the full value of the purchase, irrespective of whether part of the purchase was completed by other means.  The Creditor - Debtor - Supplier triangle has to be in place.  Is it? 
In whose name is the purchase order paperwork? 
In whose name is (was) the car registered?

It rather sounds as though the bank are considering this as a Chargeback on the Husband's Debit Card and not as S75 claim on the OP's CC.

You mean breach of contract &/or misrepresentation


From Op
Debit Card the one I used was my husbands but it's a joint account. 
Joint account, SOLE cards. You should not be using their car & knowing their PIn 

Keep_pedalling

It is unlikely the car will sell for the price listed, most people haggle those prices down.

GoingMad24

born_again said:

Grumpy_chap said:

In order to pursue a claim under consumer rights / S75, the OP will really need to be able to articulate what the actual root cause of the fault was.  That is not clear from the thread so far.  

Not every fault on a 5yo 80k car would be grounds for rejection.

It may be possible that the Trader has treated the return as a normally trade in and not a rejection under consumer rights.

With regard to the bank, are both the Husband's Debit Card and the OP's Credit Card with the same bank?

Under S75, the CC is liable jointly and severally with the Trader for the full value of the purchase, irrespective of whether part of the purchase was completed by other means.  The Creditor - Debtor - Supplier triangle has to be in place.  Is it? 
In whose name is the purchase order paperwork? 
In whose name is (was) the car registered?

It rather sounds as though the bank are considering this as a Chargeback on the Husband's Debit Card and not as S75 claim on the OP's CC.

You mean breach of contract &/or misrepresentation


From Op
Debit Card the one I used was my husbands but it's a joint account. 
Joint account, SOLE cards. You should not be using their car & knowing their PIn 

Do you mean I'm in breach of contract &/or misrepresentation?

This was a joint purchase, my husband was present and used his card as I has forgot purse. 

GoingMad24

Keep_pedalling said:

It is unlikely the car will sell for the price listed, most people haggle those prices down.

I'm in NI and unfortunately cars retail at a higher price than across the water, I'd imagine it'll be close to this based on this.....🤷‍♀️

Grumpy_chap

born_again said:

You mean breach of contract &/or misrepresentation


From Op
Debit Card the one I used was my husbands but it's a joint account. 
Joint account, SOLE cards. You should not be using their car & knowing their PIn 

Well, yes, you are correct.  BUT being able to articulate the fault is an essential part of establishing the breach of contract or breach of consumer rights:
SADFART
Satisfactory Quality
As 
Described
Fit for Purpose
And Last a
Reasonable Amount of
Time

The "satisfactory quality" on a used car does not mean "perfect".  A fault that is fixable at reasonable cost would not be grounds to reject.

GoingMad24 said:

Do you mean I'm in breach of contract &/or misrepresentation?

This was a joint purchase, my husband was present and used his card as I has forgot purse. 

No, you would need to establish that the garage was in breach of contract or misrepresented.


Can you clarify:
 - Are the bank treating this as a chargeback case on your husbands debit card?  Or as S75 on your CC?
 - In whose name is the order paperwork and documentation?