They stole my car from Webuyanycar

DullGreyGuy

A theft is going to be considered out of their control. Sure they can do things to reduce the risk but if someone wants a car and has resources they will ultimately get the car. It's therefore not unreasonable for them to rely on the clause that events outside of their control may delay payment. 

What I would be asking them is when payment will be made, either as a timescale or as a series of events/steps, and then consider how reasonable those are. For example if they say you have to wait for their insurer to payout to them for them to pay you I dont think that is reasonable. Maybe it would be reasonable to wait for the insurer to do the HPI/MIAFRA checks to ensure you weren't flogging a stolen vehicle etc... undoubtedly they did checks themselves but the insurer will want to repeat them. 

Fillyfivehead

DullGreyGuy said:

A theft is going to be considered out of their control. Sure they can do things to reduce the risk but if someone wants a car and has resources they will ultimately get the car. It's therefore not unreasonable for them to rely on the clause that events outside of their control may delay payment. 

What I would be asking them is when payment will be made, either as a timescale or as a series of events/steps, and then consider how reasonable those are. For example if they say you have to wait for their insurer to payout to them for them to pay you I dont think that is reasonable. Maybe it would be reasonable to wait for the insurer to do the HPI/MIAFRA checks to ensure you weren't flogging a stolen vehicle etc... undoubtedly they did checks themselves but the insurer will want to repeat them. 

The car shouldn’t have been onsite, (if they had followed their procedures) And they won’t be going through the insurance apparently, the excess is too high. 

They’re not giving me any indication as to when they will pay me. And no reason as to why 🤷

Hoenir

Fillyfivehead said:

They’re not giving me any indication as to when they will pay me. And no reason as to why 🤷

No doubt the matter is being investigated thoroughly. 

Herzlos

Fillyfivehead said:

They’re not giving me any indication as to when they will pay me. And no reason as to why 🤷

Who is the 'they' you are talking to? The local branch or head office? I'd escalate within WBAC.

I'd also send a Letter Before Action pointing out that after the sale contract was agreed and the keys handed over the car became theirs and you have no liability, so there's no reason for them to refuse or delay paying for it. Give them 2 weeks to make the payment and then take it to court. Hopefully they pay within that, but I can't see any judge taking their side on it unless part of the contract covers you being liable for losses caused by them, and I'd argue that's an unfair clause so shouldn't be enforcable.

LightFlare

One thing that may cause an issue with small claims is that the OP states it was an “expensive” car

Depending on the value, they could be above the small claims amount

DullGreyGuy

LightFlare said:

One thing that may cause an issue with small claims is that the OP states it was an “expensive” car

Depending on the value, they could be above the small claims amount

No one has said it is a small claim @lightflare? 

The pre-action protocol is the same irrespective of track and MCOL deals with claims up to £100,000. You legally only issue proceedings, it's the subsequent directions process that assigns it to a track. Property only losses under £10k would normally be assigned to the Small Track (aka small claims) but it's not guaranteed as complicating factors can push it to a higher track. 

The core difference between small track and fast track is that fixed legal costs start being recoverable so it becomes a bigger risk for speculative claims. Given the value of secondhand cars these days I doubt many would consider a mid range car to be sub £10k let alone an "expensive" one. 

LightFlare

DullGreyGuy said:

LightFlare said:

One thing that may cause an issue with small claims is that the OP states it was an “expensive” car

Depending on the value, they could be above the small claims amount

No one has said it is a small claim @lightflare? 

The pre-action protocol is the same irrespective of track and MCOL deals with claims up to £100,000. You legally only issue proceedings, it's the subsequent directions process that assigns it to a track. Property only losses under £10k would normally be assigned to the Small Track (aka small claims) but it's not guaranteed as complicating factors can push it to a higher track. 

The core difference between small track and fast track is that fixed legal costs start being recoverable so it becomes a bigger risk for speculative claims. Given the value of secondhand cars these days I doubt many would consider a mid range car to be sub £10k let alone an "expensive" one. 

No - it was more to ensure that the OP was aware of the differences between the different tracks

As for cost - I dunno, it depend on the person you ask, to some 10k is expensive - although Im guessing we are probably looking at 25K+

hopefully it never gets that far - it shouldnt on face value

Fillyfivehead

Good news, I’ve been informed that I’m being paid today 👍🏻 one week after the car was stolen. 

I’ve been impressed by Micheal in their fraud team, who has kept me as informed as he could with the limited info he had. 

🤞🏻 I see the money today. And thanks for all of your feedback.

Stubod

...glad you got it sorted, and thanks for letting us know....