Car Dealership Help

nWo_Si

Hi,

I'm after some help and advise on an issue I'm having. 

I bought a car on the 28th of June from that-car.com. I was advised by the dealer the car had full service history and had been through a full health check. The car was delivered on the 28th of June and I was advised all the paperwork was in the car and off they went. When checking the paperwork the car did not have full service history, only half. The car was had 2 issues, front parking sensor kept randomly going off and there was a knocking when driving. I advised the dealer of the issue and the service history not been full that I wished to return the car as it was not as described. They agreed and I returned the car on the 5th of July, this is when the drama started.

When returning the car Andy the boss was away but he said when he was back on the 10th I would get a refund, 10th came and no refund. I was able to speak to him on the 11th and he advised I would receive it today, no refund made. Spoke to him on the 12th and it was "We don't have enough money in the account to pay you but we are waiting for a pay-out from a finance company which should be made at the latest the 13th, no refund(sensing a trend?). Called again Monday morning the 14th to be told "Give me 48hrs and this will be sorted", no refund. It's then been a succession of "waiting on a pay-out". but then on the 23rd all contact stopped. They are now not responding to emails, calls or texts. 

I paid cash for the car £11,469.00 and have nothing to show it or sure where to go next? I've read about A letter before Action so I contacted a solicitor who said it would be £750 to send, seems excessive for a letter but I just don't know where to go?

Any help very much appreciated.

Thanks 

Aylesbury_Duck

A letter before action is indeed a good way forward, but you don't need a solicitor to send it.  Use Google or AI to construct one for you.  

You've got to hope that the threat of legal action if they don't refund you in full within 14 days of the letter stirs some action.  If it doesn't,  the waiting list for the courts is many months (I saw 10 months mentioned here recently) and you'll need to pay 5% of the claim as a court fee up front.

Although in the circumstances you've described you'd surely win the case, you've then got to hope that the dealer has the means to pay up.  If his cashflow is genuinely tight, you may find he closes the business before you can get hold of your money.

MyRealNameToo

Presumably this is the sort of car that comes with a paper service history? With our last car it was all electronic so nothing you can actually really handover but with the right tools you can check the system or online. 

Most people would send their own letter before action rather than pay a solicitor, though some might argue it will be taken more seriously on solicitor headed paper. One risk of cause is that they are telling the truth and the business is nearly broke so going to court increases your losses and whilst you get a judgement there may be no way of getting the monies. It's always worth doing some investigation before litigating on if they are likely to be able to pay or not. 

born_again

Any chance you can pay them a visit?

Unit 3c
Lincoln way
Sherburn in Elmet
North Yorkshire
LS25 6PJ