Rejected a car (need clarification)

[mch1991]

Hello,

I purchased a car on the 2nd September 2016 for £8,500.

I rejected the car on the 9th September 2016 due to numerous issues occurring on the vehicle, including a loud intermittent whining/grinding sound coming from behind the dashboard when the air conditioning was on, loud knocking sound coming from underneath the front end of the vehicle, rubbing noise coming from the rear of the car (after inspection, we found that the brake pads had worn into the backing plates), I stopped using the car immediately.

Car was financed via hire purchase, the finance company has been good and have followed my request to reject the car, and have ensured no payment is taken from me in relation to the monthly agreement. Dealership has also been informed, however, I am having issues with the dealership who are refusing to collect the car.

The dealership is known for selling faulty cars from reading various reviews (I cannot believe I didn't check this before purchasing from them).

He's refusing to collect the car, 7 days ago I gave him notice that should he fail to collect by the 26th, I'll start charging him a £20 per day storage cost.

Before I start charging him, can anyone confirm that such charges would actually stand a good chance of being enforceable in court? And am I correct in charging the dealership, who is responsible under s.20(8) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to collect the car?

Many thanks for your help!

[des8]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Hi and Welcome

As the finance company were the owners of the car, and are also liable, ask them to arrange collection,
Let both parties know they have eg 14 days in which to remove the car, following which you will inform the DVLA of change of keeper.
At that point the vehicle will be unlicenced and uninsured at their cost when DVLA send out penalties for an unsorned car.
You could then park it up somewhere, where there is no danger of it causing a problem to other people or their belongings.

Damages and costs are recoverable, but you would need to show that the daily charge was reasonable ie storage caused you inconvenience or was in a secure place
[MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Thanks for your reply.

The finance company has asked the dealer to recover the car also, but he is obviously refusing and dragging his heals over the situation, which is odd as you'd think he'd want to put the car back on sale ASAP.

The car is parked on my garden currently in a secure area, I've already SORN'd the car as it is off the road, and the insurance was cancelled upon rejecting the vehicle.

I believe £20.00 per day is not extravagant or unconscionable and in line with a daily charge within our town (Stratford upon Avon), and is almost 1/3rd of the local council Penalty Charges for keeping a car in a parking area without paying (£50.00).

He's had 7 days clear notice that I will be charging him from the 26th should he not collect the car, he seems to think I have to return it to him, which is wrong, and anyways, it wouldn't make sense especially as I rejected the car due to problems and wouldn't want to drive it in the condition it's in.

I've also pointed out that s.20(8) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is clear about the liability in regards to rejected goods.

[des8]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

So although you have made a Statutory off road notification., I would still consider notifying the DVLA of change of keeper.

So go ahead and charge the £20 p.d., and keep a note of all your other expenses.
If they don't pay you can always initiate court action.
Whether or not a court claim will be successful it is impossible to be definite.
Good luck

[R0b]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Have to be honest, in relation to the dealer recovering the car, I don't think its his issue and he is entitled to refuse. This is because the dealer is just the middleman here, once the finance agreement has been signed, the finance co. will pay the dealer and ownership of the car is now the finance co.'s which is then let out to you. So any defects or issues in recovering the car has to lay with the finance co. and not the dealer, as he has merely sold it and that's the extent of his duties.

I would suggest going back to the finance co. and threatening them to arrange collection, also explaining that permission is no longer given to have the car on your property and you now consider it to be trespass.. And charge them daily until collected.

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

But surely ultimately the liability once the vehicle is rejected, comes down to the trader to recover the goods, especially if the dealer refunds the finance company, this is what I can make of s.20(8) of the CRA 2015.

The dealer is well aware of the rejection, and the finance company have also asked him to collect the car from what I've been told, as they initially asked me to drive it back to him but I refused as I have met my obligations both at a legal level and a contractual level.

It's a difficult one to understnd, personally the car might just end up on the public highway overnight and left for both the finance company and dealer to sort out, as I have given them both nearly 14 days to sort this mess out.

Whether the car gets seized by the DVLA and impounded is no longer my concern.

[des8]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Technically the car was supplied to you under a hire agreement by the owner , who is the finance company.
It is their responsibility to see to its recovery.
Normally of course for ease of dealing with the matter it would be done by the dealer, but if there are problems the responsible party is the finance company.

If you do put it on the public highway, and if it in some way causes an accident (eg handbrake fails), do remember as the last person to use it you could be held liable for any damage it causes.
If it is uninsured you may find it expensive.
Might be a very slight risk but...........

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Sure, it just seems ridiculous that both parties can mess around 2 weeks after rejecting the car, leaving me at a loss financially and with a car stuck on my garden because nobody is willing to collect it. I understand that nobody can realistically predict a car will not end up being fit for purpose, but over the course of two weeks you'd think the situation would have been sorted out.

[R0b]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Judging from your posts, it seems like the finance company has passed the buck in asking the dealer to return the car. What correspondence have you sent to the finance company?

You have said they have both had 14 days to collect but have you told the finance company this and that you will be charging £20 per day or has this only been communicated to the dealer? If your at fault and have wrongly communicated with the wrong person then the finance company may not have been given any notice at all.

The finance co. should be given at least a reasonable time to collect the car, and that is 14 days if they have refused or wanted to pass the buck then that is entirely their fault. You should also put them on notice of your intentions to remove the car from your land as you no longer give permission and then put it on a public highway, but before you do, make sure you have notified the DVLA and awaited confirmation that their database is updated (use the finance co's details on the agreement). If you do it too soon then you might be the one picking up the bill for an uninsured car.

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Sorry, but this is doing my head in.

The finance company are now saying that it's my responsibility to arrange collection with the dealership, and as a goodwill gesture they are willing to cover any costs.

I've refused as it isn't my obligation. What next?

[R0b]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Have you made any payments since taking on the car?

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

A £100 payment to the dealership to cover the shortfall in what the finance paid out.

I rejected the car 7 days after buying it due to the various issues.

[des8]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Just tell the financiers that it is their car and if they don't make arrangements to collect it you wll regard it as abandoned goods and arrange for its disposal at their cost as per Torts (
(interference with Goods) Act 1997.
Regarding return of goods as per CRA 2015 the relevant part is Sec 20 (7)(b) from which it is clear you only have to make the goods available for collection.

"(7) From the time when the right is exercised—
(a) the trader has a duty to give the consumer a refund, subject tosubsection (18), and
(b) the consumer has a duty to make the goods available for collection bythe trader or (if there is an agreement for the consumer to returnrejected goods) to return them as agreed."

- - - Updated - - -

You'll also be claiming back that £100?

[mch1991]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

Thanks! That's great.

The finance company were generally being good to start with, now they're just being awkward, I'll write that should they refuse to collect.

Just out of interest, does the CRA 2015 state anything about hire purchase agreements ending should the vehicle be rejected within 30 days? I read something about it but I can't remember.

Thanks.

[des8]

Re: Rejected a car (need clarification)

In the case of Hire purchase And rejection, the finance company is required to refund all monies paid to them

SEc 20:

(14)

If the contract is a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sales contract and the contract is treated as at an end before the whole of the price has been paid, the entitlement to a refund extends only to the part of the price paid.

(15)

A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund.