Bought car which has numerous faults

[wcms]

Hello all. I hope you are enjoying the Christmas holidays!

I recently purchased a car that was advertised on a well-known motor trade website. The seller is a business (limited company). On the day it was delivered I waited a few hours before driving it as I was busy working. When I did drive it, I discovered a bad water leak coming from the sunroof which drips on the back seat and also floods the driver's footwell. There were also other faults noted but this fault renders the car undriveable if it happens to be raining, which is a regular occurrence in this part of the world. The timeline of events is as below:

22/12/21: Purchased car. Paid £100 on credit card; Paid remaining balance by BACS. The purchase price of the car was a little under £10,000 but when delivery charges were applied the total invoice came to over £10,000.

23/12/21: Car was delivered. Multiple faults were found after delivery person had driven off. I notified the salesman who is based in another part of the UK. He advised me to dry out the car.

24/12/21: After seeing the state of the leak in the morning and discussing with my girlfriend, I messaged the seller to tell him I would like the car uplifted and a refund. I followed this up with an email to which the seller responded. In both instances the seller said they were happy to have the car back. But they do not mention my request for a refund. They are back to work on Monday when we will chat. They also state that they feel the vehicle did not have these faults when it left their garage.

I am basically wondering how to approach this. I feel that I have a right to reject this vehicle, having read up on the Consumer Rights Act 2015. But I am a bit concerned that if this vehicle goes back to the dealer, that I will not see my money back. As £10,000 is a lot of money to me (which I borrowed from a bank), I cannot take that risk. Although they seem to be doing brisk trade, I would not say they look like a particularly large dealer. The dealer is a long way from me (hundreds of miles).
Will I definitely be protected by section 75 if they take the car and don't refund me, seeing as I paid a £100 deposit on my Visa credit card?
What would I need in writing before handing back the car?
I listed the faults in the email to which they replied on 24/12, stating that they would arrange return of the vehicle. But I did not mention the Consumer Rights Act by name. Nor did they mention a refund!
I did see a 'template letter' on the "Which" website which mentioned the act and a threat to go to court, but I decided against using this as I felt the approach might put them into defensive mode and I would rather avoid a heated confrontation which could disrupt dialogue.

Also, what should I do if the dealer does not agree to refund me?

Appreciate any advice. I am happy to pay a legal expert in this field also. So if you have any recommendations I would happily look at them. Failing that I intend to call my solicitor on Monday anyway, to seek their advice. I am just a bit concerned about the time all this takes and am trying to be forearmed before engaging once more with the dealer. As an aside, the advert was removed from both the motor trade website and the dealer's own website shortly after sale, so one cannot simply look at the description. Does that matter? I mean the invoice states the make and model of the car but no faults. Also, I did manage to get a screen shot of the description from their website prior to the advert disappearing, describing the car as well maintained.

Thanks!

[echat11]

Hi WCMS

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 protects you, youre acting quickly which is good.
You've requested a refund, the dealer said they will accept the car back.
You really need to reject the car and request a refund in writing. Send the letters with Proof of Postage.

Send the following template to the dealer -

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...r-aeziX3M7tYNw

Send the following template to your credit card provider -

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...edit-provider/

It's pointless thinking too far ahead, simply because the matter might get resolved following the letters you send.

[wcms]

Hi,

Thank you. I will do as you say.

Do you think it would it be OK to scan the signed letter and send it to the dealer as an email as well as send the hard copy?
And should I let him collect the car without getting it in writing that he will refund me in full?

The dealer is in Wales and I am in Scotland, if that makes any difference?

I am a bit concerned about the line "If you fail to reimburse me, I shall have no alternative but to issue a claim against you in the county court for recovery of the money without further reference to you."
Would that be the case given the different areas of the UK we live? I know the law up here can be different so not sure how it works. I guess the law of England and Wales as the dealer is based there.
I've never found myself in this situation and am not very clued up on legal matters, so apologies if these questions seem a bit rudimentary.
I am also struggling to find a solicitor to advise me as my usual one said that they don't specialise in this area.

[echat11]

Send as an email as well if you want.

You could change it to - (you will be sending further letters)

'If you fail to reimburse me, I shall have no alternative but consider taking further action to recover the money without further reference to you'.

[wcms]

Where the letter to the dealer says "I am legally entitled to reject the vehicle and to be reimbursed the original purchase price of [£xx]." should I include the cost of delivery which was nearly £500? This was detailed in the invoice separately and not sure if that is part of the purchase price or if they would need to repay that to me?

I also noticed a dent/crack in the front spoiler, and panicked a bit as I thought it might have happened recently whilst parked up (although I couldn't figure out how). But then I reviewed the pictures the salesman sent me prior to sale and the damage is visible, although I think they tied to polish it out and not highlight it. Should I bother mentioning this? It's a used car so I didn't expect a 'perfect car' but don't want them to try and accuse me of making the damage to the front spoiler.

Thanks.

[ostell]

You can claim all the costs of the car, including delivery charges. You could also claim for wasted insurance and tax.

You can mention that damage on the spoiler but make sure to point out that it present in the photographs supplied by them just to stop them having an excuse

[wcms]

Thanks. This might sound like a silly question but should I date the letter? The template doesn't mention this and am just wondering if that is intentional or not.

[smintram]

I would date everything.

[wcms]

Thanks. That's it done. Regards the letter to the credit card company, my card issuer has an online form specifically for section 75 claims. However it seems to intimate that you should use it when it hasn't been possible to resolve with the dealer directly. Would it be advisable to wait and see how the dealer responds or is it advisable to mail that letter off to the card issuer asap? The latter doesn't seem to provide a mailing address for these matters but they do have a phone number. I might give them a ring tomorrow.

[echat11]

Yes you can use the online form (it takes credit card providers a bit of time to react and they will make it difficult), so might be an idea to fill in / send off ASAP. If it gets resolved then you can let them know. You can give them a ring.

[wcms]

Thanks. The dealer refunded the cost of the car but failed to refund the cost of delivering it or my financial losses which exceed £500.
He said that he told me before the sale that the delivery cost would be non-refundable if I wanted to return the car.

This can't be right? The car was clearly rejected due to numerous faults, one of which rendered it undrivable in the rain (thus not fit for purpose).
I sent the letter to their office but don't think it will be with them until tomorrow.
Should I wait until the end of the 14 days before taking further action?

[echat11]

Thanks. The dealer refunded the cost of the car but failed to refund the cost of delivering it or my financial losses which exceed £500.
He said that he told me before the sale that the delivery cost would be non-refundable if I wanted to return the car.

This can't be right? The car was clearly rejected due to numerous faults, one of which rendered it undrivable in the rain (thus not fit for purpose).
I sent the letter to their office but don't think it will be with them until tomorrow.
Should I wait until the end of the 14 days before taking further action?

Yes wait 14 days. Lodge a claim with your credit card provider, as Section 75 covers 'consequential' losses.

[wcms]

Hi again! I am just filling out a section 75 form and it is asking me if I inspected the goods on delivery. The driver turned up 4 hours early so I wasn't expecting him. But I did get in the car and start it up. I had a look at it but didn't carry out a detailed inspection. The faults only became apparent after the driver left. Should I say I "inspected" it or put 'no'. It's just a yes/no option?

Another thing confusing me is that it is asking me if the contract/misrepresentation was written or verbal. It was an advert on the website with photos where I saw the car. I discussed the car in a WhatsApp chat and also by discussion on the phone.

[echat11]

I'd put 'yes' to inspected.

Contract / Misrepresentation was written.

If there are any places on the form where you can expand on the above, do so, i.e. further information etc. So they get the full picture.

[wcms]

Hi all,

Quick update.
The car dealer sent me a cheque for the amount I asked for which was the cost of the delivery of the vehicle plus other losses including wasted car tax and cancellation of insurance.
However the cheque 'bounced'. I am unsure why the trader would do this but I assume it may be a stalling tactic as Trading Standards have been speaking to them. They actually don't speak to me directly for some reason and the cheque came without any cover letter at all. Just the cheque and that was it.
The trader could have refunded me by BACS like they did with the cost of the car and all other payments between us prior to now were done by BACS. Very strange why the trader would start using cheques?

Also, I received the attached (redacted) letter from my card issuer. They have agreed to pay most of the remaining amount but have not included the cost of my cancelled insurance, wasted car tax and other losses that came about from the breach of contract.

I take it if I accept this then that is the final settlement? Or can I accept this from the card issuer and pursue the dealer for the smaller amount?
I might give the card issuer a phone and ask them why they aren't refunding the other losses.
It's only a bit more than £100 so I would not be too much out of pocket if I just accept it. Just wondered if this was the usual way they do things or if it is worth questioning. Given they are a multi-billion pound company and the car dealer is a multi-million pound company, I feel they are better poised to cover the £100 or so rather than me, despite their apparent inclinations to the contrary.

Thanks.