vehicle rejected under CRA - rejection accepted but no refund forthcoming

[snork]

Early this year I purchased a car (it was a Distance Sale) which, a day after delivery I noticed had a fault (I will not describe the fault but it was significant enough to warrant the car being deemed not of satisfactory quality).

The dealer was informed by letter within 3 days of delivery that the vehicle was being rejected. In addition, as the car was purchased as a distance sale, no information was provided prior to a contract being formed (the deposit and full balance was paid prior to delivery) in terms of any T&Cs regards cancellation under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

A Letter Before Action was then sent as the dealer was refusing to cooperate.

The dealer then decided to engage one of these tin pot 'legal' firms who have basically been giving me the run around since then.

As the dealer was refusing to collect the car, I had the car inspected by a local garage who found further elements that were faulty - these were advised to the dealer in addition to the faults already identified.

Finally, in June, the car was collected by the dealer and taken 'for inspection'. Within a few days the car was listed for sale on their website and Autotrader (new advert - I have copies of the original advert to compare).

In addition to this, I have also in the last week received acknowledgement from the DVLA that I am no longer the registered keeper of the vehicle. This change was done without my permission.

In essence therefore, I've rejected the car, the car has been taken back, listed for sale and also taken out of my name. I would therefore deem the dealer to have accepted my rejection. They are, however, refusing to refund me anything at all. We had actually got to a point of agreeing a figure to settle at however a payment date was promised but that date came and went, and now it is radio silence, despite chasing.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I realise I should have escalated this earlier, however the volume of excuses, lies and nonsense has led us to now. At this point I feel I have no other option but to commence a Money Claim and accept the further stress that will follow.

I have some questions for anyone willing and able to respond please:

- The dealer have a trading name, website and use their name in all correspondence but a search on companies house suggests this company was dissolved a couple of years back. Does my claim therefore need to be against the company name or the individual? I'm not clear on this.

- When writing the Claim Particulars (I have used the template which has appeared on these forums many times, so thank you) is it possible to say you are rejecting the vehicle for breaches of both the Consumer Rights Act 2015 AND the Consumer Contracts, (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013?

- I realise that in order to raise a claim, you need to pay a fee. As I am at the upper end of the scale this fee is not inexpensive. If, upon raising the claim, this 'forces' the dealer to try and settle without going to court, do you get a refund of the fee or is it a case of having to such it up and deduct it from whatever figure you may end up settling at?

thank you.

[des8]

1) On the claim form you name the defendant as " Joe Bloggs trading as dodgy dealer"
2) You may refer to both statute and regulations
3) If dealer wishes to settle out of court it is for you to negotiate the best deal, taking into account all that it has cost you including court fees.
The previous offer is now "dead"

[atticus]

Sorry to say this, but this is not looking good. Some motor dealers can be very dodgy and make it very difficult to extract money. The important first thing is to make sure that you take court action against the correct party. It cannot be a company that was dissolved before you purchased the car.

Do you have an invoice for the car? If so, look at who it states to be from, i.e. who is stated to be the seller.

What details do you have of the seller's bank account?

As to your other questions:

- no harm in citing both pieces of legislation.

- If you win your case, the Defendant should be ordered to repay the court fees you have paid. Remember to ask the judge at that stage.

[snork]

Sorry to say this, but this is not looking good. Some motor dealers can be very dodgy and make it very difficult to extract money. The important first thing is to make sure that you take court action against the correct party. It cannot be a company that was dissolved before you purchased the car.

Do you have an invoice for the car? If so, look at who it states to be from, i.e. who is stated to be the seller.

What details do you have of the seller's bank account?

As to your other questions:

- no harm in citing both pieces of legislation.

- If you win your case, the Defendant should be ordered to repay the court fees you have paid. Remember to ask the judge at that stage.

The invoice has the company logo on it and at the bottom contains the details of the company including their address, website, telephone number and email address. The bank account details are the '[proprietor's name] business account'.

This is why I asked the question - when I purchased the car this was done on the basis all of the adverts showing the car was being sold by {insert company name]. It was only once things started to get 'messy' that I checked on companies house to see the company had been dissolved. The director of the dissolved company is the same person / owner of the business I bought the car from so I ASSUME this means they are a sole trader.

I don't know how / if this makes any difference to my claim, but as I say, I want to make sure the claim is against the correct entity.

[atticus]

Does the company name on the invoice include LTD or Limited? Is there a company registration number or a VAT number?

[snork]

Does the company name on the invoice include LTD or Limited? Is there a company registration number or a VAT number?

No to either of those questions. Same on the website.

[snork]

1) On the claim form you name the defendant as " Joe Bloggs trading as dodgy dealer"
2) You may refer to both statute and regulations
3) If dealer wishes to settle out of court it is for you to negotiate the best deal, taking into account all that it has cost you including court fees.
The previous offer is now "dead"

Thanks for your post, much appreciated. Particularly the last point which was something I wasn't clear on.

[atticus]

OK, in that case I agree with des8 - name your defendant as "[Name of proprietor] trading as [Name of business]"

[snork]

OK, in that case I agree with des8 - name your defendant as "[Name of proprietor] trading as [Name of business]"

Many thanks for your advice on this and also to des8. I am glad I asked the question as otherwise I was lining myself up to get it wrong.

I will finish drafting the claim particulars and add the draft to this thread. It might be that someone is good enough to critique that for me also.

[atticus]

Your main point is that your rejection of the car has been accepted, and that the dealer has failed to return the purchase price to you within 14 days as required by s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015.

[des8]

Many thanks for your advice on this and also to des8. I am glad I asked the question as otherwise I was lining myself up to get it wrong.

I will finish drafting the claim particulars and add the draft to this thread. It might be that someone is good enough to critique that for me also.

Post up your draft and someone will give it the once over

[snork]

If anyone is able to find the time to critique the below Claim Particulars I would be forever grateful.

Regards point 8) the reason for including this is partly to demonstrate an effort to resolve this without court action, but also that the dealer was not a member of The Motor Ombudsman but agreed to join and then did not, which drew out the process further. I'm not sure whether this is something I should be including in my Witness Statement though, rather than the Claim Particulars

1) At the material time the Defendant was Joe Bloggs trading as Dodgy Motor Co and the Claimant a consumer, Mr Snork.

2) On XX.XX.2022 the Claimant agreed to purchase a vehicle, Ford Vroom Vroom registration XXXX XXX from the Defendant for a sum of £X,XXX, paying a deposit of £XXX. On XX.XX.2022 the Claimant paid the remaining balance of £X,XXX.

3) This was a Distance Contract with the vehicle being delivered to the Claimant by the Defendant on XX.XX.2022.

4) The Claimant was not provided with items (g), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), (r), (x) listed in Schedule 2 or a cancellation form as set out in part B of Schedule 3 of the Consumer Contracts, (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 prior to being bound by a contract.

5) The Defendant's failure to comply with Section 13 of the Consumer Contracts, (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations, 2013 (CCR 2013) means the Claimant is not bound by the contract. The Claimant wishes to exercise their Right to Cancel.

6) On XX.XX.2022 the Claimant notified the Defendant by letter that the vehicle did not meet with Part 1, Chapter 2 Sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 with the vehicle being deemed to not be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described. Within this letter the Claimant advised the Defendant of their request for a refund.

7) In accordance with Part 1, Chapter 2 Section 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the Claimant wishes to exercise their Short Term Right to Reject.

8) In accordance with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols the Claimant notified the Defendant by letter on XX.XX.2022 that in the interest of finding a resolution and to avoid taking court action, they were willing to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (The Motor Ombudsman) to resolve the matter.

9) ) In accordance with Part 1, Chapter 2, Section 20 Clause 7 (b) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the Claimant made the goods available for collection by the Defendant and the vehicle was collected on XX.XX.2022.

10) In accordance with Part 1, Chapter 2, Section 20 Clause 15) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, 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.

11) The Defendant has rejected the right of the Claimant to a full refund but has transferred the V5 registration document out of the Claimant’s name without their permission and has listed the vehicle for sale. The Claimant proposes that these acts constitute an acceptance of the Right to Reject and therefore a refund should be provided.

12) Accordingly, the Claimant claims:
(a) The sum of £X,XXX
(b) Court costs
(d) Interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts Act at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

[des8]

Looks like it is down to me

I would prefer a much more concise PoC along the following lines (but remember it is your claim !):

At the material time the Defendant was Joe Bloggs trading as Dodgy Motor Co and the Claimant a consumer, Mr Snork.

On XX.XX.2022 the Claimant purchased a vehicle, Ford Vroom Vroom registration XXXX XXX from the Defendant for a sum of £X,XXX,

This is a claim for breach of contract as the goods were not fit for purpose,nor of satisfctory quality, and were misdescribed.
contrary to the Consumer Rights Act 2015

The defendant also did not comply with the Consumer Contracts, (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations, 2013

The defendant, although initially accepting the notice of rejection and recovering the vehicle on dd/mm/yy has failed to refund the purchase price within 14 days as required by s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Accordingly the claimant claims
(a)the sum of £XXXXX
(b) additional costs of £XXXX
(c)court costs
(d) Interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts Act at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

[snork]

Looks like it is down to me

I would prefer a much more concise PoC along the following lines (but remember it is your claim !):

At the material time the Defendant was Joe Bloggs trading as Dodgy Motor Co and the Claimant a consumer, Mr Snork.

On XX.XX.2022 the Claimant purchased a vehicle, Ford Vroom Vroom registration XXXX XXX from the Defendant for a sum of £X,XXX,

This is a claim for breach of contract as the goods were not fit for purpose,nor of satisfctory quality, and were misdescribed.
contrary to the Consumer Rights Act 2015

The defendant also did not comply with the Consumer Contracts, (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations, 2013

The defendant, although initially accepting the notice of rejection and recovering the vehicle on dd/mm/yy has failed to refund the purchase price within 14 days as required by s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Accordingly the claimant claims
(a)the sum of £XXXXX
(b) additional costs of £XXXX
(c)court costs
(d) Interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts Act at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

Thanks very much for this, that's really helpful to have another perspective. I see where you are coming from with it being more concise - whilst I'd tried to read as much of the legislation as possible I did wonder whether I'd tried a little TOO hard to reference various clauses etc.

I will re-draft I think as there is a lot of merit in your suggestion. Thank you.

[snork]

Just to update this thread. I submitted the Money Claim at the end of last year. The Defendant did not respond within the timescales so the judgement automatically went in my favour. I was given an option to apply for a CCJ to be issued against the Defendant, which I selected and currently the status is that it is being processed.

I've heard nothing more from the defendant for some weeks / months now - there was a promise of a refund at the back end of November but that never materialised and was the catalyst for me to issue the claim.

Unfortunately, my feelings are that I am unlikely to get my money back (we're talking a large sum as well, not far off the £10k claim limit). The car dealer is still trading, and has had a few cars come and go on their website / AT page.

I have to admit that the actions I can take from here aren't massively clear, so need to get some advice in that regard.