Has the dealer breached the law and what can I do?

[trover]

I would use the word "intend" instead of "may" in the first paragraph
You should shorten the second paragraph. No need to state the problems with the car and what happened in detail. Just say your company accepted my request to reject the car because the car was found to be unsatisfactory quality due to the undisclosed accident damage
You have not mentioned ADR, mediation
Is the dealer affiliated with the motor ombudsman? This would be a quicker process than a court claim which can take 1 year or more. If the dealer is affiliated you could write about the possibility of referral to this organisation

Thanks for your swift response, unfortunately it’s not a member of the motor ombudsman. I’ve added a sentence to satisfy the requirement for ADR consideration.

I can confirm that I would be agreeable to mediation and would consider any other system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to avoid the need for this matter to be resolved by the Courts. This letter before claim has been sent to you in accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct contained in the Civil Procedure Rules. I draw your attention specifically to the paragraphs 13-16 of the Practice Direction concerning the Courts' powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the Practice Direction.

I’d like to confirm one more thing — is loss of time usually not recoverable, as I’m obliged to mitigate losses, so personal time should be spent to handle the matter? Many thanks!

[Pezza54]

I would use the word "intend" instead of "may" in the first paragraph
You should shorten the second paragraph. No need to state the problems with the car and what happened in detail. Just say your company accepted my request to reject the car because the car was found to be unsatisfactory quality due to the undisclosed accident damage
You have not mentioned ADR, mediation
Is the dealer affiliated with the motor ombudsman? This would be a quicker process than a court claim which can take 1 year or more. If the dealer is affiliated you could write about the possibility of referral to this organisation

[trover]

If you are not prevented from making a claim for damages, you should read CRA Section 19 (9) and (10) and Explanatory Note 93

A consumer who exercises their short-term right to reject and receives a refund may also claim damages.

Thanks for that. I’ve received the refund in full. I’ve drafted a LBA after reading a few of posts and templates, would you mind going through and see if it’s acceptable? Thanks.

20 April 2023

Letter Before Claim

Dear Sir / Madam,

Amount due: £329.85

I am writing in relation to a breach of contract by [dealer’s name]. I may commence legal proceedings against [dealer’s name] if the amount due remains unpaid.

On 29 March, I purchased and collected the vehicle XX19YYY from you. On 3 April, I discovered that it was not of satisfactory quality; the bonnet and the front grill were misaligned, and the front parking sensors were faulty. On the same day, I made a phone call to 0xxx xxxxxxx and reported the faults. On 5 April, an appointment was made for 8 April to diagnose the vehicle. On 8 April, the vehicle was taken to your Manchester branch for diagnosis. On the same day, you confirmed that in order to repair the vehicle, the ‘front complete radiator panel assembly’ and ‘top cover for bonnet handle assembly’ have to be replaced. On 12 April, I sent you a ‘Vehicle Rejection Notice’ informing you of my rejection of the vehicle. On 18 April, you accepted my rejection. On the same day, your representative collected the vehicle from my address.

Section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires dealers to supply goods that are of satisfactory quality. However, the vehicle is clearly not of satisfactory quality. You are, therefore, in breach of contract. I am entitled to recover damages resulted from your breach of contract under section 19(9)(a), (10)(a) and (11)(a) of the Act.

The items are detailed below:

1. Pro-rata road tax — £30 (at £180 per year; 2 months, March and April)

2. Amendments to my insurance policy — £51.75 (2a minus 2b)
2a. Cost generated by amending to cover the vehicle XX19YYY — £329.55 (including an admin fee of £12 charged by the insurer)
2b. Refund generated by reverting coverage back to my original vehicle — £277.80 (including an admin fee of £12 charged by the insurer)

3. Non-refundable roadside recovery cover for the vehicle XX19YYY — £38.85

4. Fuel costs in relation to the operation of the vehicle XX19YYY — £29.70 (4a plus 4b; at £0.15 per mile, referring to the ‘advisory fuel rate’ recommended by the HMRC https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advisory-fuel-rates)
4a. On 29 March a single trip from your Manchester branch to my address — £9.90 (£0.15 x 66 miles = £9.90)
4b. On 8 April a return trip between my address and your Manchester branch, for the diagnosis of the vehicle XX19YYY — £19.80 (£0.15 x 66 miles x 2 = £19.80)

5. Usage and depreciation of my own vehicle; 3 return trips between my address and your Manchester branch — £178.20 (5a plus 5b; at £0.45 per mile, referring to the ‘business travel mileage’ recommended by the HMRC https://www.gov.uk/expenses-and-bene.../rules-for-tax)
5a. On 29 March for the purchase and collection of the vehicle XX19YYY — £59.40 (£0.45 x 66 miles x 2 = £59.40)
5b. On 8 April for the diagnosis of the vehicle XX19YYY, so that I would not be stranded at your branch during the diagnosis of the vehicle XX19YYY — £118.80 (£0.45 x 66 miles x 4 = £118.80)

6. 1st class stamp used to serve the ‘Vehicle Rejection Notice’ dated 12 April to you — £1.35

This letter before claim has been sent to you in accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct contained in the Civil Procedure Rules. I draw your attention specifically to the paragraphs 13-16 of the Practice Direction concerning the Courts' powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the Practice Direction.

If I do not receive payment of £329.85 from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, legal proceedings may be commenced against you without further notice. Should legal proceedings be required, an application will be made to recover legal costs and court fees from you, in addition to the amount due. Payment can be made by sending a cheque made payable to Trover to the address below:

[my address]

Yours sincerely
Trover

[Pezza54]

If you are not prevented from making a claim for damages, you should read CRA Section 19 (9) and (10) and Explanatory Note 93

A consumer who exercises their short-term right to reject and receives a refund may also claim damages.

[Pezza54]

Good news. Hope the dealer is true to his word Hold back regarding your claim for loss and expense. The dealer might make his offer of a full refund subject to you signing an agreement that the refund is in full and final settlement

[trover]

Best to wait and hope the dealer offers a settlement you can accept

Great news! And thank you so much for your help throughout! The dealer has agreed to give a full refund and will collect the car. The next step after receiving the refund I guess is to recover damages. I have thought of the costs below:
1 Pro-rata road tax
2 Insurance - costs to switch to the faulty car and back to my original car
3 Non refundable breakdown cover
4 [The faulty car; fuel only] One return trip for diagnosis at 15p/mile
5 [The faulty car; fuel only] One way drive away on day of purchase at 15p/mile
6 [Family’s car; fuel+insurance+depreciation+etc.] Two return trips, one for purchase of the faulty car, another for diagnosis of the faulty car, at 45p/mile

Are these items reasonable, or is there a better way to estimate? I doubt I could but wish to confirm, can I recover the loss of time as well?

Do I send a normal email to seek reimbursement, or send a LBA straightaway, after receiving full refund for the car?

[Pezza54]

Best to wait and hope the dealer offers a settlement you can accept

[trover]

That's much improved

I’’ve sent the letter to their head office and via email. I’m 3 days into the 14 days period. Is there anything I should do apart from waiting for 14 days when they may or may not respond?

[Pezza54]

That's much improved

[trover]

The false information is referring to the salesperson’s claim that the gap between the headlights and the bumper had nothing to do with the bumper.

I tried my best to rewrite paragraphs 3 & 4 without losing the core message, would you have a look please?

Moreover, on 29 March, your representative claimed that the misalignment between the headlights and the bumper had nothing to do with the bumper. This is simply not true, and I only found out after purchase about a repair invoice involving refitting of the bumper and surrounding components.

His actions were misleading as it contained false information and the way he presented information to me was deceptive; and his failure to disclose the fact that the vehicle was involved in an accident and repaired, which caused me to take an informed transactional decision I would not have taken otherwise, may be an offence under Regulation 5, 6, 9 and 10 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Pezza54 I’m unable to quote your post on mobile browser, so just tag you instead.

[Pezza54]

3rd para 6th line "as they contained false information" not strictly correct, his statement that all vehicles are HPI checked is probably true.
My advice is to condense paras 3 and 4 - see line 6 of my post 28
Use the words "may be" when accusing the dealer of breaching legislation, otherwise you are likely to get his back up ("is an offence" in paras 3 and 4)
Last para "I have no choice" again not strictly correct. Say "I intend"

[trover]

My advice is to write a formal letter of rejection which you could attach to a email and also send by 1st class post and obtain a certificate of posting
You should state the rejection is under CRA 2015, provide details of the serious fault(s), say the car is available for collection, and you expect a refund within 14 days of collection
Wait to see what the response is from the dealer before claiming insurance, road tax
You can mention potential breach of CPUTR briefly. No need to go into detail
No need to include a copy of the repair invoice

Thanks for your advice. I’ve drafted the letter, would you mind giving me some feedback?

Dear Sir/Madam,

Registration number: XX19YYY
Make: Audi
Model: A4

On 29 March, I purchased the above vehicle from you. On 3 April, I discovered that it was not of satisfactory quality; the bonnet and the front grill were misaligned, and the front parking sensors were faulty. On the same day, I made a phone call to 0xxx xxxxxxx and reported the faults. On 5 April, an appointment was made for 8 April to diagnose the vehicle. On 8 April, the vehicle was taken to your Manchester branch for diagnosis. On the same day, you confirmed that in order to repair the vehicle, the ‘front complete radiator panel assembly’ and ‘top cover for bonnet handle assembly’ have to be replaced.

Section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires dealers to supply goods that are of satisfactory quality. However, the vehicle is clearly not of satisfactory quality. You are, therefore, in breach of contract. I am entitled to reject the vehicle and to be reimbursed the original purchase price of £17,000 under section 19(3)(a) and 22(3)(a) of the Act. I look forward to receiving a refund for this sum through my original payment method within 14 days. I have stopped using the vehicle. The vehicle is available for collection at the following address: [address]

Moreover, on 29 March, prior to the purchase of this vehicle, I found that there was a gap between the headlights and the bumper. Your representative claimed that it was due to misaligned headlights and had nothing to do with the bumper. This is simply not true, and I only found out after purchase about a repair invoice involving refitting of the bumper and surrounding components. I asked your representative whether the vehicle was involved in a collision that may have caused the misalignment of the headlights and the bumper. He only responded that all the vehicles were HPI cleared. His actions were misleading as they contained false information, and the way he presented information to me was deceptive, which caused me to take an informed transactional decision I would not have taken otherwise, as set out in Regulation 5(2)(a) and (b) of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and is an offence under Regulation 9.

His failure to disclose the fact that the vehicle was involved in an accident and repaired is an offence under Regulation 10, as he omitted or hid material information and caused me to take an informed transactional decision I would not have taken otherwise, as detailed in Regulation 6(1)(a) and (b).

If you fail to reimburse me, I have no choice but to take legal action against you in the County Court for the recovery of the money, and report you to Trading Standards. Any further correspondence should only be in writing.

Yours sincerely
Trover

[Pezza54]

My advice is to write a formal letter of rejection which you could attach to a email and also send by 1st class post and obtain a certificate of posting
You should state the rejection is under CRA 2015, provide details of the serious fault(s), say the car is available for collection, and you expect a refund within 14 days of collection
Wait to see what the response is from the dealer before claiming insurance, road tax
You can mention potential breach of CPUTR briefly. No need to go into detail
No need to include a copy of the repair invoice

[trover]

You need to agree with the dealer on the solution
If the dealer agrees to repair the car you should stipulate that the dealer picks up your car and leaves you with a courtesy car. This would prevent the dealer causing you significant inconvenience meaning you wouldn't have to make a court claim. Ask the dealer how long the repair work will take.
You could get a quote/estimate from another garage for the repair work. If you don't want to reject the car because you want to keep it, a price reduction may be an agreeable solution so you can use the partial refund to pay for the work elsewhere.
If you can't reach an amicable agreement, rejection of the car may be the answer

Thanks for that, I was weighing the options. However, I believe it may be in my interest to reject it, as I started noticing some weird noises when driving, not to mention the issue with the parking brake. I have a few questions after reading others’ posts:
1 I understand that I’m required to notify the dealership of my rejection, can this be done via email?
2 Should I include the repair invoice from the previous owner to prove that the fault existed at the time of purchase? I don’t want to get into trouble with GDPR.
3 Should I mention the potential breach of CPUTR?
4 Should I claim for costs (insurance, road tax, costs to and from the dealership) at the same time or wait until I received the full refund?
5 How should road tax be calculated (in days of my possession of the car or full amount)?
6 I had a pro rata increase in insurance and paid an admin fee for switching to this car, how should it be calculated?

Much appreciated!

[Pezza54]

You need to agree with the dealer on the solution
If the dealer agrees to repair the car you should stipulate that the dealer picks up your car and leaves you with a courtesy car. This would prevent the dealer causing you significant inconvenience meaning you wouldn't have to make a court claim. Ask the dealer how long the repair work will take.
You could get a quote/estimate from another garage for the repair work. If you don't want to reject the car because you want to keep it, a price reduction may be an agreeable solution so you can use the partial refund to pay for the work elsewhere.
If you can't reach an amicable agreement, rejection of the car may be the answer