Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

[Richard.Lynn]

Hi Guys/Girls,

My first post on this site so hopefully you can provide me with a bit of guidance.

I bought a second hand car from a relatively small dealership (A limited Company) in May this year. I have recently had some trouble with the car and have found out that the car had its millage clocked in 2014/2015 by using the MOT history check facility on the Gov website. I don't believe the dealer had clocked the car, however the advertisement (which I have a copy of) and the receipt show the millage of 46k, which I believe the actual millage is around 90k.

Last week I spoke to citizens advice who advised me to issue a letter referencing the Consumer Rights Act (Not as described) and requested a full refund of the purchase price and for the vehicle and for it to be collected within 14 days. Trading Standards then contacted me the same day and advised they would like to investigate further and requested a meeting on 31/10/2016 which went ahead, the chap then confirmed he was going to take action against the trader.

This is where it gets "fun". The letter to the dealer was sent on 31/10/2016 recorded delivery which the trader received the following day. This morning I have found my car coated in white gloss paint covering all corners of the car and pavement, brilliant.... Obviously the Police have been involved but they have no real way of proving who is responsible.

My question is the original letter requested the full amount to be refunded within 14 days and for them to arrange collection of the car, obviously now for the car to be returned I would need to get a company to clean it. Would it be worth sending another letter requesting compensation opposed to a full refund at a slightly lower amount?

Citizens advice have also recommended before taking this issue to a small claims court to seek the help of an ADR. Has anyone had experience with this or is it a waste of time?

Any help would be appreciated.

PS> Yes it would be nice to return the favour or return the car via his office window but some money back first would be nice.

[seduraed]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

Have you told the Insurance company? You should make a claim.

[Richard.Lynn]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

Have you told the Insurance company? You should make a claim.

Hi, yes I have informed the insurance company, however I have had to disclose the full issue including the clocked millage. The value of the car would be based on its current value (eg 90k+ miles) and would make it pointless making a claim.

[des8]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

As you rejected the vehicle, ownership reverts to the dealer at rejection.
Until such time as it is collected you are an involuntary bailee, and as such you must take REASONABLE care of it.
Presumably it was parked up where you normally park your vehicles, and so you were taking reasonable care.
White paint is now dealer's problem.

Anyway, that is how I would be regarding the situation.

[R0b]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

If you do issue proceedings in court against the trader, you may also have a claim for either negligent misrpresentation or innocent misrepresentation as alternative claims. Negligent misrep is where the trader has done something which is careless or without any reasonable truth in the matter whereas an innocent misrep is where the trader honestly believes that the statement was true. Either way, both options enable you to rescind the contract and be put back in the same position before the contract was made i.e. a full refund of your money.

But as Des has said, once you give notice of rejection the title should revert to back to the dealer, if the dealer or a friend has decided to chuck paint all over the car as a result of asking for the return of money, that's their loss.

[Richard.Lynn]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

Thank you Des8 and Rob, you have made me feel 100 times better about the situation.

Luckily I have family within the legal system and I am liaising with a solicitor to take the case to further, IE small claims court. The garage still has a few days left to reply officially, although I feel the tins of gloss paint may have been their version, so we are putting together all of the information and preparing an additional letter.

As the title has reverted back to the dealer, do I need to make him aware of the damage to the car in writing? I have received an email from the Police Officer who attempted to visit the dealer after the incident, however he was not in at the time (he is supposedly going to visit him tomorrow). Lets assume the dealer denies all knowledge and is probably not aware of the above legal process of the title changing?

Sorry for all the questions but you have helped so much already.

Regards,
Rich

[R0b]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, so whether the dealer knew that he has just lobbed a tin of paint all over is his fault (assuming it was him or an associate). Given that it has happened you may perhaps want to be wary or careful over the next few months if you obtain another car in case the same thing happens again.

[des8]

Re: Bought a car which had been "Clocked" - Not as described

I personally would not advise the dealer of the vandalism.
Hopefully you will receive your refund before he collects the car and sees the damage.
If he becomes aware of the damage (without proof of his possible involvement you must not assume he was responsible) he is most likely going to become difficult, and you could end up initiating court action, which is better avoided.

As a matter of interest how did you pay for the car? credit card/HP? This woud give you another path for obtaining a refund?