Used car dealer sold my sister 2yr old car that now turns out to be a Cat S write-off

[gaze11e]

Hi folks,

My sister bought a 19 plate Audi from a used car dealer in Jan'22. Put down £10k deposit, remainder £8k on finance.

Airbag light came on in March'22, long story short, in an attempt to get the air bag light fix at Audi dealer, Audi sent video showing car had been in a previous accident with a really bodge job for a repair.

Air bag light wire was broken, other wires just being held together by cable ties (when should be in a foam insert inside bumper), sensors damaged, sensors not connected, sensors left open and exposed. Parts with date stamp from cars 3 years older.

I did a vcheck report, shows car was Cat S write off and with pics of the car damaged sitting in salvage yard only a few months before.

MOT history shows when car dealer put it through MOT it failed with SRS major fault (air bag light). Next day it passed, the dealer just reset the light, which he knew would come back on at some point.

My sister specifically asked whether car had been in previous accidents or any issues. Dealer said no previous accidents, said it was HPI clear, (I did one as well and it was HPI clear), and no faults.

There was a dispatches programme a couple weeks back where this was highlighted and the chap got a full refund and he only found out his car was a Cat S when he tried to px his car 8 months on. Also covered in this article:
https://www.driving.co.uk/news/wreck...hequered-past/

Finance company are saying they will unwind the agreement, they are saying the deposit my sister paid to the dealer, the dealer will need to sort out (and not the finance company) and the dealer will deduct usage.
The dealer are saying they will charge 35p/mile and car has done 13k miles which comes to £4,550.

Given my sister paid £18k, this leaves her with with £13,450.

A 2yr old would not have depreciated this much in 8 months with 13k on the clock. The dealer will no doubt sell the car on again either declaring as Cat S or not and no doubt make a tidy sum of profit again! Whilst my sister is left extremely out of pocket.

Where does my sister stand? this can't be right, why should she be out of pocket, plus she paid a small fortune in going from garage to garage to try and get this air bag light fixed - when dealer knew it had a problem and yet denied there was a problem.

Finance company saying if you are not happy you can goto financial ombudsman.

Does she have legal recourse to get a full refund as others have acheived? she unfortunately doesn't have legal expenses cover on her insurance.

Thank you for any help you can provide in this matter.

[des8]

The finance company are liable for all monies paid (ie including the deposit) under sec 75 of the Consumer Credit act 1974.

Usage @ 35per mile is taking the wee wee.
In the cases I've come across the courts award between 10p & 15p per mile

If finance house don't play fair she can try the FOS which is free but slow
If she doesn't like the result she can the initiate court action,
She can skip the FOS and go straight to court.

Best to try negotiating first though as less stressful
If her claim will be for more than £10,000 there is also the possibility of costs to be taken into account

[gaze11e]

The finance company are liable for all monies paid (ie including the deposit) under sec 75 of the Consumer Credit act 1974.

Usage @ 35per mile is taking the wee wee.
In the cases I've come across the courts award between 10p & 15p per mile

If finance house don't play fair she can try the FOS which is free but slow
If she doesn't like the result she can the initiate court action,
She can skip the FOS and go straight to court.

Best to try negotiating first though as less stressful
If her claim will be for more than £10,000 there is also the possibility of costs to be taken into account

Thank you for the warm welcome and informative reply.

The Final Response letter from the finance company is shocking, it completely ignores the main reason for the rejection, that being sold a 'Cat S' car. The finance company put the main reason as, that my sister had found out it had been involved in a previous accident. Also misses out, the dealer knew the car had a problem as it failed it's MOT.

the 35p/mile is the figure suggested by the finance company to the dealer! The finance company seems to be helping the dealer more than my sister.

So the finance company (Santander) - just got off the phone with them - are insisting the the cash deposit is upto the dealer to refund and nothing to do with them.

Yes, will take this to the financial ombudsman - just hope they are impartial and fair - was trying to avoid a long winded protracted process.

Would it be ok to give car back and take whatever money the dealer is offering in terms of refund and then pursue dealer or finance company for rest of money?

Thank you.

[des8]

If your sister accepts what is being offered, she may be required to sign that it is in full settlement, which would preclude any further recovery action.

When making the complaint your sister could refer to Consumer Protection from Unfair trading Regulations 2008 regarding the failure to declare the previous damage.

Also invoke Sec 75 of Consumer credit act 1974 regarding Santander's liability for the deposit.

Regarding the deduction, there is no fixed rate.
It must be reasonable and is open to negotiation, and the amount being requested certainly should be considered over the top.
Finance agreements generally set a figure around 15p per mile for excess mileage, (I have read that santander charge 14.9p) which is more reasonable than 35p per mile

Good luck

[gaze11e]

If your sister accepts what is being offered, she may be required to sign that it is in full settlement, which would preclude any further recovery action.

When making the complaint your sister could refer to Consumer Protection from Unfair trading Regulations 2008 regarding the failure to declare the previous damage.

Also invoke Sec 75 of Consumer credit act 1974 regarding Santander's liability for the deposit.

Regarding the deduction, there is no fixed rate.
It must be reasonable and is open to negotiation, and the amount being requested certainly should be considered over the top.
Finance agreements generally set a figure around 15p per mile for excess mileage, (I have read that santander charge 14.9p) which is more reasonable than 35p per mile

Good luck

Excellent, great info, will indeed go back to them with the Sec 75 credit act 1974 regarding deposit liability, looks like the Satander guy I'm dealing with doesn't know what he's talking about. The Final Response letter he sent is so cringe worthy to read, it's so full of inaccuracies.

If you happen to have a source for the 14.9p / mile that Santander charge would be very useful to go back to them with, if not no worries, will try and find it on google.

[des8]

This allegedly from Santander "On a PCP agreement, you are given the option to hand back the vehicle without being charged this balloon payment. However on your agreement you have signed to confirm you acknowledge and accept our rate of £14.9p per mile we charge if you exceed your yearly mileage"

was in 6th post on this MSE thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com...ll-please-help