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At the beginning of August I purchased a used car from a dealership (car was advertised on Auto trader). I got the car through finance and part exchanged my previous vehicle so no cash was involved. I inspected the car and there was some wear and tear that I had noticed, but can be expected at times on used vehicles (although the advert stated excellent condition inside, tyres etc). After leaving the dealership, a warning light came on related to the tyres, I then noticed more issues with the car, mainly of which were only noticed when driving at night. I immediately reported these to the dealership and around a week later he stated he would send me parts in the post to replace. Other matters I just simply accepted as a lesson learned to inspect further.
However there has been many other issues since!
1)He did not provide a green slip for ownership purposes, although I had provided my log book at the point of sale. He stated he would be transferring ownership and paying the year road tax but would ask me to reimburse which I agreed to. I chased this throughout the month as I hadn't received the log book, online status was still saying untaxed, couldn't get through to the DVLA by phone and emailed, continuously contacted the dealership to chase this which he eventually stated he had and the DVLA advised him there was a delay with their site but confirmed the vehicle was registered and taxed to me so told me not to worry. I continued to monitor this and looked at completing the V62 form, but it stated on the form to wait 4 weeks after point of sale to allow time. I eventually received a photograph of a post office receipt to the DVLA, but as soon as the 4 weeks was up I tried to complete the form myself with my local post office. I was told there was a code 6005 error and I would need to contact the DVLA. I managed to get through and was told the car was registered to a private keeper and the dealership hadn't even registered it under trade whilst it was in their possession. I had updated DVLA they had my vehicle, so its really not that difficult! I now have to complete the form again along with another form to SORN it until the log book is received to declare I am the new registered keeper. So continously lied to throughout this time.
2) as stated initially, I have not received parts as promised when reporting issues immediately
3) the car would not start a couple of weeks into ownership which appeared to be the battery. I immediately text the dealership to ask if they had checked the battery, they got back to me 3 days later (after me chasing them) to state they never had issues with the battery - that does mot answer my direct question, but as I had been able to jump start the car I thought I would monitor it and get it checked. I had a Halfords battery health check done as I wondered at that point if I needed a new battery, their machine advised recharge and retest so they stated I need to take it for some long drives which I did. Around a week and a half after that, the battery failed again. I thought it may be something more sinister so contacted the warranty company who said I need to book it into a VAT registered garage for a diagnostics and if they accept it they would refund me the diagnostics money (which was £78) and cover the costs of repair if the warranty covers it (they do not cover batteries). 16 fault codes appeared from the diagnostics with the main issue being the battery; 13 years old (6 years older then the car), not the right battery for the car and not secure to the vehicle with missing straps and bolts. The garage (who also carry out MOTs) stated it should not have passed the MOT. I reported this immediately to the dealership and have still not received a response. I have also raised official complaints with them and the finance company. In addition I have emailed the DVSA regarding potential MOT fraud
4) during all this saga, i had still not received the service history. The advert stated full service, but through finding the history myself, discovered it hadn't been serviced since 2019. There is also different mileage figures on 4 different documents now.
I have reported all matters to the finance company and requested to reject the vehicle under breach of CRA (I have quoted specific sections and reasons why this falls under a breach), I have provided all evidence such as diagnostics, advert of the vehicle, logs of contact to dealership etc, and I have also requested to reject under Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act as I do not believe it is safe to drive a car with a battery in that condition and with not being secure.
I have continued to send updated emails within the same email thread and am still yet to receive an official response relating to the complaint. I did speak with them over the phone at one point who stated I don't have a right to reject as its not within 30 days (just over), however I quoted CRA and the specific breaches whereas they stated they would pick up my email but requested evidence (adhered to) then they would be contacting the dealership as he has a right to one chance repair (which I am aware is one attempt to repair). I am still yet to receive updates. In addition to this, I had initially gone through a car broker so had also raised a complaint with them, they aren't communicating as quickly as I'd like but have reported to me that they have not been able to get a response from the dealership either but would be pursuing with a repair. I have informed them a one chance repair should be completed within a timely manner, which this is not given that the dealership aren't responding, so I will be continuing with my final right to reject.
This has been a beyond frustrating experience, causing significant inconvenience on me as I rely on a car and have now had to arrange lifts from family etc, getting a hire car for work related matters etc and am experience intense anxiety over this. I have been researching my rights as much as I can even reading through the finance companies lending code whereas theyre not adhering to that either. I haven't had a restful evening once since this all transpired!
I would really appreciate some advice on what to do next. I am planning on ringing the finance company tomorrow (although I sent another follow up email to them earlier) to allocate my case to a complaint handler and move forward with my request. But should I attempt to now go down the trading standards route? I've been looking into trying to find a no win no fee solicitors but not having much luck - this was advised to me through a legal team as they said I had done everything I should have done so far, but this was only at the point from when I initially raised the complaints.
Apologies for the long post, and thank you in advance for any advice
However there has been many other issues since!
1)He did not provide a green slip for ownership purposes, although I had provided my log book at the point of sale. He stated he would be transferring ownership and paying the year road tax but would ask me to reimburse which I agreed to. I chased this throughout the month as I hadn't received the log book, online status was still saying untaxed, couldn't get through to the DVLA by phone and emailed, continuously contacted the dealership to chase this which he eventually stated he had and the DVLA advised him there was a delay with their site but confirmed the vehicle was registered and taxed to me so told me not to worry. I continued to monitor this and looked at completing the V62 form, but it stated on the form to wait 4 weeks after point of sale to allow time. I eventually received a photograph of a post office receipt to the DVLA, but as soon as the 4 weeks was up I tried to complete the form myself with my local post office. I was told there was a code 6005 error and I would need to contact the DVLA. I managed to get through and was told the car was registered to a private keeper and the dealership hadn't even registered it under trade whilst it was in their possession. I had updated DVLA they had my vehicle, so its really not that difficult! I now have to complete the form again along with another form to SORN it until the log book is received to declare I am the new registered keeper. So continously lied to throughout this time.
2) as stated initially, I have not received parts as promised when reporting issues immediately
3) the car would not start a couple of weeks into ownership which appeared to be the battery. I immediately text the dealership to ask if they had checked the battery, they got back to me 3 days later (after me chasing them) to state they never had issues with the battery - that does mot answer my direct question, but as I had been able to jump start the car I thought I would monitor it and get it checked. I had a Halfords battery health check done as I wondered at that point if I needed a new battery, their machine advised recharge and retest so they stated I need to take it for some long drives which I did. Around a week and a half after that, the battery failed again. I thought it may be something more sinister so contacted the warranty company who said I need to book it into a VAT registered garage for a diagnostics and if they accept it they would refund me the diagnostics money (which was £78) and cover the costs of repair if the warranty covers it (they do not cover batteries). 16 fault codes appeared from the diagnostics with the main issue being the battery; 13 years old (6 years older then the car), not the right battery for the car and not secure to the vehicle with missing straps and bolts. The garage (who also carry out MOTs) stated it should not have passed the MOT. I reported this immediately to the dealership and have still not received a response. I have also raised official complaints with them and the finance company. In addition I have emailed the DVSA regarding potential MOT fraud
4) during all this saga, i had still not received the service history. The advert stated full service, but through finding the history myself, discovered it hadn't been serviced since 2019. There is also different mileage figures on 4 different documents now.
I have reported all matters to the finance company and requested to reject the vehicle under breach of CRA (I have quoted specific sections and reasons why this falls under a breach), I have provided all evidence such as diagnostics, advert of the vehicle, logs of contact to dealership etc, and I have also requested to reject under Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act as I do not believe it is safe to drive a car with a battery in that condition and with not being secure.
I have continued to send updated emails within the same email thread and am still yet to receive an official response relating to the complaint. I did speak with them over the phone at one point who stated I don't have a right to reject as its not within 30 days (just over), however I quoted CRA and the specific breaches whereas they stated they would pick up my email but requested evidence (adhered to) then they would be contacting the dealership as he has a right to one chance repair (which I am aware is one attempt to repair). I am still yet to receive updates. In addition to this, I had initially gone through a car broker so had also raised a complaint with them, they aren't communicating as quickly as I'd like but have reported to me that they have not been able to get a response from the dealership either but would be pursuing with a repair. I have informed them a one chance repair should be completed within a timely manner, which this is not given that the dealership aren't responding, so I will be continuing with my final right to reject.
This has been a beyond frustrating experience, causing significant inconvenience on me as I rely on a car and have now had to arrange lifts from family etc, getting a hire car for work related matters etc and am experience intense anxiety over this. I have been researching my rights as much as I can even reading through the finance companies lending code whereas theyre not adhering to that either. I haven't had a restful evening once since this all transpired!
I would really appreciate some advice on what to do next. I am planning on ringing the finance company tomorrow (although I sent another follow up email to them earlier) to allocate my case to a complaint handler and move forward with my request. But should I attempt to now go down the trading standards route? I've been looking into trying to find a no win no fee solicitors but not having much luck - this was advised to me through a legal team as they said I had done everything I should have done so far, but this was only at the point from when I initially raised the complaints.
Apologies for the long post, and thank you in advance for any advice
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