Van purchase - Fuel leak after 1 week from AA approved dealer

[JoinerJohn]

Hi there, I am setting up as a sole trader joiner and I bought a van form an AA approved dealer on 01/06/24 and discovered a fuel leak 1 week later. This only became apparent a few days after collecting the van when I filled up the tank, as the leak is somewhere near the top of the tank. I informed them of this as soon as it was noticed; however when I requested a refund, they immediately became very defensive and stated that we could not get a refund without them trying to repair it first. (This is legally incorrect; if you’re buying a vehicle which has a significant fault, as an individual you’re covered under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to get a refund within the first 30 days, as per the AA website here: https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights, or if a company or sole trader covered under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 for a refund within a “reasonable length of time”, under the right of first refusal; we first informed them within 14 days of collecting the van). They’re still refusing a refund. They have offered to repair the van but I have lost trust in them to carry out an honest repair.

I put a complaint into the AA mediation department and provided photographic evidence of the leak. I asked for a refund or a repair from a third party. They told me that they cannot make the garage provide a refund or third party repair as they do not deal with business to business sales, and they only work under the consumer rights act which this does not fall.

I am baffled as to how thousands of vans are sold by AA approved dealerships and advertised as regulated by AA trading standards, but the AA does not deal with business to business purchases and say that they do not deal with any issues under the sale of goods act.

Any advice as to my next steps would be much appreciated.

[DE DOGS]

The problem may be the fuel pipe return or the feed, I would return the van and let them sort it, before you drive it away get a letter to confirm the problem has been repaired, ( type the letter yourself, then get it signed), if the leak is still there once you have charge of it, you then have a stronger case. Just my thoughts.

[Pezza54]

A fuel leak on a vehicle is obviously v dangerous and the leak should be repaired before the van is driven again.
You stated the leak must be near the top pf the tank. Have you obtained an independent inspection report from a 3rd party?
The repair may be minor
As you bought the van for business purpose, the CRA does not apply, but the Sale of Goods Act does
Under the SoGA goods should be of satisfactory quality and should be in a safe condition. The buyer should also be afforded time to inspect the goods.
In your case the leak only appeared when you filled up the tank a week after you bought the van.
An engineer's report is likely to show that the leak was present at the time of sale and therefore the van sold in a dangerous condition
If this turns out to be the case, you have the legal right to reject the van
If you really don't want to give the dealer a chance to repair, you are going to have to spend money obtaining a report. If the dealer still refuses your rejection you should consider starting a court claim