Cam Chain snapped on new van after 20 months / 114k miles

[Pezza54]

You don't need to reply to every numbered paragraph in the Defence
Concentrate on the crux of the dispute. Whether a cam chain failing in under 2 years, whatever the mileage, should be considered sufficiently durable by the average customer for a van
Knowing that cam chain failure may cause catastrophic damage to an engine, the designer/manufacturer of the vehicle should have fitted a cam chain designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle
If not, the service schedule should have identified the cam chain to be replaced by a stated mileage. This wasn't the case

15.2 in the Defence mentions the Ombudsman's final decision. I have to admit it does read like a final decision. I now think arguing that it wasn't actually a final decision probably isn't worth the time and effort and may distract from the main point of the dispute

On the last page of the Defence, the defendant maintains the claimant hasn't proved there was a debtor-creditor-supplier agreement. If you are unable to find the original agreement, write that the credit card statement covering the month the claimant used to pay the deposit for the van will be provided as evidence there was an agreement in place at the time

[WhiteVanMan5]

What is a "debtor-creditor-supplier agreement"? The purchase was made online and I should still have all of the emails from the time of purchase.

[WhiteVanMan5]

I'm struggling to find a template/example "reply to defence" - can you point me in the right direction to something please?

[WhiteVanMan5]

Do I have a problem with time? The defence was received on 21st February and I haven't responded yet.

[WhiteVanMan5]

I received this by email from the motor dealer under an email entitled "Order Confirmation"

Email stated:
"I am pleased to confirm your order for the Vauxhall Combo van

I have attached the order confirmation for your reference

Below is a link to Worldpay for the deposit payment, please kindly follow the link and make a card payment online for £250

I will be in touch as soon as the van is good to go and confirm the delivery date"

[Pezza54]

What is a "debtor-creditor-supplier agreement"? The purchase was made online and I should still have all of the emails from the time of purchase.

Please read Section 12 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 74) This section of the act deals with debtor (you) - creditor (credit card company) - supplier (vehicle dealer)

Paying by Worldpay or Paypal does not negate CCA 74 Section 75. The supplier will have a commercial entity agreement with Worldpay which means that the debtor-creditor-supplier link is still intact. If it wasn't still intact, your credit card company and FOS would have disputed your claim on these grounds

[Pezza54]

I'm struggling to find a template/example "reply to defence" - can you point me in the right direction to something please?

I am unable to find one too
Just change the heading on your PoC "Particulars of Claim" to "Reply to Defence" and add the claim number

Start with "The following points in this Reply refer to the corresponding numbered points in the Defence"

This means that as you are not replying to every point in the defence, your paragraphs will not number consecutively

End with a Statement of Truth

[Pezza54]

Do I have a problem with time? The defence was received on 21st February and I haven't responded yet.

Please read cpr PART 15 - DEFENCE AND REPLY
In particular 15.8 (a) (i) and (ii)
The time when the reply to defence should be filed and served is covered here

[Pezza54]

I received this by email from the motor dealer under an email entitled "Order Confirmation"

Email stated:
"I am pleased to confirm your order for the Vauxhall Combo van

I have attached the order confirmation for your reference

Below is a link to Worldpay for the deposit payment, please kindly follow the link and make a card payment online for £250

I will be in touch as soon as the van is good to go and confirm the delivery date"

A copy of this email should be included in your evidence following your witness statement, which is not filed and served until nearer the date of the hearing

[WhiteVanMan5]

Please read cpr PART 15 - DEFENCE AND REPLY
In particular 15.8 (a) (i) and (ii)
The time when the reply to defence should be filed and served is covered here

I am not seeing any time limits at all there. (though it does talk about the dates on which they are due, without specifying what those dates are)

[WhiteVanMan5]

Here is my first draft of the reply to defence. Any feedback?

[Pezza54]

That's okay
You could repeat under the last paragraph that the van is a commercial vehicle, and as such should expect a harder life than a car. You could also provide info on the manufacturer's published maximum loading ot van, and how many persons of average weight this equates to

[WhiteVanMan5]

I have updated paragraph 15 as follows:

15) The response from the FOS contradicts and rejects the testimony of the expert report. The FOS is not qualified to reject the expert testimony. The FOS claim that the timing chain requires replacing after 100,000 miles is totally inaccurate in respect of this engine and this vehicle. Further, it should be remembered that this is a commercial vehicle, purchased for commercial reasons, with a reasonable expectation that this is suitable for commercial usage. It is rated for a 955kg payload weight, the equivalent weight of about 12 average men.

[Pezza54]

If you never drove it with maximum load capacity or rarely did, you should state that. If you delivered parcels in the van usually on long journeys state that too

The FOS was quick to point out they can't be sure the van was driven in optimum driving conditions. Light loads on long motorway journeys (no frequent stop/start) - can't get much more optimum than that

[WhiteVanMan5]

Absolutely. And the Expert report speaks to that point. My work is generally long distance and is generally very light. I can produce records, with photographs of cargo and route tracking of the majority of my mileage.