Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refund!

[tinky]

Hello I am sitting here feeling pretty stupid and need advice on what to do next,
Yesterday i bought a Peugot 307 from a car dealer but he insisted that he could not take a card payment as he was selling the car for his son who is also the company owner. I pointed out to him that he had advertised it as trade (it is still on his site and on ebay classified as a trade sale) anyway he wrote a receipt for the £1850 cash taken saying sold as seen. We had test driven it and it ran well, checked MOT and HPI, no bumps or scrapes. Picked the car up last night with all the paperwork which shows that his son has done the MOT and also that the car was imported from Jersey (which is why our insurance company couldn't find a record of it and entered the details manually) and also the HPI check hadn't covered the time it was in Jersey,we don't have a complete history. It also shows that the car has had 3 different registration plates (2 in Jersey and 1 in uk) and that there have been four owners,not two!
So tonight i took the car out and the lights on the dash lit up,it is stuck with a service fault and has gone into limp mode, also noticed is that the car has a slightly different colored door which tells me that its been changed and has possibly been in a collision of some sort.
I have contacted the seller but he is not replying to my messages,the car has been parked up and can't be used. I have printed off the adverts showing this car as a trade sale from auto trader and ebay and have kept a record of any contact made. Can anybody advise me of my rights here, can i claim our money back or should i start saving to fix the car?

[labman]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

The link below, though designed for traders, is excellent and will explain clearly the sellers responsibilities to you. Try not to drive the car and reject it.

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

To reject, this will help:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

The relevant bit for you is:

during the first six months:

The consumer returns the goods in the first six months from the date of sale and requests a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In that case, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale. This comes from Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003

[tinky]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Thankyou Labman! So in the morning i will write to him and hopefully start the ball rolling, i just think he will argue that its a private sale and we have no rights, feeling fed up with con men at the moment,they just seem to be everywhere!

[labman]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Thankyou Labman! So in the morning i will write to him and hopefully start the ball rolling, i just think he will argue that its a private sale and we have no rights, feeling fed up with con men at the moment,they just seem to be everywhere!

If you have the adverts stating it was trade sale, then end of the Honest John linked article deals with this. It's a really good article with all the case law you need and everything. :beagle:

[charitynjw]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

..........feeling fed up with con men at the moment,they just seem to be everywhere!

Ain't that the truth, tinky!

[labman]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Ain't that the truth, tinky!

Indeed it is Chaz - so many examples just on this site at the moment. More than I've ever known before.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Whilst the jalopy may have been a reconstituted "true copy" (per Waksman J?) from two or more write-offs, it seems likely that it will not have been declared for VAT.

[tinky]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

we did it!..Thank you all for your support and info. This morning the dealer called me and laughed it off saying sold as seen! and that we had no comeback. I kept a cool head and blasted him with scary stuff like VOSA, Safety check and my rights. He seemed totally baffled and agreed to meet me on thursday to discuss the issues. Then he called my other half who did the same as me and the dealer asked him not to have the vehicle safety checked, he would pick it up and tow it back, my fella said no and asked for a full refund, the dealer said no it was a private sale.
This evening we checked the address of the director of the company on companies house (the director being the bloke that sold us the car) and drove out there,parked the car on his drive, he was shouting and his wife was shouting that they were being harassed and that all business should be conducted at the garage but my fella pointed out very calmly that this was classed as a private sale so he had brought the car to the right address. He showed him the faults and the bloke still wouldn't admit that there was a problem but agreed to refund the full amount to us!! so we now have rid of the car, a full refund and a receipt!! The police are running checks on the place now and have contacted VOSA to safety check all the vehicles at the place so i think this dodgy business will be pulled into line. We will now take our time choosing a reputable car dealer and pay only on credit card for any vehicle...lesson well and truly learned!! THANK YOU XX

[labman]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Excellent result, well done. Hopefully another con man bites the dust.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

This evening we checked the address of the director of the company on companies house (the director being the bloke that sold us the car) and drove out there,parked the car on his drive, he was shouting and his wife was shouting that they were being harassed and that all business should be conducted at the garage but my fella pointed out very calmly that this was classed as a private sale so he had brought the car to the right address.

Classic! :rofl:

He showed him the faults and the bloke still wouldn't admit that there was a problem but agreed to refund the full amount to us!! so we now have rid of the car, a full refund and a receipt!! The police are running checks on the place now and have contacted VOSA to safety check all the vehicles at the place so i think this dodgy business will be pulled into line.

Oh, good.

Don't forget to 'phone the HMRC VAT fraud line (link).

I'm sure they'll make the dealer's life more interesting.

[tinky]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Yes, i think we have had a lucky escape with this and if i hadn't found this site and had you're input then things could have drawn out for months, thank you labman x

[tinky]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

I will call them first thing!! x

[wales01man]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Sometimes extreme measures must be taken well done a RESULT

[tinky]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

Just to let you know as well that the only raised voices were from them, my lovely man just stood his ground and stayed completely calm until they gave in. He just showed them everything from the undeclared import status to the very dodgy MOT that the directors son had done, they just wanted him to go away and say nothing. I'm so proud of the way he sorted this mess Its not a path i would recommend to others though, be safe and at the end of the day the law can handle it so be patient too...anyway money back and kids are in my nice, safe,old and well cared for car...jobs a good one xx

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bought a car yesterday through a trader but he insists its a private sale,no refu

kids are in my nice, safe, old and well cared for car

Don't they have a bedroom? msl: