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I recently bought a car from a used car dealer with whom I have been having an increasingly unrewarding trail of correspondence regarding the quality of said car.
We are getting to a stage where it may well get 'legal', but there is an interesting diversion which is also causing some pain.
When I bought the car, I was given a spare key for it which turned out to be for a car of the same make, just not the car I bought. I tried the key and found it wouldn't operate the car. I then put the key somewhere very safe, so safe that I cannot find it. I told them straight away that I had it, and started getting lots of emails telling me to return it with various threats behind it if I didn't.
As the quality of the car quickly became apparent through my commissioning a professional inspection and subsequently having the car MOT'd, which it failed with several faults and 8 advisories, 5 weeks and 370 miles after it passed an MOT with no advisories, I wrote in one email that I was minded to keep the key until the car was repaired to my satisfaction, at that point not realising that I had in fact mislaid the key.
They have now initiated a Civil Money Claim (run by HM Courts & Tribunal Service) for the cost of a replacement key. In a letter to me they claim "you have appropriated ownership and by losing the key you have inferred permanent deprival of ownership; I have applied to the County Court for a resolution by way of the small claims court procedure". And yes, the owner of this place loves his legal jargon. He's an ex-police officer and reckons he knows everything there is to know about consumer law.
Now, appropriated means 'taken and used without permission" THEY gave me the key which I took home in good faith. So I'm wondering how I have "inferred permanent deprival of ownership" by losing said key.
They gave it to me, I lost it. Is that something they can claim from me? As mentioned, I did say at one stage that I was "minded to keep it until all the faults with the car were rectified to my satisfaction"
All advice appreciated.
Thanks
HM
We are getting to a stage where it may well get 'legal', but there is an interesting diversion which is also causing some pain.
When I bought the car, I was given a spare key for it which turned out to be for a car of the same make, just not the car I bought. I tried the key and found it wouldn't operate the car. I then put the key somewhere very safe, so safe that I cannot find it. I told them straight away that I had it, and started getting lots of emails telling me to return it with various threats behind it if I didn't.
As the quality of the car quickly became apparent through my commissioning a professional inspection and subsequently having the car MOT'd, which it failed with several faults and 8 advisories, 5 weeks and 370 miles after it passed an MOT with no advisories, I wrote in one email that I was minded to keep the key until the car was repaired to my satisfaction, at that point not realising that I had in fact mislaid the key.
They have now initiated a Civil Money Claim (run by HM Courts & Tribunal Service) for the cost of a replacement key. In a letter to me they claim "you have appropriated ownership and by losing the key you have inferred permanent deprival of ownership; I have applied to the County Court for a resolution by way of the small claims court procedure". And yes, the owner of this place loves his legal jargon. He's an ex-police officer and reckons he knows everything there is to know about consumer law.
Now, appropriated means 'taken and used without permission" THEY gave me the key which I took home in good faith. So I'm wondering how I have "inferred permanent deprival of ownership" by losing said key.
They gave it to me, I lost it. Is that something they can claim from me? As mentioned, I did say at one stage that I was "minded to keep it until all the faults with the car were rectified to my satisfaction"
All advice appreciated.
Thanks
HM
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