Used car turns out to be in bad shape, what are my rights?

[agalukas]

I bought my first car (So I don't have any experience with buying cars, especially used) on 4/09/21 for £5000 from a car dealer, it had some minor cosmetic issues that didn't really bother me so I proceeded with the purchase. Roughly a week later, I took it to a mechanic for a check up and he immediately said the car was involved in an accident and had some other minor mechanical issues that would need resolving. I met with the dealer in person on 15/09/21 to discuss about how we proceed, he vehemently refused to accept that the car might have been in an accident but suggested that I could get a refund if I'd like, I preferred the repair route (I always wanted this specific model/colour and it had a couple of nice extras that I wouldn't really find for this price.. hindsight 20/20, it was cheap for a reason!) so we agreed on trying to get it repaired through warranty that was included with the car through warranty wise.

The initial step of repairing the car through warranty wise is to get a diagnostic done by a VAT registered garage, the dealer suggested to do it through the main dealer. Since 15/09/21, nothing was done in that direction, dealer claimed he would call/has called main dealer to get it sorted but no diagnostics were booked. On 28/09/21 I got fed up of waiting (I've also outlined throughout the process that I don't have a lot of time since I desperately need the car for school which started in October) and I went on the main dealer website to book the car in for a health check, took me roughly 5 minutes and the car was booked in for 30/09/21. I notified the dealer about it as soon as the car was booked in. Dealer still gave no actual reply, just "sorry wasn't feeling well, I'll call back tomorrow" (something he's done a lot throughout this process, claim he's ill which explained why he wasn't able to meet/communicate with me) with, obviously, no call back tomorrow.

On 30/09/21, I got the health report and turns out that the car is in a lot worse of a state than I thought, washers not working (never noticed since I didn't need to use them; I could only start driving from 30/09/21 due to insurance), hood latch mechanism needs complete replacing (alarm goes off randomly every now and again), exhaust system needs to be completely replaced, 2 new alloys and corroded brake pads were some of the specific things I can remember off the top of my head. The person performing the diagnosis started off by stating that the car was very obviously involved in a front end collision and then proceeded to show the bad state which the car is in. I notified the dealer about this and told him that I'd like to return the vehicle as soon as possible since the car is in much worse shape than I thought, and to get a full refund + cost of diagnosis which was £114. I've told him that I'd come to give the car back the next day (since he supposedly works mon-fri) but he said he'd prefer if I came on Monday - which to me looked like complying with me wanting to return the car.

On Monday (4/10/21), instead of giving me a time when I can return the car, he asks for the health report to which I ask a couple more questions and send the video + photos of the health report from main dealer. He then claimed to have passed this information onto his 'legal team' and that I'll get a response within 5-7 working days. I still haven't received a response but I didn't message/call the dealer in that time (except for an initial text that highlighted my surprise as to why he's trying to involve a legal team considering he was willing to take the car back 2 weeks ago with no issue). Throughout that time, I've wasted a lot of time on public transport getting to and from school, wasted money on the insurance, and had a generally frustrating time since I spent the summer working to pay for my first car and all I've ended up with was £5000 less in my pocket with a car that's expensive to fix and the dealer doesn't seem interested in helping sort anything out. I was mostly sure that I'd get a refund, if not willingly then through SCC but now I'm having doubts since I don't have any experience with legal processes, and I don't know how likely I'd be to succeed in SCC/how much money I'd receive in the end.

Any tips/guidance would be really welcome

[echat11]

Hi AGALUKAS

How did you pay for it?

You are covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you can reject the car within the first 30 days. You've reported to the dealer that it has faults around the 11/09/21, you've given the dealer the opportunity to fix it but since discovered more faults. Might have been involved in an accident. You are entitled to a refund.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...s-aAnMC5b0ZzJb

[agalukas]

I bought it using a debit card. One more question, am I still able to drive the car in the meantime? Would it be scrutinized if I was adding miles after the health check and my decision to give it back?

[agalukas]

Also what about the costs I had to incur because of this car, so the £114 for the check up at main dealer?

[echat11]

Don't drive the car, if you want your monies refunded.

Send your debit card issuer the following letter, with a full summary with dates and the Health Report. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

Click 'Start Up Claim', that will take you to a template.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...k-abZ2d4z3nT8q

You might have to deal with the £114 through the courts, but ask your card issuer if they can facilitate a refund for the £114 (they might not).

[agalukas]

I have 100 more miles on the clock than what's on the health report from 30/09/21. Does that mean the dealer can reject my refund request?

[echat11]

I have 100 more miles on the clock than what's on the health report from 30/09/21. Does that mean the dealer can reject my refund request?

Well, you'll need to explain it to the card issuer when you make your claim.

[agalukas]

"Dear Garage,


On 04/09/2021 I purchased a Ford Fiesta (Registration: EX65KKU) from you. On 08/09/2021 I took the car to a mechanic and discovered that it was not of satisfactory quality nor as described: the washer pump wasn’t working, the car wasn’t accelerating in a safe manner (suggested by the mechanic that it could be caused by the aftermarket air intake that was installed) and the car’s alarm kept going off randomly.


On 15/09/2021 I came by to let you know about these faults in person and you claimed that you’d book the car into the main dealer for repairs through the warranty that you supplied me with upon the purchase of this vehicle. However, you have failed to do so and I booked the car in for a health check into Ford on 30/09/2021. The car was found to have been most likely involved in a collision (front bumper was replaced/front grille is indented), as well as other issues have been identified, mainly that the front and rear brakes are corroded as well as the exhaust system, two alloys and the bonnet release mechanism need to be completely replaced. The repairs have been quoted at £2000 by the garage.


I have initially given you the opportunity to fix the vehicle, however upon finding out the vehicle has almost definitely been involved in a collision (which was not mentioned initially), as well as learning further about the mechanical issues, and due to the minimal contact and willingness to cooperate throughout this process, on 30/09/2021 I decided to exercise my right bestowed by The consumer Rights Act 2015, to reject the vehicle and claim a full refund, which you have since ignored.


I look forward to receiving your written response within 14 days. If I do not hear from you at this time I may be required to initiate legal proceedings for recovery of the money plus damages without further reference to you.


Kind regards,"

This is a draft that I made of a LBA that I'd like to send to the dealer. I mostly followed another person's LBA from this forum and I hope this is ok.. Would you mind giving me some feedback?

[echat11]

So you're not going to claim back via your debit card? That's actually the sensible route to take, the clock is ticking to carry out a 'chargeback'.

[agalukas]

I would but I realised that I paid via bank transfer rather than a debit card, I'm assuming that LBA and then MCOL is my only route?

[echat11]

O.K. so payment was made by 'Bank Transfer' and not 'Debit Card', so you can't Chargeback.

The letter is fine. Call CAB on Monday, report the situation, car involved in accident, faults etc. They will give you a Reference number, on the letter write the following CAB / Trading Standards Ref: XXXXXXXXX.

Make sure you write Letter Before Action on the letter. Remove 'Kind regards' replace with 'Yours sincerely'. Send it Recorded Delivery.

To check it it's been in an accident (posted for information only) - https://www.freecarcheck.co.uk/guide...n-an-accident/

[agalukas]

The LBA has been received 14+ days ago and as expected there was no response, I'm now trying to file a claim using the MCOL website, currently I'm writing the details of the claim and so far I've got this:

I have purchased a Ford Fiesta (reg:
EX65KKU) from the defendant. The car turned
out to be faulty when diagnosed by a
mechanic. The defendant claimed the car would
be repaired under warranty, however he was
refusing to do so in a timely manner;
from 06/09/21 until 28/09/21 there has been
no progress made. The car was booked into a
Ford dealership in Birmingham for a health
Check by myself. The repair of the car was
quoted at
£2000 and the person carrying out the health
report has concluded that the car was
involved in an accident which was never
mentioned by the defendant. The defendant has
since refused to take the car back and
stopped all communication.
I would like to claim for the cost of the
car, £5000, health report, £114 and money
lost on insurance, £190. Total: £5304

Should I add anything else to this? Or change? I see that I can also " send detailed particulars direct to the defendant", should I do that? What should I include? I have a lot of texts and other evidence which in my opinion makes it look more like the person on the other end has scammed me.. (falsified MOT, using a different company name on the invoice). It also calculated court fees for me and Its quite high, if I win the case are these covered by the person I'm claiming against?

[echat11]

Remove the registration number in your last post.

You will need this, excellent Guide -

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/..._in_Person.pdf

This is similar in some ways, read the whole thread, it will give you an idea of how to write your Particular of Claim.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...aim-needed-pls

Should I add anything else to this? Or change? - See / read the link above.

I see that I can also " send detailed particulars direct to the defendant", should I do that? - You send a copy to the Court and a copy to the Defendant, but make sure you get Proof of Postage.

What should I include? I have a lot of texts and other evidence which in my opinion makes it look more like the person on the other end has scammed me.. (falsified MOT, using a different company name on the invoice - you can refer to this in your Particular of Claim). - This is your evidence, this all comes later, read Litigant in Person Guide.

It also calculated court fees for me and Its quite high, if I win the case are these covered by the person I'm claiming against? - Yes

[des8]

Deleted...wrong thread!

[agalukas]

You send a copy to the Court and a copy to the Defendant, but make sure you get Proof of Postage

I don't quite understand, isn't it done online? What exactly am I sending to the defendant?
This is the option I'm referring to: "You are required to give details of your claim in the box below. If you wish, you may also send detailed particulars direct to the defendant. If you need to do this, please tick here"

Also, with regards to mileage, is this claim still worth doing? You mentioned before I wouldn't get my money back so I'm not sure how to go about it..