Mis-sold a car by dealer - baffled as to how to complete online money claim?

[Badger9898]

I part exchanged a car 11 June, it was sold to me with a clean MOT with no advisories, within a couple of days I booked it into a local garage to have it checked out (I know nothing about cars!). The car was finally checked 01 July and I was advised it should never have passed an MOT. Both front tyres were perished on inside edges and split. N/S/R tyre inner wall perished and rear handbrake cable damaged.

I contacted the dealer 05 July, detailing the faults found and requested a refund as the car was mis-sold. The dealer refused to refund the car and offered a repair of the tyres, the dealership is 60 miles away and I was expected to take the car to them to get the brake cable fixed once the tyres were repaired.

I refused this offer as I felt I had been mis-sold the car originally. I had also sought advice from trading standards who advised me not to let the dealer repair the faults until the car had been independently checked by DVSA. In the meantime I had the car checked by another garage that found the same faults.

DVSA checked the car 21 July and issued a Roadworthy prohibition notice. They found 4 major defects and 7 advisories. I sent a copy of the notice along with a letter before action to the dealer 21 July.

I further emailed to the dealer 30/07/22 to let them know I had to SORN the car.

I received no reply with the 14 days, so I emailed the dealer again 12 August advising that I would be pursuing this through the small claims court. The dealer replied 3 days later saying I was being disingenuous, he claimed I was trying to make a claim as I was trying struggling to sell the car that I had part exchanged, I hadn't even advertised my car for sale at this point, there was nothing wrong with my old car, other than it was a bit big for me. He recently advertised my old car for nearly twice the price I part exchanged it for! He said that as he offered to repair the faults I have no grounds to request a refund and the court would go in his favour.

I am now in the process of trying to complete the online claim form. I've read lots of good advice on this forum but some of it is conflicting which is confusing me further.

I'm not sure how much detail is needed in the 'Briefly explain your claim' box. Does anyone have some good examples I can look at please?

Also it is unclear how I attach my documents to the claim, is this something I do online or do I need to send them separately?

Any advice would be appreciated - Thanks in anticipation

[echat11]

Hi Badger

How did you pay for the rest of the transaction?

Click A Handbook for Litigants in Person, page 37 onward -

https://www.judiciary.uk/publication...-civil-221013/

a) Make sure you gather all the evidence, emails letters, garage report etc. Only communicate in written form, keep Proof of Postage.

b) I'm not sure how much detail is needed in the 'Briefly explain your claim' box. Does anyone have some good examples I can look at please?

MCOL has a character restriction, 1080, so you can't give the whole story, you need to provide a summary, stick to the facts. The dealer is in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 29015.

c) Also it is unclear how I attach my documents to the claim, is this something I do online or do I need to send them separately?

You just send the brief summary via MCOL, documents are for a later stage.

[Badger9898]

I paid the balance £1500 on my debit card, I contacted the bank but they could only recover than amount, which would mean I would be losing £3.500 for car I part exchanged

[echat11]

I paid the balance £1500 on my debit card, I contacted the bank but they could only recover than amount, which would mean I would be losing £3.500 for car I part exchanged

Await for some more expert advice.

O.K. des8 Can you please take a look,

[Badger9898]

Thanks - I have been taking advice from trading standards, who seemed convinced the dealer would pay up before we got to the court stage, am I allowed to use the emails from trading standards as part of my evidence?

[atticus]

yes.

[des8]

Your claim will need to be along the lines that you purchased vehicle XYZ on dd.mm/yy from dodgy dealer abc (limlted company or sole trader?)
At all times you were a consumer.
The vehicle proved to be unsatisfactory, unfit for purpose and not as described.as required by Consumer Rights Act 2015
Due to the breach of contract you advised dodgy dealer you were rejecting the vehicle
Dealer has refused to accept the rejection or collect the car

You claim for the money you paid plus return of your p/x car if he has not sold it.
If it has been sold you get the money paid plus the allowance for your p/x.
Additionally your claim includes the cost of the reports and court fees plus interest as explained in MCOL guidelines

[Badger9898]

Thanks des8 That is really helpful. If I claim the court costs it takes the claim over £5000. Do I ask for it in the 'Briefly explain your claim' box or do I add it to the value of the claim?

[Badger9898]

Also would I add the emails and advice I got from trading standards to my 'Timeline of events'? Thanks

[Badger9898]

Would this be OK for the 'Briefly explain your claim' box?

On 11 June 2022 I purchased a Vauxhall Zafira - registration XXXXX XXX from XXXXXXX. This was in part exchange for a Ford Galaxy – registration XXXXXXXX. The value of the Ford Galaxy was estimated at £3295.00 and I paid the remainder of the balance £1700.00 by debit card.

The Vauxhall Zafira was sold to me as having a new MOT and the dealer confirmed there were no advisories.

I took the car to be independently checked by 2 garages and both found the same faults

An independent MOT was carried out by DVSA 21/07/2022. They found 4 major faults and 7 advisories. They issued the car with a Roadworthy Prohibition Notice.

I sent the dealer Letter before action 21/07/2022, they did not respond until 15/08/2022 advising they would not issue a refund only a repair

The vehicle has proved to be unsatisfactory, unfit for purpose and not as described as required by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Due to the breach of contract I request a a refund of £1700.00 plus the return of the Ford Galaxy plus court costs, or a full refund of £4995.00 plus court costs.

[des8]

If you are using MCOL they add the claim fee in for you.

I would not include;

"The Vauxhall Zafira was sold to me as having a new MOT and the dealer confirmed there were no advisories.

I took the car to be independently checked by 2 garages and both found the same faults

An independent MOT was carried out by DVSA 21/07/2022. They found 4 major faults and 7 advisories. They issued the car with a Roadworthy Prohibition Notice."

Those details are part of your evidence and will be included in your witness statement later in the process.

I would also start this section by stating that at all relevant times the defendant was a trader and the claimant a consumer