faulty car refund now with legal solutions 4u

[robocop1982]

will lay this down quick as i could go on about this for days

a brief of what happened.

23/7/22 traveled to milton keynes and pay £5350 and drive back at 60 max as i don't know car park up and leave it for the night.

24/07/22 go out to car in morning battery is dead. No turn over check battery and is full of so much corrosion you can only see the top of the points
(told it was fine and starting ok before just need to charge it ,got hime to replace it. i got the battery at my cost and he would reimburse me.
Replaced battery same day and drove to sister in leicester about 20 miles away and noticed that it missed turbo like it revved to max with no power did not do again on the way back

25/07/22 Take car to work about a 25 mile run and is fine on the way there but did not push the car at all
When finished work had a guy who i work with jump into passenger side and came with me on a ten min drive he noticed the same problem and said its either clutch slippage or boost solenoid or map sensor. Message dealer told there is no problem with turbo bring it down and will take it to mechanic who checked it and can be there to see the problems i have be checked so i can have peace of mind

26/07/22 Drive down to mk with no problems but i drive very laid back as i don't rag my cars as i like to keep my cars and only just brought the car and still getting use to the car as a whole
Dealer gets in and takes the for a test drive to test turbo on the way to the mechanic and gets up to about 90 100 mph even makes a comment on how fast it is and is a great car and that he should slow down.Get to mechanics and the mechanic puts it on ramp to show me the problems that i thought where there but where just normal age and no problems then i find oil leaking on the wish bone and i said its leaking which dealer said it was old oil,Mechanic checked and said no its not its a crack cv boot and should have been picked up on the check and needs replacing.
Dealer said ok will reimburse you when done to me then notice 3 screws missing on the left hand wheel well as it was dropping and said must have forgot to put them back in when replacing the water bottle, proceeds to put some in not a big issue bit i notice it. Then dealer asks guy to take it for a test drive to test the turbo he gets in and is gone for 15 mins i even mention it to dealer that hes been a long time and he says hes just testing the turbo well to make sure. Guy gets back and i can smell burning oil like hot burning and its strong and mention that's burning oil to dealer hes pushed the car to the max!!!
As soon as he gets out the car he dont say anything and gets a scanner and plugs it in and i ask whats up
He says the traction light came on when going round a corner nothing to worry about
Get the codes clear and says nothing wrong in the car
Then i then drive the car back to the dealership staying under 40 mph and as i am driving i say that oil smell is strong and not brake pads even so how hard must you push it to get brake pads that hot to smell that bad
Get back drop him off then start on my way back home
Coming though mk i take it easy as i smell it badly and want the smell to dissipate before driving faster
Then i join the motor way and am in a slow 50 lane due to road works and stay at 50 for the duration of the limited speed limit
Once i pass the limited speed limit i proceed to get into the middle lane and accelerate and at 70 miles a hour i here a clunking banging nose like someone dropping knives and forks
Slow down and pulled in behind the lorry and it went so i thought it was the lorry that i was overtaking that made the sound proceed to try again and it did it again and knew it was the car rang dealer on hands free and said it's making a knocking noise on acceleration at 60 to 70 mph
And pull into the service station at watford gap northbound which was luckily 2 miles from when i heard it. as soon as i pulled in and stopped the car a great cloud of steam bellowed out of the engine bay that much that engulfed the whole car
Opened the bonnet to find the hose at the front had split and coolant was all over the engine bay from a big split.
This is all while on the phone to dealer and asks me to arrange recover back to the mechanics on my insurance, ring them up they tell me 6 hours wait and it will cost £130
This is my tipping point and ring dealer and say, sort the recovery now as my cool is really loosing it

30/07/22
Go to mk to pick the car up told it all done in great shape both hoses replaced, cv boot not done cause dealer forgot to mention it
Take the car get about the same distance as last time and steam again comes out the car the back hoses are gone nearly get hit in the face with boiling coolant
Car not been tested to full temp again seems like the whole water cooling system is shot or serious problem with the engine as a whole

06/08/22
Get taken again to mk to pick the car up by my dad and get there and it looks good has been cleaned and i am feeling optimistic get greeted and he shows me the hoses that have been replaced while looking i notice two pipes not connected and say hold on why are those pipes not connected?
Tells me i must have knocked them off when looking at the back hoses!!!!
(which i replay i think i would know if i knocked the hoses of myself cause i would not have mentioned it and just reconnected them !
We then take it for a test drive and go a few miles down one way and back and it seemed ok. Get back to the dealership and he says the water will need topping up as its still needs to be bled because of the new hoses and tops it up with water not coolant by about a inch in the expansion tank as he opens the tank you could tell it was under a heck of a lot of pressure and topped it up again, then proceeds to tell me how much it has cost him in repairs and towing £800 roughly to which i reply "to no fault of my own" and he says
"i am not saying that you did but if anything happens again then you must pay out of you own pocket to get it recovered"
I don't say anything because my head is thinking to myself why should i pay for it and i get in the car and drive home following my dad at a average speed of 50, amazingly we get the 70 miles back and i am happy as larry that it seems to be fixed i check the coolant and its gone down again by about 2 inches, i am thinking to myself that there cant be much air left in the system now after that long drive so i leaver the car for the day as i had other things to do in my house this top up should be it so i open it up after about 5 hours and notice still a heck of a lot of pressure as i do this the coolent dissapers to nearly the bottom of the tank so now i am like whats going on here still confused i added more coolant and left it at the max line till morning.

07/06/22
So sunday morning i go for a little drive to a friends house about 2 miles away then a few hours later i drive back to my house and its not gone down so am thinking mayby it was just a huuuge air pocket that was trapped and is good.
I then leave the car at home as i have work the next day and relax for the night

08/08/22
Get up and check the car before i go work and the waters gone down ever so slightly so am feeling confident that the end is near in filling the tank
I then drive to work and notice a slight bouncing in the idle of the car but think its to do with the car only been running for 15 mins and get work in derby (about 25 miles away)
Just cruising about 50mph on the motorway and again there don't seem much of a issue
But something in my head tells me to get it checked so i pull in at top boss performance right next to work and ask to book it in for a inspection
And get booked in at 9am on tuesday morning
Park up at work about 9am
Check the coolant and its stayed there
Am happy and go into work.
About 1pm on my lunch i spend the last 10 mins outside to get some fresh air and decide to check the car coolant
And i am shocked to see its down to nothing nearly again and i had to fo over to the range to get more coolant (ask josh to sign letter to the fact)
Buy two bottles off coolant go back over and it takes a whole bottle to fill it back up
Leave work at 6 30 check the coolant its still at where i filled it up to so drive home at 50 because of the test tomorrow and don't want to push it in case there is something i could make worse at speed before its checked out
Get home and its still at the same level so go inside and relax for the night.
09/08/22
Get up to go work check the coolant and its all gone again so at this point am absolutely sure its not a a air lock like he said it was but i need to get to work and to get the inspection to find the problem
So use the other bottle of coolant fill it up and go work but notice a smell of sweet smell coming from the waterand drive
With the heater on full to bleed of any excess heat to keep the coolant as cool as possible
Get to top boss drop it off and ask can i have a compression test done get told it will cost extra but say i was told it was done twice but have no paper work just say so, guy agrees its probably a good idea
Within a few hours get the bad news of compression test where one is at 65 psi !!!! and other points which over half of them are normal wear and tear and not bothered about
Ring dealer saying the car is total unroadworthy and had enough and want a refund
Send pictures of paperwork and he asks for mileage and not to drive it
So have to catch the train back to home and leave car in the work car park until i can organise a flatbed.
Spend the rest of the night sorting out paperwork and evidence to all the above facts till nearly 1am in the morning of 10/08/22



after all this i then send him the paperwork for the inspection and get the car dropped of on the 12th (which i had to pay £200 for a flat bed truck)and we get into a argument as he wanted me to hand everything over there and then without him providing me with anything to prove that i am giving him these items he finilay aggres to write a letter stating the items i have gave him

he says i will here back from him soon.

then about 3 weeks later after i messaged him to ask whats going on as its been 3 weeks he says it will be sorted today,then about a hour later i get a email from this company called

legal solutions 4U saying there client is willing to refund £4725 deductions for so called damage (photos don't show anything and they sent me evidence that i did not have which helps me as well in my claim lol) as long i sign there settlement agreement.which basically says if i except it,thats it and you cant say anything to anyone about this

i reply back to them stating my case and my evidence and am willing to accept a offer of £5100 to stop this escalating further with my evidence and going to court

they reply saying that their client does not agree with my findings and will settle for a revised sum of £4900 which again is a insult on my part

i have been in contact with Citizens Advice Bureau, Motor Ombudsman and Trading Standards, and have sort further legal advice for the past few weeks and I have been assured that I am well within my rights for a FULL REFUND under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and have amounted more than the necessary evidence (photos, text messages, independent test) to secure my claim if this escalates to court proceedings

i have never been to court before and am unsure if i should except the £4900 and be done with it even though i feel that i have been walked over since day one.

or go to small claims court and pay the fee and make them fully pay?

sorry for the long rant.

any help would be most appreciated on what to do next ?

[R0b]

Legalsolutions4u are a joke, the guy who runs it I believe is a disgraced ex-solicitor who was done not too long ago for fraud and he always has a habit rejecting anything that's sensible.

Anyway, you've got the advice you need to say you have a good chance of success plus based on your description, it doesn't look like you have had much if any use of the vehicle due to the problems.

There is case law that says if you have to keep sending the car back then no deductions for use should be made and as for the damage to the vehicle, the burden of proof is on the dealer to prove that the damage was caused in your possession. They would need to show photos of the vehicle before and after to prove it happened on your watch, otherwise how can they prove it wasn't there already or it was done after collection?

Their offer is is not too far from the full price so it really depends whether you want to go through the hassle of legal proceedings to recover an extra £600 or if you want to do away with it all and just accept the offer - the question is, what is your bottom line you are prepared to accept. It's also possible the dealer if a small business may wind up before legal proceedings have concluded and you are left with nothing.

You may be inclined to write back rejecting their offer and the settlement terms (a note on this below) reiterating that you are confident if this goes to court you will recover the full amount paid for. However, to avoid further unnecessary costs, delays and added interest that their client might have to pay, you are prepared to make one final offer in full and final settlement being X amount (like £5,250 or whatever your bottomline is if its lower) on the condition that the dealer promptly pays this amount within the next 7 days by bank transfer. Otherwise there is nothing else to say other than you will be starting the legal process - call their bluff and see what happens.

A point about settlement agreements is that businesses almost always want to put some kind of confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement to gag you and stop you from talking to anyone else particularly where there's a settlement involved. I would reject this on the basis that the settlement is small and more importantly you wouldn't be in this position if the dealer had stepped up in the first place. The fact that you are where you are is down to the dealer and there is no reason why you should be gagged from speaking about your experience with this dealer. Of course you can sign the agreement it just means you can't discuss the claim with anyone at all so this depends how much it bothers you.

[robocop1982]

the settlement figure i got of £4900 was after their first low ball offer of $4725 and i replied with this letter




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I am writing this letter to inform you that the settlement offer that you had made to me by email on September 2nd 2022 on behalf of MK of £4725 stands rejected because this is an unfair offer and I cannot accept it.


Based on your argument, the amount of £625 has been deducted to "take into consideration the damage completed to the bumper and dashboard".

The damage to the dashboard was there on collection, I only noticed this on the 23rd of July on the drive home from MK BEST CAR DEALS LTD after signing the paperwork. There would be no viable reason why I would attempt to remove or alter this part of the vehicle and on touching the crack the part flaked away like it was covered with a film and on knowing that this is a 15-year-old car I did not mention it in conversations with your client, as upon researching this part online it would only cost around £30 to replace and classed it as "wear and tear" that I should replace as this would not be covered under warranty.

On the subject of the "damage" to the bumper on the front drivers side this is not showing any signs of damage in the photographic evidence you provided labelled 'OV07EOB E2.jpg' and 'ovo7eob evidance.jpg' and this apparent “damage” most likely occurred when the vehicle was either towed to your clients mechanic which happened on two separate occasions (26/07/22) and (30/07/22). Out of the 17 days I owned the car before informing your client that I was issuing a return (09/08/22) I had the car in my possession for only 7 of those days as it was in “repair” for 10 days. The vehicle was test driven by your client and their mechanic multiple times to test for any issues before hand on both failed repair attempts before returning the car to me on both occasions.

Regarding the evidence (20220831_123301.jpg) (no copy was ever given to me).

I had to purchase a new battery the next day (IMG_20220725_220336) which I am still waiting on agreed reimbursement of £61.04 by dealer confirmed by text after purchasing the vehicle.

The next day the car would not start and was dead and on visual inspection under its protective cover it was corroded thatextensively that even one of the terminals was nearly hidden because of the corrosion and one was broken and the battery case was swollen (IMG_20220724_112601) and your evidence (20220831_123301.jpg) indicates that the battery was checked when this PDI was issued and it is clear by the photographic evidence that it was not checked on the day of purchase (23/07/22) and that the PDI document (20220831_123301.jpg) was issued without the necessary checks beforehand.




I have been in contact with Citizens Advice Bureau, Motor Ombudsman and Trading Standards, and have sort further legal advice for the past few weeks and I have been assured that I am well within my rights for a FULL REFUND under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and have amounted more than the necessary evidence (photos, text messages, independent test) to secure my claim if this escalates to court proceedings which will include the independent test I paid for and all court fees on top of the full claim amount. And any unforeseen costs.




As I want this matter to get settled, I can make your client MK a non-negotiable offer of £5100. (which includes the payment for the battery) I am making this final offer to you so that the case comes to a closure.




This letter will also be sent to yourself and the client by recorded post




Please respond to this letter within 14 days after receiving this letter with the response of MK BEST CAR DEALS LTD
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which i think the offer is quite fair i know what the dealer is trying to do,he has got a full payment out by his warranty company and wants to shortchange me so he get back his money from the failed repairs and tow costs (which if he did what i requested in the first place it would not have got to this situation and was being dodgy from the start.

[ostell]

Add in all your expenses, including that flat bed. Then be prepared to come down from that sum

[DE DOGS]

Personally my thoughts only, I would accept the offer, looking at the problems that most experience with dealers trying to get compensation. But it's your call.