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I'm hoping someone can help me out here.
I recently viewed a second hand car and agreed a price of £25,000. I paid a deposit of £500 in cash and myself and the vendor - forecourt trader - both signed the agreed price bill of sale which states the deposit and balance.
He was going to change the battery and complete a couple of minor aesthetic issues then I was due to collect the car this morning.
I transferred £24,000 yesterday into their account and got confirmation that the money was received. I was going to pay the remaining £500 upon visual confirmation that the battery etc was done.
I then receive a phone call yesterday saying that bailiffs had turned up and said that there was £12,500 outstanding in finance secured on the car and that, they were now not willing to complete the sale. They refunded the £24,000 immediately, but I told them to not refund the original £500 deposit as I smelt a rat.
By surprise this morning I attended the forecourt. I questioned what was going on and he became very defensive when I asked for the details of this supposed bailiff company that paid them a visit, to which he replied that he did not have details??? So apparently, bailiff visited his property, laid claim to a huge outstanding debt secured on one of his cars, then left without leaving any paperwork???
I spoke to HPI. They advised me that as long as the HPI check is carried out in the correct manner, I am covered for any outstanding finance secured on the vehicle. They said that if it is not recorded on their database but turns out to be legal then their indemnity cover would cover me to up to £30,000. I told the trader this and that I was happy to continue with the sale and that I wanted to take the car with me, to which he point blank refused, saying that he would be liable to pay the fabled £12,500 to the finance company. I'm sure that if the loan is secured against the car that the only the owner of the car named on the log book is legally entitled to pay any outstanding finance?
Whilst visiting this morning, not one mention of anything other than the outstanding finance. Later he calls me back saying that he's spoken to trading standards and his solicitor and not only the outstanding finance, but now the temperature gauge on the car is shooting up and that there is a fuel leak. I had it running for 20 minutes when viewing and none of these problems occurred otherwise I wouldn't have entertained buying it. Doing a bit of research myself, it seems that a trader can renege on a sale if the car is not roadworthy, so I'm guessing that is the route he's now trying to take. I asked him why he had not told me of any of these problems earlier when I was there, to which he had no reply.
Sitting in front of him earlier, I can one hundred percent tell you that he has got a better offer on the car. I want to legally push him into a sale as what he is trying to do to me is out of order. I have fulfilled my half of the contract and he is trying to pull out.
What is my legal stance?
Have we both entered in to a legally binding contract of sale when we both signed the original agreed sale and deposit?
What is my next step?
Thank you in advance for any help in this matter.
I recently viewed a second hand car and agreed a price of £25,000. I paid a deposit of £500 in cash and myself and the vendor - forecourt trader - both signed the agreed price bill of sale which states the deposit and balance.
He was going to change the battery and complete a couple of minor aesthetic issues then I was due to collect the car this morning.
I transferred £24,000 yesterday into their account and got confirmation that the money was received. I was going to pay the remaining £500 upon visual confirmation that the battery etc was done.
I then receive a phone call yesterday saying that bailiffs had turned up and said that there was £12,500 outstanding in finance secured on the car and that, they were now not willing to complete the sale. They refunded the £24,000 immediately, but I told them to not refund the original £500 deposit as I smelt a rat.
By surprise this morning I attended the forecourt. I questioned what was going on and he became very defensive when I asked for the details of this supposed bailiff company that paid them a visit, to which he replied that he did not have details??? So apparently, bailiff visited his property, laid claim to a huge outstanding debt secured on one of his cars, then left without leaving any paperwork???
I spoke to HPI. They advised me that as long as the HPI check is carried out in the correct manner, I am covered for any outstanding finance secured on the vehicle. They said that if it is not recorded on their database but turns out to be legal then their indemnity cover would cover me to up to £30,000. I told the trader this and that I was happy to continue with the sale and that I wanted to take the car with me, to which he point blank refused, saying that he would be liable to pay the fabled £12,500 to the finance company. I'm sure that if the loan is secured against the car that the only the owner of the car named on the log book is legally entitled to pay any outstanding finance?
Whilst visiting this morning, not one mention of anything other than the outstanding finance. Later he calls me back saying that he's spoken to trading standards and his solicitor and not only the outstanding finance, but now the temperature gauge on the car is shooting up and that there is a fuel leak. I had it running for 20 minutes when viewing and none of these problems occurred otherwise I wouldn't have entertained buying it. Doing a bit of research myself, it seems that a trader can renege on a sale if the car is not roadworthy, so I'm guessing that is the route he's now trying to take. I asked him why he had not told me of any of these problems earlier when I was there, to which he had no reply.
Sitting in front of him earlier, I can one hundred percent tell you that he has got a better offer on the car. I want to legally push him into a sale as what he is trying to do to me is out of order. I have fulfilled my half of the contract and he is trying to pull out.
What is my legal stance?
Have we both entered in to a legally binding contract of sale when we both signed the original agreed sale and deposit?
What is my next step?
Thank you in advance for any help in this matter.
