Small claims advice for motorhome sale

[Joesmith]

Hopefully this is in the right place!

we sold a motorhome in November 23 that has been owned by our family for the past 10 years.

we had a habitation check completed, new mot and any work needed doing completed.

we advertised it for under what it was valued at to get a quick sale because it was on our drive way and in the way! Originally valued at 18-22k sold for £14k
The buyer came to look at the motorhome and was provided with all the information requested and even more dating back over the years that the family had it. He was informed that we don’t know much about the motor home as we haven’t personally used it, we just had the biggest drive to put it on.
he was informed of any problems including a leak in the roof that was repaired but needed time to dry out. Apart from the issues we told him about, we did not know of any more. We were open and honest with him completely answering all his questions as best we can.

come to January 29th, the buyer called me repeatedly but I was unable to answer. He then sent me a message stating he is going to take legal action against us for withholding information about damp problems in the caravan and not providing him with all the paperwork from the checks. We 100% gave him all the paper work including a damp check which he claims never to of had.
He now states that he has had his own checks done and that they show significant damp problems that have been there for years. This was not picked up on our checks ( from a registered camper repair garage) we are awaiting a copy of this from his garage. The garage he used has told him it will be 9k to get the work done that’s needed and only then will it be worth 15k again!
The buyer wants us to pay the 9k to get it repaired saying that we withheld information from him which we didn’t!

He is threatening us with legal action and a small claims court to get us to pay for it. We are not sure where we stand and will be taking further legal advice, we did not withhold any information and told him of any issues including the leak that was in the roof that was repaired but this left water in the ceiling and will need time to dry out. He keeps saying we withheld information from the checks carried out but I gave him all the paperwork for this and went over it with him.
The motorhome is 24 years old and has always been outside and not regularly used for the past 5-7 years, all this information was given to him. He also paid in cash for the camper. Before he purchased it we offered to return any deposits if he wasn’t happy with any of it, he said no and wanted to proceed.

It now looks like his angle is that we withheld information from him, we did not do this. We even put him in touch with the garages that completed all the work on it. We don’t know where we stand on a legal point of view, he is threatening court action,CCJ’s etc.

any advice would be appreciated

Best Regards
Joe

[R0b]

Hi

Unless you have described something in the advert incorrectly, your defence is caveat emptor (buyer beware). Buyer needs to do his own checks and satisfy himself before the purchase. You are not legally obliged to disclose any information so his argument about withholding information is baseless. If you said something that wasn't true then that's a different story because that may be construed as a misrepresentation.

If he was that concerned he should have had it independently inspected by a mechanic prior to purchase, particularly as you mentioned a leak in the roof. Why did he have this checked out after purchasing?!

Sounds like you have good grounds for defending the claim overall. Has the buyer sent a letter before action or is it just a few words threatening legal proceedings if you don't pay up?

[Joesmith]

I did not say anything that wasn’t true, I was very clear that I didn’t know much about the motorhome and provided every bit of information I had, even pointing out any issues shown on the habitation checks and the leak on the roof.
I get the feeling he expected it to be in almost new condition which we clearly stated it wasn’t.

I don’t know why he has had additional check’s done. He hasn’t contacted us since the sale. He has sent the letter via text message also stating it’s in the post today and that we will have 10 days to reply before he starts legal proceedings.

he keeps saying we withheld information and have defrauded his family which isn’t true. His argument seems to be that we withheld paperwork from him to get him to buy it. I gave him all the information we had. He didn’t want to get any checks done and was happy with the sale until now.

[R0b]

I'm assuming then you are prepared to defend the claim if one is issued? It could be all a bluff because people panic when they hear the words 'legal proceedings'.

I would politely respond to the text and say, that you will wait for your letter in the post and respond in due course but 10 days to respond is not in accordance with the pre-action protocols that the buyer is required to comply with before legal proceedings are issued. Non-compliance may result in sanctions and further costs against him and all of your rights in that regard are reserved.

Separate question, presumably the buyer knows your address but have you given him your full name? In order to initiate a claim he would need to state your full name otherwise the claim form may be considered invalid.

Anyway, he is going to have a hard time trying to prove fraud but you'll just have to wait and see if a letter turns up. If it doesn't turn up in the next few days, you may want to message back and say you have yet to receive the letter so until you do you are unable to make any further response.

[Joesmith]

See the below, this is from the message he sent us

“It’s clear you would have been aware of this at the time as, even though you kept saying you did not know much about the vehicle, you did arrange to have a habitation check completed and the only damp issue you declared to me was a leaking skylight that had been repaired.

“I have taken legal advice over this, and it is clear you have breached the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This is because you either lied or misled me as to the condition of the motorhome, where concealing a major fault such as damp, which is a misrepresentation and a breach of contract in law and under the act.

I would like to sort this matter to a satisfactory resolution without having to go through the civil claims court, which I will if I have to. This could result in your being ordered to pay recompense with county court judgements issued in your name”



Again we didn’t conceal any information from him and gave him all the checks and reports, I couldn’t have given him any more information than we did. Our report doesn't show significant damp anywhere other than the leak on the roof that was disclosed.

[PallasAthena]

If he really took legal advice he needs to get a better lawyer! But people often say "I have taken legal advice" when what they have actually done is google online sites and not fully understood what they have read. They want you to think they have consulted a solicitor to put pressure on you.

Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to motor vehicles bought from a trader. It does not apply to vehicles bought from a private individual. I assume you are not a motor trader so you are not required to comply with the 2015 Act.

[Pezza54]

I don't want to put a spanner in the works but the buyer may have a potential claim.
The general rule is caveat emptor when a private seller sells a vehicle
However, if the defect is hidden and cannot be seen from a reasonable inspection, or the defect is latent, the the private buyer might have a claim against the private seller
Invisible damp in a motorhome is likely to fall under this category.
Joesmith stated that he told the buyer the roof had a leak but was repaired and needed time to dry out.
The buyer will probably claim the leak wasn't repaired properly and continued water ingress caused extensive hidden damage

[Joesmith]

PEZZA54

He was made aware of the issues and confirms in writing he knew about it. It was repaired in a caravan work shop, I’m confident it was done correctly. He also has a copy of the damp report although he is now saying he was never given it, and a copy of the invoice for the work carried out.
His new claim is that the camper is riddled with damp, they have had the same report done that we had but is yet to share it with me. The 2 reports don’t seem to give the same information, I am hoping to see his report soon. We have always been honest with him and given him all the information we had.

[Pezza54]

Thanks Joe
you appear to have all bases covered, especially if the damp was visible. The buyer should have carried out his own damp inspection before purchasing the vehicle

[islandgirl]

I once sold a vintage land rover to a dealer and all was well. Within days I got silly letters threatening all sorts unless I paid an amount for "faults". My reply was bascially "see you in court". Needless to say, reader, I never did...

[Joesmith]

Hi All

Thanks for all the advice.

This has now “gone away” all the checks and paperwork we had proved we didn’t lie and were in the right. Unfortunately it looks like something happened to the camper in his possession and he tried to blame me to get some
money.

Best Regards
Joe