Advice for the 'other side' please - Sole Trader

MARTIN3030 · 23rd January 2008, 15:26

Welcome to the site.
A couple of questions....first of all who paid for the replacement Engine ?
Remanufactured Engines almost always come with some paperwork.
Obviously as you are not yet in reciept of all the facts its difficult to advise fully.
The people who sold her the engine would be responsible for putting things right or compensating her this would have formed the contract.(Although its fair to assume that the ones who fitted the engine will be in the front line )Ultimately the Engine remanufacturers would be reponsible to the buyer depending on the terms and conditions.As you know warranties and guarantees are subject to conditions such as that refitting should be done by following guidelines.
If she does take you to court its under 5k which will put it in small claims.Naturally your OH will be free to challenge and claims by his own defence.At the end of the day its down to the claimant to clearly show that your OH was negligent or was responsible for whats happened.
I would try to contact the Remanufacturer...although you state that the dealer again replaced the heads.....which would have invalidated the original warranty.
I suggest getting your own independant reports if you are not happy with those sought by the client.

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 15:34

MARTIN3030 · 23rd January 2008, 15:58

If its clear that the engine failed because of poor fitting then its a case of who she decides to take to court.
If she takes you to court then you would need to claim against the fitters.I understand what you say about the supply.Any recourse for guarantee would need to be accompanied by original invoicing/order details.If this was taken off the system then its not possible.
The court would take into account your defence....they are there to listen to both sides.Clearly your OH did not mean to decieve.I have spent many years in the trade myself and know that these things can happen.
In the event that the Court does award judgement in her favour...you would be asked to give proposals to pay and of course your ability to pay.Given the circumstances Its my opinion that a Judge would be sympathetic to your Oh You will have ample opportunities to give your side of things and if it would be a burden for you financially to find 4500 outright then I am sure the court would look at any proposals based on your ability to repay.

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 16:05

Michael Browne · 23rd January 2008, 16:12

Something along the lines that while denying any liability for the claim, as a gesture of goodwill you are prepared to etc... And that the offer is in full and final settlement.

However I wouldn't make any offer until you see any report

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 16:26

patdavies · 23rd January 2008, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anyfin

Thanks Martin. You're right about him not meaning to decieve anyone,

Yet he was a party to the sale/purchase of what was effectively a stolen engine.

An engine is a serial numbered item. It may have been an 'extra' on delivery, but presumably its rightful owner would want to trace/reclaim it at some time.

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 17:06

Michael Browne · 23rd January 2008, 17:11

Are you saying there is no invoice or any paperwork for the engine? Did he pay cash?

If so presumably the garage could deny they had anything to do with it.

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 17:15

Michael Browne · 23rd January 2008, 17:20

Quote:

It has since transpired that this engine was an 'extra' on a delivery to the dealership,

Which presumably means the dealer has no paperwork on it (it was never officially delivered to them), and the engine no. will show as missing/stolen with the manufacturers. But now it turns up supplied by your OH who has no proof as where it came from.

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 17:47

Anyfin · 23rd January 2008, 18:17

patdavies · 23rd January 2008, 18:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anyfin

No paperwork, no invoice at all. He paid cash yes, he always has done, it was one of the stipulations as he is an ex employee of the group and they weren't happy that he set up in competition.

On the face of it, this sounds very dodgy to me.

There are issues as to whether the parts dept staff are defrauding the dealership; VAT avoidance by the dealership in having none of these transactions going through the books; lack of any paperwork for your OH to show the taxman his legitimate input costs; lack of any proof of title for your OH if any further investigations are undertaken by the authorities.

patdavies · 23rd January 2008, 18:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anyfin

On the plus side, we now have a warranty for 12 months and we can send the car into an actual dealership to be fixed if the engine has been proven to be at fault. I'd presume the customer could also claim back the cost of the new heads and labour if it's down to the engine that was supplied.

I suspect that any warranty was voided when the heads were changed by a third party.

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