Jump to content

PSY.1984

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    31
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

1 Neutral
  1. I wasn't aware you could do that having paid cash. If that's the case I'll open a dispute if nothing more than to just disrupt him and his dealings, as you say.
  2. Unfortunately I paid cash on collection, so eBay/Paypal won't help me.
  3. Hi guys, This is a long read, I know, but I believe that not only have I purchased a car with a fraudulent MOT, I have also uncovered a rather large fraud involving a very well known scrap collection company. I bought a 52 plate (2002) Ford Mondeo on eBay on 10th July. The car was advertised as having 12 months MOT and it was stated that the car passed with zero advisories on the 6th July and that it had been 'fastidiously maintained'. I checked it's MOT online and it showed that it had indeed passed with no advisories. This obviously gave me the confidence to bid on the vehicle without test driving, which in hindsight was very stupid! (Lesson well and truly learned) I collected the vehicle on the 11th and on the drive home there was considerable knocking sounds coming from the rear of the car so I took it straight to my local garage to have it looked at. The mechanic who looked at the car stated that it was physically impossible for this car to have passed an MOT just 5 days previous, let alone passed it with no advisories. He said there were a number of dangerous faults and he advised me not to drive the vehicle home. He told me I could leave the car there for a few days and said that I should contact the DVSA to complain about the MOT carried out on the 6th July. I filled in the necessary form and the DVSA inspected the vehicle yesterday (22nd). The inspector phoned me to inform me that he had discovered a very long list of failures which included 5 dangerous faults. He immediately, and understandably, issued the vehicle with a Prohibition Notice and told me in no uncertain terms that not only had the vehicle been incorrectly passed on the 6th but that he believed the tester who passed it hadn't even seen the car before issuing the pass certificate. Thing is now, the car has cost me £450 so far (not a lot to many people but it is to me) and I'm left with a vehicle with a scrap value of £65! Now here is where it gets interesting. I've looked into scrapping the car and I've been shopping around for the best prices when I found a site called Car Take Back. They arrange for a local company to collect your vehicle for you and it is supposedly taken away and recycled. That's what their website says, anyway. But the company they list as being my local collection agent just so happens to operate from the same unit under the same owner with the same telephone number as the company I purchased the Mondeo from on eBay. Could it be that he is collecting scrap cars from members of the public via Car Take Back, sticking fraudulent MOT certificates on them and then listing them under his other company name on eBay? Almost all of the cars he lists have 12 months MOT with no advisories, which is very suspicious. If this is the case then this obviously needs to be stopped. The chap from DVSA must have done his research, too, as he also mentioned that the company I purchased the vehicle from also collects scrap for Car Take Back. He never came out and said it but he's obviously thinking along the same lines as me. He has assured me that in addition to the company that wrongly passed the vehicle, he will also be fully investigating the company that I bought the car from. Whilst I welcome that and hope justice is done, I'm still out of pocket. So, for those of you that have stuck with me this far; what do you think is the best avenue for me getting my money back? I have today written to the previous owner listed on the logbook explaining what has happened and asking them to confirm whether they did scrap the car via Car Take Back. But, I am unsure of my next steps. Trading Standards? Contact the seller with all of the evidence I have so far and ask him to refund me? Last time I spoke to him he denied any knowledge of the MOT and said it was nothing to do with his company. Contact the MOT station that issued the MOT and ask them to bring the car up to MOT standard? Wait for the DVSA to finish then pursue the seller with whatever evidence they uncover? I'd really appreciate any advice or help from someone that might have been through this before and might be able to advise the best route to getting my money back.
  4. Completely agree. I did mention that we had received a lot of support and advice from CAG so hopefully that might steer a few more people in need to this place.
  5. She said she plans to and I'll link to it here (if that is allowed) when it is published
  6. I'm really sorry for the delay in responding, I've only just seen this question when I logged on this morning. I sent the details of this case to a friend of a friend who is a journalist. She sent B&S a very lengthy and detailed email asking a lot of questions and basically tore them apart for their behaviour. She told them she'd be doing a story about this and within 2 days of her sending her email, my friend has today received a letter from B&S informing her that they will now be passing the account back to the council as they have no intention of dealing with the media. A great result for her Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread with their advice and kind words. You've all been extremely helpful and we cannot thank you enough.
  7. Thank you very much BA, you have removed a weight from our shoulders so to speak. It was the fear of them adding another £235 to the remaining 3 accounts that we were most concerned about and had no idea they wasn't allowed to do this. Hearing this is fantastic news and we can all relax a little now. Also, you have no need to apologise, maybe with all the stress and sense of urgency I just wasn't describing what had happened clearly enough and wasn't getting the important points across. I'd very much welcome any assistance that you feel you could offer, As I have previously admitted I am completely out of my depth with this one. Ploddertom, there really isn't any joined up thinking here. B&S are telling us that the can't discuss the ins and outs of the account as that's down to the council and the council are telling us that they can't discuss the account nay more as it is with the bailiff and that we have to direct all questions back to B&S. It's just one big merry-go-round of incompetence!
  8. Hi BA, thanks for the reply. Our email was read and responded to in some detail. B&S broke down each paragraph and responded fully. They have given my friend until the 7th to accept their proposed payment plan of £750 per month before taking what they say will be further action against her. Coughdrop, it is a difficult one. Trying to balance holding off and waiting for it to be passed back against possible enforcement fees on the three remaining accounts currently without any is a hard decision to make.
  9. Thank you very much for your kind words and thoughts. It is really good to speak to like-minded people who have been where we are now and come out the other side, so to speak. I'm really glad you managed to get something sorted with your own situation. BA has been very helpful, as has everybody else. I just wish I'd found this place sooner and maybe gotten this sorted earlier. I know I keep saying this but I really do appreciate yours and everyone else's help and advise.
  10. The letter was sent via email on 28th May and the local authority was copied in on the email. B&S responded today (31st May).
  11. Completely agree with you. She's more than happy to pay any fees that she owes and isn't trying to dodge paying whatsoever. If anything, she's going out of her way to try to pay it.
  12. BA - I would very much welcome any suggestion of a letter in reply to the bailiffs. Thank you very much for your kind offer
  13. Thank you all very much for the replies and advice. I'm going to try to answer them as best as possible. 1) Firstly, in regards the fees, there are a total of 4 liability orders - One has a compliance fee and an enforcement fee added to it and the other three only have compliance fees. If my friend does sit and wait it out to be returned to the council, doesn't that leave them scope to add enforcement fees to the other three accounts? 2) BA's letter was sent, adapted to suit my friend's circumstances obviously, but it was the above letter that the bailiff responded to. 3) I will download the Income & Expenditure form now and drop it round to her to complete. 4) Yes, B&S do know that the council is aware of what is going on. I have been CC-ing the council in on all emails so far. Coughdrop - Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate the depth and detail you have gone into. It is a very stressful situation and my friend suffers terribly with her mental health and has been suicidal in the past. I'm trying my best to resolve the issue for her and shield her from as much further stress as possible but it's honestly not something I have ever had experience in. I'm extremely grateful for everybody's help and advice. As you and Dodgeball have said, my friend would be more than happy and will to pay bailiff fees to get this gone. The fees aren't the issue, it's just trying to get them to accept a payment plan that is the issue for her.
  14. Would it be possible to pay the bailiff their fees and make a separate arrangement with the council for the arrears?
  15. Please don't close this thread! Thanks to everyone that has replied, I appreciate the advice offered. We wrote to B&S and made an offer of £50 per month. They have responded by email saying the very least they would be prepared to accept is £750 per month!! They said failure to agree to this will lead to enforcement action. We have asked the council to take the debt back on multiple occasions and they have refused, so that isn't an option. I don't know what else to do now. Anybody any ideas? We will be making our first £50 payment tomorrow, regardless of their refusal to accept our offer.
×
×
  • Create New...