Help with what happens next please!!

[veegeeay]

I have filed a small claim using the HMCS online service although now having read some of the threads on here it would seem that was somewhat foolish! Anyway, tis done...

 

The defendant hasn't as yet responded as far as I know. The deadline for his response is today. From reading other threads I know I need to phone the Court tomorrow and check nothing has been received but my guess is that it will not have been and I will need to enter judgment in default. This man seems to be a bit of an Ostrich and has buried his head in the sand thus far!

 

Having potentially boobed on the initial claim, I'm looking for a little assistance from this point forward in order to get what I want out of this: A full refund plus Court costs and interest and to give the car back!

 

Can anyone help?

[Guest wino]

Hi veegeeay and welcome to cag.

 

Can you please tell us what your claim is for?

[veegeeay]

Hi Wino, thanks for the reply;

 

I purchased a car from a car dealer/trader and at the time I had a good look round the car & drove it up the road - I am not a mechanic though and the test drive was also fairly lame!

 

I did pick up that the car ran 'lumpy' and I was advised by the dealer that it was to do with the speedo sensor being replaced recently and because the car had been 'reset' it would take a few thousand miles to settle down I bought into that (Oh my God I sound like a right blonde dumbshell now!) and paid my deposit, the car was delivered the next day and I paid cash.

 

2 days later once I had managed to insure it, I discovered that not only had the clutch worn out, the idle control valve is faulty (which causes the lumpy tickover), the gearbox has a spring missing and the speedometer fails intermitently, indicating that the sensor was not replaced as he said!

 

In addition to this, when the car was being looked over by a friend of mine (Which in hindsight I know he should have done before I bought it) he told me that the car has never had ABS fitted (it is advertised as having it and the dealer specifically mentioned it when we were doing the paperwork - he even added it to the warranty).

 

When I approached him by telephone he was abusive, condescending and totally unhelpful, referring me to the warranty Company and suggesting I had not read the terms of the warranty when I told him they would not pay out for the clutch as it is wear and tear.

 

I would like to point out at this point that the clutch did not slip on the test drive.

 

I wrote to him asking for either

a) a straight refund or

b) for the clutch and idle control valve to be fixed

 

I was prepared to accept the gearbox problem & the speedo sensor as minor issues and indeed the gearbox would be covered under the warranty.

 

He ignored my letter so I sent a letter before action, gave him 7 days to reply and then issued on 17th June 2009. The claim was deemed served on 22nd June 2009 and I phoned the Court at 1pm, they have received nothing yet and they are in Northamptonshire (We are in the South) so unlikely to receive anything today.

 

Any help gratefully received!

 

V

[Guest wino]

I found this link to autotrader explaining your rights buying from a trader and a private sale

Car Buyers' Legal Rights - Auto Trader UK

 

From what I can gather if he is a trader/dealer you have rights under the sale of goods act.

 

I would expect him to fix the gearbox and speedo aswell.

[patdavies]

Since it was advertised as having (and specifically mentioned/confirmed by the dealer at the time of the sale) that the car had ABS, and it actually has not, then the car is not as described and thus you're are entitled to rescind the deal entirely and get a full refund. (see the second bullet point of Wino's link above)

[Conniff]

He hasn't kept to his side of the contract, has mis-described the car and it's condition, and 'lied' about the speedo sensor.

If what he said about the speedo sensor was correct, all the new cars of this model would have dodgey speedos for the first couple of thousand miles.

 

I don't agree with the 'blonde' bit, we have to put our trust in others at sometime and this man obviously took advantage of you.

 

As the others have said, you should reject this car for a full refund. This 'must' be done in writting and would best be sent recorded delivery.

 

Don't accept the repairs, it hasn't got ABS, and that can be a life saver.

[veegeeay]

Thanks for all the replys - however I am aware that I am entitled to a full refund. I am not bothered by the lack of ABS, I have never had it before and do not miss it!

 

I have actually filed this claim and he has not filed an acknowledgement, I am just looking for assistance with what happens next, other than him having a CCJ against him?!

 

Many thanks

V

[Guest wino]

Sorry I was going to post again but I have a visitor so I will reply later unless someone else beats me to it

[veegeeay]

Ok so now he has acknowledged the claim I guess I just wait 28 days for the defence!

[veegeeay]

Hello again...

Well he failed to get his defence in on time I suspect that he thought the 28 days was from the date he acknowledged the claim and not the date of service - hey, not my fault he's a muppet!

 

So the Court has judged in default and sent him the order.

 

So again, my question is what happens next? What if he just ignores the order?

 

V

[Conniff]

Congratulations. Maybe he thought you would pull out when you saw he was going to defend.

[veegeeay]

bump.....

 

Can anyone help?

[Guest wino]

Hi veegeeay

Here is a link to HM Courts

 

Enforcing Judgment

 

Have a read and see if it helps. I will have a read through some info I have at home and get back to you later.

[veegeeay]

I've decided to give him 7 days before issuing the warrant and need to write him a letter telling him this, does anyone have a template or some suggested wording?

 

V