Purchased car & clutch slipping

[edwardw]

Hi All

I traveled down to london to pick up a car, got it for a really good price.

Sold by a dealer on ebay as "Sold as seen" ( i understand this has no legal bearing)

Now on my journey on the way home i noticed the clutch slipping, this seems to be getting slightly worse!

I had a quote from ford for £950+

And a reasonable on from a local garage for £250 labour (if i supply parts)

 

Now, my question is, how do i go about contacting the dealer to try and recover some of these costs?

There was mention on the advert of 2 defects with the car (easily solved ones), however no mention of this!

 

Is there a template letter i can send to them maybe?

Thanks

[ashmk]

Get a copy of that ad

[edwardw]

Get a copy of that ad

 

Have done.

Now what?

Ed

[edwardw]

Anyone? want to get the ball rolling on this

[postggj]

contact the dealer, give him a short time scale to rectify the clutch, if he declines then small claims action

 

sale of goods act and distant selling regs come into this as he is a registered dealer on ebay

 

dont pussyfoot about, give the dealer 2 weeks

 

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THE CAR, WHEN DID YOU PICK IT UP FROM THE DEALER

[edwardw]

Thankyou.

Do you have or know there whereabouts of a template letter i can use as a starting point?

[postggj]

how long have you had the car, when did you pick it up from the dealer

[postggj]

Was the car purchased in the last 7 working days

[sailor sam]

Obvious question; If the clutch was slipping on the journey home, why did you not turn around and take it straight back? Also, £950 to replace a clutch?? What is it, a Ferrari or something???

[edwardw]

Was the car purchased in the last 7 working days

No, Was purchased on 24/03/13 - What difference does this make?

Obvious question; If the clutch was slipping on the journey home, why did you not turn around and take it straight back? Also, £950 to replace a clutch?? What is it, a Ferrari or something???

 

The garage would have been closed for starters, and also the fact it was advertised as sold as seen..... And no its a ford, mondeo ST.

Thats just frauds pricing i guess, but apparently the subframe/gearbox has to be dropped down so its a labour intensive job...

 

 

Whats my next step with this then? Are there any template letters available?

[postggj]

Your name

First line of address

Second line of address

Third line of address

Fourth line of address

Contact telephone number

Owner/Manager’s name

First line of company address

Second line of company address

Third line of company address

Fourth line of company address

Today’s date

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: Faulty goods and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)

On [date of purchase] I bought a [description of purchase] from you for [insert price] which has stopped working.

 

The problem is [enter description of fault].

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.

This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) says: if goods break within the first six months after purchase then there is a presumption the goods were faulty when sold.

My goods are not [delete as appropriate - as described/fit for purpose/of satisfactory quality] and I wish to claim a [delete as appropriate - repair/replacement/refund] of my goods under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.

 

Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter.

 

Yours faithfully,

[your name]

SEND RECORDED DELIVERY

[edwardw]

Thankyou for that.

How does this look?

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

RE: Faulty goods and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)

 

On 24/03/13 I bought a Ford Mondeo ST220 from you for £2650 which has a fault.

 

The clutch is slipping considerably, I believe the issue to be a faulty clutch/pressure plate.

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.

 

This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) says: if goods break within the first six months after purchase then there is a presumption the goods were faulty when sold.

 

This fault with the car was not as described and I wish to claim for a repair of the clutch under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.

 

Having spoken to Ford, they advised the cost of repair was £960, however I have found a more favourable quote of £380.

 

Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter.

[postggj]

excellent

 

if they do not respond then they will have my next letter

 

you need a paper trail so please recorded delivery and do not drive the vehicle

 

you need to give them the option rectify the complaint first though

[edwardw]

Right,

As i suspected, they havent responded.

What is my next step?

 

I need the car for work, its going to need repairing soon, but ideally want the garage to fund this!

[postggj]

14 days is reasonable for them to respond

[edwardw]

Ok.

I stated 7 on the letter, but will give them a little longer!

[postggj]

It all helps if this goes legal

 

It will show the court that you are being more than reasonable

[edwardw]

I have today recieved a reply:

 

You may remember you actually purchased this vehicle on ebay. For information purposes if that vehicle had been retailed it would have been priced at £4999, a significant amount more than what you paid.

 

As described on our eBay shop and indeed the sales invoice states quite clearly that "all items are sold as seen with mechanical defects with no warranty implied or given". Your sales invoice also says quite clearly "sold as seen". I think you would agree that this quite evidently makes it clear that we are not been held responsible for any faults with the car. You purchased the car and have signed the buyers certificate confirming your acceptance of the conditions of sale.

 

 

Sooo. Whats next?

[postggj]

Utter rubbish

 

Distant selling regs come into play

 

Sold as seen seen nothing unless any faults were pointed out at time of purchase

 

Those conditions you signed are unfair terms

 

Now that i have finished my essay, i will draft a response if you like, wait for any response then WW 111

 

Please confirm it was an eBay registered business seller and how did you pay

Edited April 19, 2013 by squaddie

[postggj]

SEVEN DAY LETTER BEFORE ACTION

Dear sir/madam

 

Thank you for your letter dated xyz addressing my complaint on a faulty vehicle which was purchased from your business on xyz

 

I must admit that I am quite concerned at the substance of your letter dated xyz in response to my complaint. I will now explain your response in more detail as to why I think your business is mistaken in its belief that it is not liable for rectifying faults associated with this purchase.

 

In my letter dated xyz, it was explained that I required redress as to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (As Amended) Can you be so kind as to explain to me why you feel those regulations no longer apply to your business.

 

I will now remind your business of your obligations:

 

• be of satisfactory quality (taking into account its age and mileage)
  
• meet any description given to you when you were buying it ( whether in the advert or in discussions prior to sale)
  
• Be fit for the purpose (for example, to get you from A to B safely).
  

It is my duty to inform you that I consider that your company is in breach of contract for which I now intend to claim full redress. I must also inform you that the contract is also covered under the Consumer Protection (Distant Selling Regulations) 2000

 

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs) provide protection for consumers when entering into contracts. Companies who deal with consumers and use standard form contracts must ensure they do not use unfair terms.

 

Under the UTCCRs, an 'unfair term' is defined as one which, contrary to the requirements of good faith, causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer. If a term is unfair, it will not bind the consumer.

 

Your statement that the vehicle is “Sold as Seen” has no relevance under English law unless faults associated with the vehicle are made known and recorded at point of sale. To be clear on this matter, I consider the terms of your agreement to be an unfair term and not compliant with United Kingdom statutory legislation.

 

I have been left with no alternative now but to issue a seven day letter before action notice. Your complaints procedure has now been exhausted for which full redress through the civil courts will be implemented.

 

It is my duty to inform you that it is my intention to pass my complaint to your local trading standards department to complete an investigation into your company’s actions.

 

This letter now satisfies part 111 and 1V of the Practice Directions, Pre Action Protocol

 

 

That may get them to sit up and take note, can you post up a copy of the receipt/invoice they gave you, edit out the company/garage name, phone number and address. scan it into your computer and post onto your thread by goggling photo bucket

[edwardw]

Utter rubbish

 

Distant selling regs come into play

 

Sold as seen seen nothing unless any faults were pointed out at time of purchase

 

Those conditions you signed are unfair terms

 

Now that i have finished my essay, i will draft a response if you like, wait for any response then WW 111

 

Please confirm it was an eBay registered business seller and how did you pay

 

registered seller, paid in cash.

 

 

Will get next letter sent out.

Thanks

[edwardw]

Dont have access to a scanner at the moment, but when i can i will!

[edwardw]

Ive had no reply now..

Is my next step to do MCOL?

 

Thanks

[sailor sam]

Ive had no reply now..

Is my next step to do MCOL?

 

Thanks

 

Yes. Don't forget to claim the interest as it will mount everyday until the matter is resolved.

[edwardw]

Thanks Sam,

DO i claim interest from the day i purchased the car?

 

Also, is it relevant weather ive had the work done or not yet?

Thanks