Private car purchase help/advice with dispute and small claims

[shanusascarabus]

Hello all, its been a while since I had to come on this forum but I feel I need to come and ask you guys for some help once again

I don't really know where to start as I could write pages and pages on this issue but I will keep it as short and sweet as possible, here goes....

 

 

I am a member on a certain car forum and a member had a car up for sale which I purchased, however the car did not arrive as was promised and did not have the refurbished alloy wheels stated in the original sale thread along with other smaller items.

on delivery of the car he stated he had 3 wheels on another car that he would refurb and deliver to me and if I supplied him with an alloy off my car ( I have another one of these particular cars ) he would do that also... meaning that I would now have the full set of refurbished alloys that I should have had from day 1 ( putting 1 wheel back on my car )..... lost yet ???

Short version is I am 4 refurbished wheels short as per advertised on original sales advert with no sign of getting them back as for the past six months I have had nothing but excuses and being ignored.

I am thinking of taking this guy to a small claims court as not only was my purchase not what it should have been... I have pretty much had one of my wheels "stolen"...... just wondering what your thoughts are...... I could go a lot further into detail but it may be even more confusing for you all but the more questions you ask then the clearer im sure it will become .

 

 

Regards

[scousepie]

Small claims court I would have thought, send him a letter before action with a dead line.... as the seller has contracted with you do you have a paper email trail ?

[shanusascarabus]

I have various forum screenshots, emails and screenshots of facebook chat... maybe even texts..... If I do this I just want to do this correctly that's all.. not too sure what to expect.

What would this letter need to contain, just my request and a deadline ?

 

 

Also is there a deadline on timescale as its almost 12 months ago

[shanusascarabus]

I posted in the Retail section over a private car purchase.. could it be possibly be moved to this section as it seems more appropriate here ??

[Northernpug]

You have 6 years before you lose the right to claim (statute barred). Suggest you send him a letter before action giving him a reasonable time (e.g. 14 days) to return the wheels in refurbished condition as agreed else you will commence legal proceeding for the amount of £XXX plus costs. If he doesn't respond, go to MCOL and get a summons sent to him.

[honeybee13]

Threads merged to the motoring forum.

 

HB

[shanusascarabus]

Ok, now I know that I shouldn't feel guilty at all... however I bought a car that only cost 1500... if/when I go through with a claim then what should I claim for as the amount would probably outweigh the value ( if that makes sense )

What I mean is I am short of the wheels.. they cant be bought new as it was a limited edition car and Rover is now no more.... im not out to rip anyone off moneywise but I would have to try and find some second hand wheels and get them refurbished at £60 per wheel plus tyre cost... at a very rough guess that would be low end of £30 per wheel second hand... refurb of £60 per wheel and then tyres ( even at part worn prices that is 30-40 per wheel.... that's over £500... again, what are your thoughts on this ??

[shanusascarabus]

Thankyou and sorry for messing up

[Northernpug]

The amount you claim is the reasonable amount to put you back in a position you would be in if you had received the wheels. See if you can find a few ads selling the wheels secondhand so you can substantiate the amount claimed and add on the cost of refurbishment (get quotes from a few refurbishers). You may need something to substantiate what you are claiming if it goes to court.

[shanusascarabus]

That's where I start getting confused... The wheels themselves are near on impossible to get unless a car is being broken on ebay ect and then its a complete car usually.

Also where abouts does one of the wheels being my property fit in all this??

What I don't want is a court to think im being greedy.. but at the same time I only want what was advertised, Im afraid that if I put a claim in for say 5-600 then the court would see me as trying to claim an excessive amount.

Its worth saying at this point that I did offer to just take the alloys in the state they were in and would look to get them refurbished myself... again followed by silence and false promises

[i hate bailiffs]

Before court action you need to consider

Do they have any assets ect

As obtaining a ccj is no guarantee that you will get money out of them

[shanusascarabus]

Id just settle for the wheels as promised rather than the financial gain and I know that he currently has 8 of these wheels ( 1 being my property with my reg no engraved ).... the problem is that the 2 cars containing these wheels have just gone up for sale on ebay and gumtree.. if/when these cars are sold then the wheels are gone and im stumped

[Conniff]

Before court action you need to consider

Do they have any assets ect

As obtaining a ccj is no guarantee that you will get money out of them

 

 

How will you know if he has any assets, you won't, go ahead as per post #2

 

 

small claims court I would have thought, send him a letter before action with a dead line.... as the seller has contracted with you do you have a paper email trail ?

 

 

Sod these rip-off merchants.

 

 

You want a full set of refurbished alloy wheels or a full refund.

[Northernpug]

I would say he probably have some assets i.e. four wheels If he doesn't pay up. you could send in the bailiffs to get your property back. I would think that, as you have paid for the other three wheels, then they would all be considered to be your property. It would be up to the defendant to disprove the amount you were claiming was valid so I wouldn't worry too much about the amount of the claim as long as you consider it reasonable. Court fee for bringing a claim up to £500 is £45.. If you start proceedings, he may well sort it before it gets to court.

[Conniff]

Even if he lives in a shoebox in the middle of the road, he will, at least, have a CCJ against him for six years.

[Northernpug]

Just seen your other post about him selling two vehicles. You need to act quick to try and stop him selling your wheels. Get the LBA sent off recorded delivery first thing Monday morning.

[i hate bailiffs]

How will you know if he has any assets, you won't,

 

If they are not a homeowner have a old banger as a motor

And do not have a pot to #### in

 

even with a CCJ no guarantee

[shanusascarabus]

He has 2 businesses, a scrapyard/parts and a car transport business..... and ive found out he is trying to sell the car parts business.

I will draft a LBA out and get it sent Monday as advised

What would I do with the 3 wheels I have on the car as they are his property once I get replacements or a payout ??

[Northernpug]

Give him his wheels back when he returns yours/settles the claim.

[shanusascarabus]

Thanks for the advice guys, really means a lot.

Just out of curiosity... if I was to claim for a certain amount, lets just use a round figure of 500.... if a court doesn't agree with the amount will they adjust as they see fit or reject my claim ??

[Northernpug]

Unless the judge is a motorhead, its unlikely he will have a clue how much the wheels cost. Its up to you to supply as much evidence as you can to support your claim. If the defendant doesn't agree, its up to him to submit evidence to disprove your claim. After listening to both sides, the judge will then make a decision. If it did go before a judge, its my opinion that the defendant would have a tough time because he is in breach of contract by not supplying what you have paid for.

[Conniff]

You will need supporting paperwork to show the court when you present you claim. Don't make a claim unless you are ready in all respects.

[shanusascarabus]

thanks again for the replies,

I can confirm that I can provide the following proof

I can show the original for sale thread showing what's included in the sale.

I can show private messages of me an him discussing the points of the sale.

I can show proof via private messages, texts,Facebook chat and maybe emails that I have been trying to get the wheels sorted for almost a year and most of his replies ( he deleted on of the Facebook accounts so although my chats are there his responses are not.

I can prove that throughout the ordeal I have been very sympathetic to his various excuses for not getting the wheels done ( wheel company he used went bust.. Very busy with his new business venture and the latest that his marriage broke down)

I can show that I sent many many mails with no response ect and that the only reply I got was kinda abusive and alleged that I had been "slagging him off on forums" and that he would only send me my 1 wheel back which I still have not received.

I'm just not too sure what a judge will be interested in seeing if you catch what I mean.

[Conniff]

This would all be included in your bundle in chronological order and the judge will look at all or just the bits he is interested in.

[shanusascarabus]

Great, so screenshot everything, print it out and put it together, in order so it's like a story of the whole fiasco.

That's easy enough.... Going to be lots of printouts though and I wasn't sure if a judge would use Facebook or forums as a credible source of evidence.

Again thankyou