Motor Mart Ltd. returned Faulty Car Court Claim Issued

[BreadAndButter]

Hi,

I would like advice on how to proceed with a garage my father in law purchased a car from.

In a nutshell it was bought over the phone, delivered and was not as described. Things were broken, oil came out the exhaust every startup, oil was pooling round the engine head, to name a few issues.  

It was reported and requested a full refund within my a) coll off and b) 30 days not fit for purpose or as described. 

The firm collected the car, i left a list of issues in the car for them and £20 fuel was put in it.

After ringing for a refund they said they'd fix it all and send it back to him, by now the FIL had purchased a new car expecting a refund, he refused and said no, keep it, im entitled to a refund.

A day or two pass, no refund. He rings them up they shout down the line saying he wasn't getting his money any time soon and he is a liar.

This was followed up by his daughter calling and emailing about this and been told again, liars, obscenities and hung up.

 

They now dont respond to calls.

They dont respond to emails

If you do get through on a friends phone they tell you the business owner is off sick, on holiday, got covid, to name a few.

They have my FIL's money, the car is back on sale on their website and so they have the car too. So either they are selling his property or they are withholding his funds

 

Ive tried the motoring ombudsman but they havent responded.  Frustrated, the FIL is planning to go down there this week and cause a fuss face to face but this could go horribly wrong

Reviews online of the garage see others, same issues, terrible cars, then the company change names once taken to court.

Police were informed of the theft, and told its not a police issue.

 

How would you proceed?

 

 

 

 

[lolerz]

How did you pay?

Name and shame the dealer as well, it's perfectly acceptable.

[BreadAndButter]

Bank transfer.

 

It has been taken up with the bank however they have lost all the evidence - father in law is going into the bank today.

(yes, many mistakes have been made - we know this, but he went and did it all himself)

[lolerz]

No need to go to the bank.

It was a mistake to pay by Bank Transfer, it's no different to cash in terms of protection. It was also a mistake to give the car back as the money wasn't in your account at the time.

You need to start drafting a Letter of Claim in the view of issuing legal proceedings against the dealership. I would assume my site colleague @BankFodder will be around to advise further.

[BankFodder]

I see that you have been asked for the name of the dealer but you haven't told us. Is there a reason for this?

Also you haven't told us anything about the car. Could you tell us make, model, price paid, date you bought it, how far away from you is the garage and where did you see it advertised?

That lot for starters

[BreadAndButter]

Name of the dealer  Motor Mart Ltd.11 Woodgate, Leicester LE3 5GH

Advertised on Facebook for sale

Make and model is a 2013 Kia Picanto they are re-selling it here 

2013 Kia Picanto 2 £3,495

WWW.MOTORMARTLTD.CO.UK

---

2013 Kia Picanto 2, Manual, In Red. DELIVERY AVAILABLE*.

Paid £3400 for it and it was delivered.

They're in Leicester about 40 minutes away, longer from milton keynes where he resides.

To add the car was delivered  January 12th 2024 and sent back on 16th  with a note:

"The discs and brakes are rusty the car is not stopping properly and is juddering this maybe due to issue with ABS.

One wheel nut is missing.

Cigarette lighter is not working.

The boot doesn't open properly,

my dad has fixed this however, the boot cover where the button is, is missing which means water can get into the boot.

There is also an oil leak at the top of the engine and black liquid coming out of the exhaust"

 

[dx100uk]

thread title updated

[BankFodder]

MOTOR MART LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

FIND-AND-UPDATE.COMPANY-INFORMATION.SERVICE.GOV.UK

---

MOTOR MART LTD - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return...

I would suggest you simply sue him in the County Court as soon as possible.
Send him a letter of claim. If he offers the car back then refuse it. You have been deprived of substantially the whole benefit of the contract. The contract has been terminated by his breach.

It won't be quick – but you will win. After that of course there will be the problem of enforcement but it would be a start.
It will cost you probably a couple of hundred quid or so to start the claim that when you win you will get that back as long as you can enforce the judgement.

It's an extraordinary story.

If this appeals to you then post up a draft letter of claim straightaway so that we can have a look and then you should send it off.

Bear in mind that the company was only established in 2022. I suppose he could pack it up very quickly and avoid judgement.

Does he have an established premises? Are all the other cars in the background of the photo belonging to him?

Did the car have an MOT? What date was the MOT and who issued it?

[BreadAndButter]

Quote

. I suppose he could pack it up very quickly and avoid judgement.

Yep - hes done it twice before since people made court claims against him
 

Quote

Does he have an established premises? Are all the other cars in the background of the photo belonging to him?

yes ,they do. and yes, its fairly well established. 

Im sure if a debt collector turned up asking for the value of the outstanding money he'd have stock we could drive away and sell

Quote

Did the car have an MOT? What date was the MOT and who issued it?

It did, its valid until june however it is unknown who issued it as its in the paperwork which we never got anyway,

I have to send a letter of claim - i dont see a template so I presume i make one up  including what is set out in the protocol?

Excuse my ignorance, pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims (2).pdf  do I send this to them also or is this step 2?

Thanks

[BankFodder]

No it's not a debt claim.

Frankly, I think I would suggest taking the chance and simply beginning the claim without any prior warning.

I think if you sent him a letter of claim this would give an extra 14 days to plan what to do.

Of course later on he could object that he had received a letter of claim but if you have evidence that he has followed his company before in order to avoid judgements then I don't think it would be a big problem.
I would suggest issuing the claim straightaway – but of course not forget that there is a risk and if he does manage to wind up the company in time then you could be left without anything including the loss of your claim fee.

Of course it won't be helpful to you now – but I suggest that you follow this link about our used car guide and in particular show your father-in-law the little video at the end.

He won't like it that it will help reinforce the lesson that he is learning – the hard way – and of course I am putting this up for other people who come and visit this forum and look at this thread – maybe if they are lucky, before they end up buying the vehicle.

 

 

[BreadAndButter]

thanks for your help, Ill get a draft organised.

I dont think he's at the stage yet where he wants to pack up, he's so far happy to tell us to go away and block numbers, he has plenty of ebays listings and so-on.

If we cool our chase he will think we've gone away until he gets his LOC of course.

I have new information.

The payment was made using a debit card, not a bank transfer.

I dont think this changes much

 

Letter before small claims court claim

[My address]

[Supplier's address]

Dear Guy WhoRipsOffOAPS

Reference: Refund of Kia Piccanto NL13 AHC

As it has not been possible to resolve this matter amicably via multiple emails or attempted phone calls, nor will further phone calls be accepted by you to resolve this matter, I write in compliance with the courts Pre-Action Protocol to notify you of court action if you fail to settle the outstanding sum in full.

Amount outstanding: £3655

 Requested action: Full Refund.

This should be returned to the original form of payment: Debit Card.

From you I am claiming a full refund for the Kia Piccanto reg NL13 AHC which is currently in your possession and currently available for sale. You have an obligation to refund immediately the initial payment made for this car in January 2024, which has already been verbally agreed multiple times on the telephone yet has failed to materialise.

I look forward to hearing from you within the next 14 days.

Should I not receive a response to my letter within this time frame and having given you sufficient time prior to this letter then I anticipate that court action will be commenced with no further reference to you.

Court documents and evidence have already been prepared will be submitted to the courts on 27/03/2024

Yours faithfully, 

 

[lolerz]

A payment made by debit card changes a lot!

 

Get on to your bank NOW and raise a chargeback for the full transaction. You have evidence of the new listing of the car, hopefully you have an invoice etc as well.

[dx100uk]

2 hours ago, BreadAndButter said:

It did, its valid until june however it is unknown who issued it as its in the paperwork which we never got anyway,

look it up on line 

Check the MOT status of a vehicle - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

[BreadAndButter]

Yeah it doesnt say where unless you prove its your vehicle. 
 

so, bank method first or both? Hes been there today for a good couple of hours sorting it out and giving all evidence at the bank today

[dx100uk]

both 1st thing tomorrow.

why cant you prove its his vehicle? has he not got the v5c in his name to use the ref number from they require?

the chargeback is by far the quickest and simplest, shame its 9pm they'll be closed now via telephone banking?

1st thing tomorrow.

dx

[BreadAndButter]

Thanks

As previously mentioned this is already underway with the bank, he visited yesterday and filed the payment reversal

The letter will be sent today.

 

Thanks for your help all

[dx100uk]

a chargeback should be instant and argued later. the original recipient has a set number of days to do this. it's part of the chargeback process.

there should be no forms or 'investigation' before it happens by your bank.

[BreadAndButter]

hmm, his bank want evidence before reversing it, they need to now speak to the vendor.

I see the chargeback process now ill follow this up too.

[dx100uk]

what? they should do that AFTER refunding not BEFORE!! 

think you need to read them the stated process...

[BreadAndButter]

Frustrating isnt it.

He's been IN the bank and theyve asked for all evidence and will decide once speaking to the other end. They already closed the case once because they didnt get all the evidence needed. Had to reopen it!

Ill run him through the process tonight, he's more than overwhelmed with information and processes so Im doing it all for him to get things moving

 

Cheers

[dx100uk]

thats why we said, and the back of his card says RING. they typically give a number too.

all branches can do is fwd silly forms, they can't action a chargeback. they are not the the dept that does that RING.

whos the bank please...

[BreadAndButter]

virgin money

[dx100uk]

whom are now nationwide.

Call us on 0800 121 4254

 

 

[BreadAndButter]

unfortunately we called them, they put us through to disputes and then we go around again, they ask us to email and send them the evidence for the dispute

 

Unsure how to get what we need here.

Which.co.uk have a chargeback tool, you send off the letters requesting it to the bank and they process it. Maybe thats a better shot as the telephone people havent got a scoobie

[lolerz]

*Tell* them to start the chargeback don't *ask* them.