Returning a faulty car...

[loulou32]

I have made a claim under SOGA to return my car as it is faulty and not as described.

 

Bought with a credit card (have sent claim to them as well) and came with a 3 month warranty for faults and labour etc.

 

As I drove it away and less than a mile from the forecourt the engine light came on.

Couldn't take it back then and there as the garage had closed, had to crawl home which is quite some distance away.

 

On advice of dealer took it to the manufacturing garage, fault codes found among many other things wrong.

 

Dealer admitted he hadn't inspected it properly before sale, and told me to push manufacturing garage for a new engine in the car (I have this in writing). Tells me he is aware the car has a history of problems so I then decided to reject the vehicle. I sent the SOGA letter nearly a month ago but I still have the car.

 

I've asked for a copy of any returns policy, but haven't had one. The dealer is now telling me when it goes back to him I won't get my refund immediately. He's saying it will be inspected first and then "we'll take it from there". I'm not happy to return the car without coming away with the money I paid for it, and to be honest at this point I don't trust him to refund me my money.

 

I have repeatedly asked him why it needs inspection given all the reports from the manufacturing garage, what the inspection is for, how long it will take, who will be doing it etc. haven't been answered. He tells me he doesn't want to trust a 3rd party report, but I'm supposed to trust his presumably 3rd party inspection?

 

Can anyone tell me where I stand on this? Thanks.

[dx100uk]

if you've made a section 75 complaint to the credit card company

then you should be ok

they are equally responsible for the vehicle.

 

if the dealer faffs you around

 

get the cc to refund you

or let them deal with him.

 

any inspection should have been done prior to sale

[Conniff]

Do as dx100 says, go for the card refund, but you could at the same time send the seller a letter before action which would let him know you are serious about rejecting with a full refund.

[loulou32]

Yes, a section 75 complaint has been made.

 

I want to know whether I really do have to wait for a refund pending investigation once the car is returned. He hasn't told me what the point of this is, and I have reports from the manufacturing garage confirming various faults with the vehicle.

 

Until the car goes and I get my money back I'm carless, potless and if I can't get to work potentially jobless. Can I invoice the garage for travel costs I incur whist he's fannying around trying to delay my refund?

[Conniff]

You can 'make time of the essence' and state a time that the examination 'must' be completed by. You need to use those actual words to do so.

[loulou32]

Thanks.

 

I am just getting a bad vibe from the garage, I am convinced that it's going to go back and he'll conjure up reports telling me there's nothing wrong with the car.

 

I've just found this - (extracted from here http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/738369/738375/OFT002_SOGA_explained.pdf)

 

If you disagree with a customer’s claim, you can ask if they

are willing for you to send the item to a third party or the

manufacturer for inspection. If the customer agrees you can

do this, it is important to remember that the goods must not

be damaged during this process.

 

It's already been to the manufacturer. So what happens if I am unwilling for a further inspection to be carried out?

[Conniff]

TYou wouldn't be able to deny him an examination and expect him to just give you a refund and the regulations don't say you can.

[ericsbrother]

Just take the car back and tell the dealer you are rejecting it under SoGA and you want your money back and that if you dont get that refunded to your cc within 2 days you will be making a claim against the card issuer and the dealer will no doubt have his merchant account closed.

The longer you faff about the less chance of a refund being voluntarily forthcoming.

[loulou32]

Yep, that's what I'm trying to do. It's difficult for me just to take it back because I'm on my own with 3 kids and the garage is 40 miles away. Plus he hasn't told me what this investigation is for, who's doing it etc. I've asked him what his returns process is but he hasn't responded to any of my questions.

 

I've now told the garage to arrange collection of the vehicle within the next 5 days.

[citizenkain]

surely if the engine light came on you should have stopped driving it and switched the engine off?,you say you crawled home?,maybe it was losing oil and the light came on and now the engine is blown? I dunno if they will cover that!

[loulou32]

Not sure why you'd presume the car's got a blown engine from what I've written? It hasn't and this was never a risk. The manufacturing garage have produced reports about the vehicle's problems, now the garage I bought it from is querying those reports because I want to reject it.

 

I spoke to the garage today. They are refusing to collect, insisting that I drive it back to them for investigation. This is then to be done by someone I don't know and he can't tell me how long it's going to take. He also mentioned something about repairing it if they found something but was again very vague. I've told him that I don't want a repair of an inherently faulty vehicle but all I get is "We'll see.".

[citizenkain]

well,in your opening statement you said the engine light came on,this means there was something wrong with the engine,I said in my above statement,maybe it was losing engine oil,this would cause the engine to blow.You say the engine isnt blown and this was never a risk,thats great,the engine light has just came on for nothing then?,so you are saying there is no physical damage just a wiring problem?

[loulou32]

I said the engine light came on but why assume it's down to oil loss or a blown engine? It wasn't, and if the engine was blown then I wouldn't have been able to crawl anywhere. I'd rather not go into detail about the problems (there is more than one and none to do with wiring) because they are quite specific mechanical issues and if I did either of the garages could ID me.

[citizenkain]

well,its kinda difficult to help you then,good luck anyway

[IWonVsWoolwichBarclays]

Do a google for the file 12-937-enhancing-consumer-consultation-supply-of-goods-services-digital.pdf and look at page 40

It clearly shows your rights.

I can't put a link as I haven't posted enough times on this forum

[Conniff]

12-937-enhancing-consumer-consultation-supply-of-goods-services-digital.pdf

 

Is a consultation paper and not incorporated into legislation.

[heliosuk]

It is also a consultation in relation to digital goods plus a note "(A) The reasonable time for acceptance excludes time spent repairing the good "

[IWonVsWoolwichBarclays]

see comments in my thread entitled

Rejectiing new car due to faults SOGA - need some professional advice - any recommendations ?

[loulou32]

Thanks everyone for you help on this.

 

To clarify it was the engine management light that came on. I spoke to the dealer and he told me what he thought it was and that it was safe to drive in the interim as did the manufacturing garage.

 

Anyway, I returned it on Tuesday. He refused to collect it telling me he didn't have the manpower to do so. Had to take a half day so I could do this. He said his business partner would call me that day to explain what would happen next but he didn't call. I haven't heard from them since Tuesday. I believe the car was in for investigation on Wednesday so I would have expected a response by now.

 

I have emailed them today (been doing it all via email so it's in writing) but I am at a loss at what to do now. How much longer do I have to wait?

[Conniff]

Send a letter by recorded deliver making time of the essence and setting a date for the return of the repaired car.

[loulou32]

I don't want it back, repaired or otherwise and I haven't given authorisation for any repairs to be carried out. I have asked for a full refund and I've made this very clear to the garage.

[heliosuk]

Are you still using the car?

[loulou32]

No, it has been returned to the garage. They've had it for almost a week now.

[loulou32]

Have finally heard from the garage.

 

Since they've had it back the engine management light has come back on with another issue - a new one but I wouldn't be surprised if the issues were all interlinked. They are finally agreeing to refund me but they want to skim some off the top for the time I've had it and the mileage I've done in it (majority of which was taking it to various garages trying to get it fixed!). CAB can't advise me what is a fair amount for them to deduct.

 

If I want any more than their full and final offer then I have to take them to small claims court. Is this correct?

[dx100uk]

no its not

 

if most of the mileage is to them

 

let us know.

 

dx