Alice E

Buyers Beware!

We purchased a vehicle back in May as we needed a family car following the birth of our second child. Firstly, we wished to pay on credit card as we knew we could claim back if we had issues, Neil advised he does not have a card machine so we reluctantly made a transfer to his personal bank account. When we collected the vehicle, it had not been valeted despite Neil delaying collection due to the vehicle ‘currently having a valet’. Neil handed me £20 cash back to cover this and due to needing the vehicle I had to accept. I was sold the vehicle with 2 keys and full service paperwork - when I arrived Neil had ‘left the main key with the mechanic’ and handed me a highly damaged key which was being held together with cello tape and promised he would post the second key along with the service paperwork which he had apparently misplaced. Again, not a great start but I needed the vehicle so could not delay any longer. After just one day, the vehicle started smoking black smoke out of the bonnet and back and was overheating - I was extremely upset and asked Neil for a refund, which I knew I was entitled to under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Neil was highly aggressive and refused a refund and would only fix the vehicle despite me having an autistic child who now had a fear of the vehicle as it overheated with her in it. As Neil was so aggressive and due to our financial position, I felt I had no choice but to just let him fix the vehicle without taking to Court. 3 weeks later, after filling the vehicle with a full tank of fuel, the vehicle then broke down again. We contacted Neil, who advised he was abroad and would collect the vehicle on his return. We had a holiday booked and would need a car before his return. We advised that we just wanted a refund now,and again, Neil refused despite this being the second fault and technically due to the time he had the vehicle for the first repair, we were still within our 30 day legal right to return. By the time Neil collected the vehicle we had already been without a vehicle for 12 days. Again, Neil was highly aggressive and rude and was laughing at me down the phone saying he would not give a refund. As Neil is trading as an AA dealer I contacted the AA to complain and make use of their mediation service prior to taking to Court in order to prove we had tried to mediate. To begin, Neil continued to refuse a refund and even used the excuse that the fault was a different fault so he would not refund, regardless, we should have received a refund in the first instance and were still entitled to a refund due clause 22 of the Consumer Rights Act whereby a break period is allowed during the time he had the vehicle for the first repair. Of course, Neil thinks he is above the law and refused a refund. Finally, after a month of negotiation, Neil agreed a full refund and I agreed he could place my vehicle back on his forecourt in order to get my money quicker as our family had now been around 6-7 weeks with no vehicle. Following this, it took Neil just under 5 weeks to provide the refund and he still tried to short me by a few hundred and advised that this was due to ‘mot, car clean and readvertise’. I had to remind him was that the legal position of the vehicle was that it was mine until he had provided the full refund and that no transfer would take place until I received these funds. I also reminded him that he had the benefit of my full tank of fuel which he was seen driving around in the vehicle getting the benefit of. Strangely enough, Neil did eventually send the remaining funds. I would not want anyone to go through the stress we went through not to mention the extreme inconvenience and advise anyone to stay well clear. Having to use public transport with a baby has not been fun. My family was without a vehicle for almost 3 months, my children had a summer holiday with no vehicle, we had to cancel a few weekends away/trips and spend money on rentals in order not to lose money for pre-organised trips. The situation took a huge toll on my mental health and my autistic child has a serious fear of getting in a vehicle now in case it overheats. The purchase of a new vehicle should be exciting but this was just horrific.