Mike L

Dishonest and untruthful

I bought a Lexus LS 430 from North West Car Sales who have no showroom and store their cars in a compound opposite a small office. The car was clean and presentable and drove well on a short test drive. The salesperson indicated verbally that a 3 month warranty was included. (I subsequently found this to be illegal). The salesperson indicated that he would register details with the DVLA which never happened. After paying for the car we set off home and a warning light appeared telling us there was a suspension fault. We returned to find the office closed despite being mid-afternoon. An immediate phone call was not responded to. We checked the handbook and found that the car could be driven and returned home. Being handicapped I needed a reliable large car and had arranged a mid term service at the local Lexus garage where the service manager indicated that over £4500 of service and repairs were needed and on returning home the rear suspension collapsed. I demanded a refund immediately by email in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act and the respondent declined. The CRA requires that the retailer is responsible for the return of the vehicle and once again the retailer declined and indicated he would charge for collecting the vehicle. Over many months he belligerently tried to avoid his liability to me. I found that the two concerned had been directors of several closed companies. I was threatened by a legal firm called Lawgistics who indicated that an inspection would be needed. I declined having had a professional examination by a Lexus garage for which I had paid. I took this outfit to court (it took nearly a year). The cost was not as cheap as generally described on the Internet. One of the directors lied that he was handicapped. The retailer tried to have hearing in Manchester but Middlesbrough court accepted my refusal. The day before the hearing which is supposed to be conducted without litigants I enquired from the court whether a solicitor was registered and was advised that no solicitor had been recorded as attached to the case. My hearing was early and my case was called promptly whereupon I was surprised to be approached by a litigant who said the defendants wanted to settle out of court and he had delayed the hearing whilst we discussed a settlement amount. I point blank refused to deal with him initially as the court had advised that no solicitor was involved thereby preventing my doing the same. I agreed to discuss the matter with this person who was quite courteous and straightforward. I reduced my claim by a small amount but the retailer still had to pay my court and other expenses. Surprisingly after a long delay whilst the solicitor contacted the defendants I noticed that they had arrived some 90 minutes late and my "discussion" was obviously designed to avoid their non-attendance when the court would have found in my favour. The retailer tried to pay in small amounts monthly and I refused indicating that I wished to paid by bank transfer in 5 weekly amounts the full agreed sum. Remarkably I had noticed the car re-advertised for slightly more even before the hearing. My strong advice is this: 1. Research the honesty of the garage unless you are aware that they have a good record. 2. If you're sold a faulty vehicle read the Consumer Rights Act. 3. Take advice from the Citizens' Advice Bureau. 4. Be prepared to fork out for a court hearing - it's not cheap. 5. Claim interest on your lost money and all expenses. It's high time these rogue traders were eliminated. .