Hi everyone, I would like your opinions/advice on a situation. I'll try and not be too specific for legal reasons.

It might take a while to read but I if you can take the time it would really, really, really, help me out - Being stressed out at Christmas time is not the best!!!.

 

In September this year I bought a new car and advertised my old car for sale. I was approached by someone who wanted my old car and they offered me a swap for theirs. Their car was also a Jap import, it was a model I really liked so my sensible hat came off we did an exchange. The problem was I still had two cars.

 

Less than one month later, realizing that I'd not had the time to use the car much and the situation was likely to continue, I decided to sell it. I had it serviced and MOT'd and stuck it on ebay.

 

My ebay advert attracted loads of attention and it was also advertised elsewhere. Several people were making me offers and asking me to remove it from the auction and sell the car to them but I was reluctant to do so at first.

 

One guy made me an offer with several days of the auction to run, £6000, it seemed like a fair price and it was the best I had received at that point. I invited him to see the car but I told him i did not want to end the auction early, in case he did not buy it or changed his mind.

 

As he promised he came to have a look at the car a few days later, by this time I had received several offers that were higher than his, one was over £7000. He had traveled quite far to look at the car so I wanted to do the decent thing and let him have the option to buy it.

 

He seemed to know the model of car well and spent about 2 hours looking over it. I went with him and he test drove it for about 30 miles.

 

He was really happy with it but he noticed several faults which I was unaware off - The rear heated screen did not work properly and the rear speakers were very quiet when the fader was put to the rear. The speedometer also had a fault, I had a complete replacement instrument panel the previous owner gave to me which I offered to have fitted for him but he had a sat nav thing which told you the speed you were going to so he said he did not mind.

 

He also pointed out that although it said on the original receipt from the import garage it was a 1995, he thought it was a 1994 model. The car was an M reg which covered both years, some paperwork said it was a 1994 others said it was a 1995. I said I had been told it was a 1995 model but there was no way to know for sure and either way it made no difference to me.

 

He may have been trying to knock me down on the price but I had told him I had received higher offers since his. So, he ended handing over £6000 as per his original offer. He seemed like a nice guy and I was happy for it to go to him even though I had to turn away buyers with higher offers. I then canceled the ebay add and canceled all the people who had made bids on ebay.

 

 

 

About a week or so later he sent me an email, telling me he wanted money off the car. He me had been unable to get insurance cover as I did not have the certificate for the alarm. He said that he had to get a new alarm fitted and told me it cost several hundred pounds. He also told me that he was now unhappy with the fact the speedo was not working properly because he told me this could mean the mileage could be higher than indicated. He said that it could be counting in miles rather than KMS or something. He went on to mention all the things that he discovered while looking at the car and during the test drive, the things that he mentioned to me at the time. He also told me he now thought the exhaust was too noisy and wanted to get a new one fitted!

 

And now the killer, he told me he wanted me to give him £2000 to have all this done! I was flabbergasted. I gave him a call. He said that I had to give him all the money he was asking for because he had a print of the cars ebay advert. He said that I did not mention the things he had discovered in the auction and as a result he could sue me for misrepresentation. That seems crazy to me because HE was the one that discovered the faults and pointed them out to me BEFORE buying the car. Furthermore, he did not buy the car from ebay or even place a bid on the car.

 

I called citizens advice, they told me it sounded like he trying to chance his arm and advised me not to offer him a penny.

 

Now, this morning I have discovered a letter in my mailbox. Its a letter from him via a lawer threatening to take me to court if I dont pay him money.

 

Do we have any legal experts on this board? (I seem to remember from earlier posts that we do).

 

And has anyone else experience this situation?

 

I'm keen to know what your thoughts are. Could he be right? I'll feel taken advantage off if he is but I want to stay on the right side of the law.

3 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

fook me im sorry he has no case period. respond with legal letter from solicitor, if he wants to try to take you to court to go ahead. if he does theres no case..

 

fookin ell.. 3 months ago!!

 

you can if you wanted to give the buyer a 3 month warranty under your terms .. you didnt.. hell this is over before it begins.

 

no contract, no warranty, he bought it knowing faults, you have e-mails to back this up, been 3 months and now he wants to chase you for money.. he could of had it aa inspected, hpi checked, or garage checked.

 

the alarm details could have been got by sending model details to manufacturers, the exhuast has been fine for over 2 months but because its loud you have to replace it.

 

next thing will be he doesnt like the colour so you have to pay for a fookin re-spray!!

 

your solicitor is going to laugh his head off at this..

 

25 quid for a legal letter, take printouts of details , your ebay ad if you have it, the fact this was done outside ebay, the emails saying he know of faults etc... and the solicitor will send these to his highlighting the corresponding details and his solicitor will tell him he has no case also that if he goes to civil court its going to cost him and you will seek costs and damages.

 

then watch him run..

 

keep me informed..

3 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

fook me im sorry he has no case period. respond with legal letter from solicitor, if he wants to try to take you to court to go ahead. if he does theres no case..

 

fookin ell.. 3 months ago!!

 

you can if you wanted to give the buyer a 3 month warranty under your terms .. you didnt.. hell this is over before it begins.

 

no contract, no warranty, he bought it knowing faults, you have e-mails to back this up, been 3 months and now he wants to chase you for money.. he could of had it aa inspected, hpi checked, or garage checked.

 

the alarm details could have been got by sending model details to manufacturers, the exhuast has been fine for over 2 months but because its loud you have to replace it.

 

next thing will be he doesnt like the colour so you have to pay for a fookin re-spray!!

 

your solicitor is going to laugh his head off at this..

 

25 quid for a legal letter, take printouts of details , your ebay ad if you have it, the fact this was done outside ebay, the emails saying he know of faults etc... and the solicitor will send these to his highlighting the corresponding details and his solicitor will tell him he has no case also that if he goes to civil court its going to cost him and you will seek costs and damages.

 

then watch him run..

 

keep me informed..

 

Basically what PK said above and in all the other posts.

 

I'd personally just ignore the letter from hss solicitor and tell the twat to f~ck off. I'd only get a solicitor involved myself if the letters kept coming or a summons was actually issued.

 

You weren't aware of any faults until he pointed them out, plus he has had 3 months for new ones to materialise. Further more HE offered YOU £6000 AFTER the test drive and AFTER he found the said faults.

 

As for the alarm he can f~ck off there too. He should have checked the paperwork you gave him at the time of purchase and questioned you then. And as PK says you can get proof from the manufacturer the alarm is Cat 1 approved, although technically the fitter should certify that.

 

No my opinion is this guy misjudged the true cost of owning the car he purchased and has seen cheaper crappier versions for sale. He wants to blame someone else for his mistake. The :xxx:

 

Good luck mate

 

Richard :)

Thanks again guys. I'm glad to hear your opinions.

 

I'll get in touch with my insurance company, I think i might have legal cover with them, and I'll see if they can send a letter for me.

 

Cheers.

your insurance company has nothing to do with this... they will not help you in this matter, but if you have an accident in your car they will..

 

in these matters its a solicitor..

 

doh! :headvswal

ignore the letter, don't get into a legal banter with him, it was cost more in the long run for him to keep chasing you up,

 

best thing in any situation like this is to ignore it, a lawyer is not a policeman and you do not have to respond,

 

he will never get it to court, even if he does manage he will lose, represent yourself and don't spend a penny,

 

he's had it for 3 months, you can claim every fault that is present in the car currently is due to his use.

PK1's advice seems tops, id go with that, or as said, throw it in the bin, go to a pay phone, ring him and call him a twat :headvswal

 

people like this do my head in!!! not paying for cars, or wanting money off later :headvswal

 

i wouldn't let it bother you mate, just enjoy crimbo and the new year and laugh it off with ur misses :duffer:

my wife works for a solictors and she says he has not got a leg to stand on !!!! the sale was not done on e-bay and is sold as a second hand car. to take you to court will cost him ££ and if he does not win he has to pay all cost.

she says go to your trading standards and have a word with them and explain what has gone on and they will advice you on what his rights are. but if this case came on to her desk they would not go to court and the courts will not touch a case like this due to waste of time :xxx:

Ive been in this situation before he does not have a legal leg to stand on he bought a second hand car from a private owner, did you write out a reciept saying sold as seen????

 

if so then you have nothing to worry about if not then its worth getting a solicitor to send him a reply politley telling him to go take a running jump, also have you sent the log book off as yet??

 

havent read all the posts so apologies if someone covered this.......

 

i had an experience with a garage who sold me my zed "sold as seen". i had driven the car myself and wasnt aware of any faults. however within a couple of weeks it was obvious there were some major faults. i didnt think there was anything i could do because my receipt said "sold as seen". but due to the extent of my probs i was told to ring trading standards. their reply was it is illegal to put on a receipt sold as seen, as this is "restricting the buyers rights".

 

what did need to be established was whether or not the car was in a roadworthy condition at the time of sale, and that i hadnt/had been misrepresented the vehicle at the time of purchase. from what you say the buyer was fully aware of the faults himself, so hasnt been misold the car, and the faults certainly arent faults that would deem the car unroadworthy.

 

sounds to me hes just trying it on. i wouldnt part with any money unless a court instructs you to (which i dont think will happen).

 

HTH-gaz!

thanks again for all your help guys.

 

I have been trying organise a trip to a solicitors to arrange a letter to be sent in reply as PK1 recomended. Its proving difficult to arrange this at this time of year as many places are closed for Christmass/New Year.

 

Would it affect my legal position if i just did nothing? Could this work against me if it was to go to court?

 

If it would not cause me any problems, I think i might just put it to the back of my mind and wait.

 

Another thing, as you can probably see I live in Scotland, he lives in England. The car was bought from Scotland. What effect would this have on the possibility of a court case or the legal process. I did a few checks on the internet and it seems the maximum you can claim for in the small claims court in Scotland is £750.

thanks again for all your help guys.

 

I have been trying organise a trip to a solicitors to arrange a letter to be sent in reply as PK1 recomended. Its proving difficult to arrange this at this time of year as many places are closed for Christmass/New Year.

 

Would it affect my legal position if i just did nothing? Could this work against me if it was to go to court?

 

If it would not cause me any problems, I think i might just put it to the back of my mind and wait.

 

Another thing, as you can probably see I live in Scotland, he lives in England. The car was bought from Scotland. What effect would this have on the possibility of a court case or the legal process. I did a few checks on the internet and it seems the maximum you can claim for in the small claims court in Scotland is £750.

I would just ignore it mate, as a letter from a solicitor will cost upwards of £50 and to be honest the bloke who bought your car does'nt have a leg to stand on and I very much doubt he will persue it further as he probably knows you will win if it go's to court and he will have to pay all expenses. He is also thinking by sending you that letter you will probably poop your pants and just send him a cheque, he is just chancing his arm mate. If another headed proper solicitors letter comes by all means then ask a solicitor for a 30 mins free consultation just to see what he would advise, but I doubt you will have any more solicitors letters they will just be from the tw@t that bought the car. HTH

ignore it, if you think you are in the right then there is no point replying, all the lawyer will do is send you another letter and claim another 125quid from him

 

I think I right in thinking that as you are in Scotland he will need to start court proceedings in a Scottish court,

however a solicitors letter pointing these facts in return will also allay any fears and will in due re-course point out the details and cite the law reguarding this sale, and as such show that he has no case. a standard solicitors letter is £25 for an office to office letter or fax. for duplicte mail so that both the solicitor and partie recieves it is upwards of £50.

 

i would send the letter stating the facts as detailed and have done. if he takes it further then you are in a much better position as you have clearly tried to approach this in a professional manner also with the info you have including the emails the decision would swing in your favour.

 

make sure you take all printouts and his letter with you, the solicitor will not charge you for a consultation, if he advises you to send a letter then do so if he tells you not to and ignore it then do so but ask him to keep a file on this give him copies and if you get more correspondence then have the solicitor get it redirected to him by contacting the other solicitor(he will do this)

 

but.. no worries either way. consultation is free and he can advise you either way

 

si

...............i had an experience with a garage who sold me my zed "sold as seen". i had driven the car myself and wasnt aware of any faults. however within a couple of weeks it was obvious there were some major faults. i didnt think there was anything i could do because my receipt said "sold as seen". but due to the extent of my probs i was told to ring trading standards. their reply was it is illegal to put on a receipt sold as seen, as this is "restricting the buyers rights".....................!

 

AFAIK this only applied in your case, Gaz, because you bought from a trader. A private sale is a different matter mate.

 

Richard :)

trading standards:

 

the policy to sell goods to private individuals en-masse and to offer those goods as to be fit for the condition of which they are intended.

 

The basis for trading standards to come into effect is when a seller advertises a product that in turn does not meet statutory requirements reguarding its function and use.

 

Private sales between two parties of which there is a mutal agreement reguarding condiotion and sale does not come under the trading standards act, this act of sale of goods is a non-discript agreement, this means that by mutual agreement both parites are happy with the condition, operation and general apperance of said goods.

Right, here goes........

My sister bought a car off her friend at work and they agreed that he would pay for the car at the end of the month when she got paid, she took the car and a receipt was made up stating that the balance would be paid at the end of the month.....sold as seen..

 

A few days later the car overheated and broke down, the head gasket had gone,she was upset and called me to have a look, it was buggered tow truck came to take it home

 

She told me that she still had to pay for it !! - WHAT !!, i said, tell them to get stuffed.....!!

 

So she rang her friend and told her what happened and her friend basically said " tough " !

 

So me and my 2 brothers towed the car to her friends house and dumped it on her front garden and told her to get stuffed........

 

My sister ended up in court because her friend wanted her money as agreed in the sale.......

 

the judge threw out the case against my sister because the car was not fit for purpose and therefore the sale was void, he even awarded my sister £50.00 towards the cost of the tow truck..

 

So " sold as seen " DOESN'T MEAN A LOT !!

 

Tell him you will see him in court !!

Right, here goes........

My sister bought a car off her friend at work and they agreed that he would pay for the car at the end of the month when she got paid, she took the car and a receipt was made up stating that the balance would be paid at the end of the month.....sold as seen..

 

A few days later the car overheated and broke down, the head gasket had gone,she was upset and called me to have a look, it was buggered tow truck came to take it home

 

She told me that she still had to pay for it !! - WHAT !!, i said, tell them to get stuffed.....!!

 

So she rang her friend and told her what happened and her friend basically said " tough " !

 

So me and my 2 brothers towed the car to her friends house and dumped it on her front garden and told her to get stuffed........

 

My sister ended up in court because her friend wanted her money as agreed in the sale.......

 

the judge threw out the case against my sister because the car was not fit for purpose and therefore the sale was void, he even awarded my sister £50.00 towards the cost of the tow truck..

 

So " sold as seen " DOESN'T MEAN A LOT !!

 

Tell him you will see him in court !!

I think you have the wrong end of the stick mate, this is the chap who sold the car not bought it :wack: :headvswal :rofl:

thanks again PK1. I have read through everyone's posts and I think I've come to some conclusions. Please have a look and make sure I have not got the wrong end of the stick...

 

 

1. Because it was a private sale (ie. not bought on ebay) there is no written contract. The decision to buy the car should be based on the buyers test drive and his inspection of the car and paperwork at the time of purchase. The onus is on the buyer to satisfy them selfs that the car is what suitable for them and in a condition they are happy with prior to buying it.

 

2. From what you have said I gather that the ebay advert and email discussion corospondence are rendered irrelevant because the buyer actually inspected the paperwork and drove the car prior to the sale. As a result it could not be later argued that it was based solely on the ebay description (I even mentioned in my ebay add that I would make the car available for an RAC inspection etc. for anyone who wanted prior to the end of the auction).

 

3. The ebay advert was available for all to see but would only be considered part of a contract if the transaction was conducted only on ebay.

 

 

 

Given the fact that I gave him ample opportunity to drive and inspect the car prior to the sale I dont think its reasonable to request a reduction in the price a week after driving it away. Obviously once he bought the car I canceled the ebay auction and all the other interested parties were turned away.

 

I really dont want to be unfair (and I dont think I am) but I really feel he is trying to take advantage of my good nature. Another thing that seems odd is that he came up with a round figure of £2000 as his estimate for the reduction in value of the car. If this went to court he would presumably have to show evidence to justify this claim?

I agree with you mate, he is trying to take advantage.

Ross,

my partner IS a solicitor (Now crown prosecutor!). Legal term i believe is 'caveat emptor' ....buyer Beware. Even if the receipt doesn't say 'sold as seen', he's pointed out the faults, and you've acknowledged them. Just because you've not moved on price as the car was getting better offers elsewhere is no recompense for the buyer...he had the option to walk away at that point!

 

The detail/description he has from e-bay would be applicable ONLY if bought through e-bay, but even then i think it might be doubtful even in a court of law, especially when it comes to wear and tear items like cars, bikes, washing machines, lawnmowers etc etc i.e. anything that requires maintenence! again due to caveat emptor/buyer beware...Does anybody buy a car on e-bay without inspecting it? I think not! and if they do then they should reflect this in a prospective bid.

 

Your summary of PK1's comments in your last posts could be put in a letter of reply and cc'd to your solicitor to save you any cost and ask him to open a file in-case or just contact a solicitor to represent you, and then write him a letter asking him to have all correspondence directed to your solicitor who will deal with the matter on your behalf.

 

For the sake of £50 though it might be worth an official letter from one, if only to close the issue off in your mind!

 

Sounds like you're trying to be too good natured and he is indeed trying to take advantage. He's probably seen a similar year car for less money down south and feeling hard done by and hence trying it on...which if you hink about it, is worth a punt, as some really good natured souls might well have just written him out a cheque!

 

Sleep tight.

 

Damo.