Conned. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[jasear]

Im so angry right now I cannot describe it. I bought a Passat TDI which was advertised in the papers.

It seemed like a good deal but was about 120 miles away from where I lived. After losing out on numerous cars before, due to not acting quick I thought I will not miss out on this one!

Anyway, I phone the guy and asked him some basic questions about the car. He tells me the mileage is 55,000 (there was no mention of it in the ad) backed with full service history. All sounds good. I go to this guys place first thing in the morning as he tells me several people have tried to pay him a deposit over the phone to secure the car.

I reach there and he tells me he is at work so will be available in an hours time. After an hour I go down his place and view the car. I am shocked to see 120k on the clock. Upon asking him about the service history he tells me there is none. I drive the car and it drives perfect. I ask him is it HPI clear and he informs me it is. Anyway I get the price down as much as I can and buy the car (dunno why I just didnt walk away I want to beat the hell out of myself for that).

He didnt even have a V5 just gave me the new keepers part. Anyway, I drive the car 120 miles and I cant really complain about anything.

Next day I start the car up and notice the gear shift from 1st to second, 2nd to 1st and reverse are jerky but are fine when warm (explains why he couldnt see me straight away and only an hour later because he was probably warming the car up so that I dont notice this problem).

To top it all off today I recieved the new V5 with my name on it and to my shock and horror I find in the special notes that the car had been inspected after being repaired from substantial damage in 2005.

The guy has sold me lie after lie. I am just wondering is there anything I can do about this legally? Or am I just now stuck with this problem.

I know I have been absolutely stupid but for sure I will NEVER EVER make this mistake again. More than the loss of money I consider it important that this guy doesnt get away with this and others like me dont find themselves in this situation.

[Sam]

Did you get a receipt?

Did the receipt say "sold as seen" anywhere on it?

Hindsight is wonderful but yes, you should have walked away

[topgazza]

Really sorry to hear of this sort of thing.

Golfing partner of mine is a solicitor and we have discussed this type of issue many times over a putt.

First advice is to see a solicitor...most will give you a free consulation.

The only tips I can make based on the above is it may well boil down to what was written down in the ad and the receipt. If he has mislead you in any way you may have a case for redress. But of course you had the option to walk away when he told you there was no service history, despite the ad, so that would have been your informed decsion to make. It would be different if you had discovered that after you'd bought the car. You might suggest that he was going to forward the service history on and hasn't done so and he now claims there is none. So it depends on how you word your case and the "his word against yours" can work both ways.

He would claim that he informed you of the cars record verbally. The thing is however that you never know if there is a flaw in his defence until you get advice. But again think about how you word this to the solicitor. The mileage thing supports the "idea" that he is dodgy so by saying that you now discover there is no service history, I would have thought, gives you something to latch onto. The fact that he didn't declare the car had been a serious accident repair is also illegal as there is a duty to declare any information that may be relevant to a buyer. You can't sell something with a proven known fault or issue and NOT tell the buyer. The onus is on the sellar to inform, not the buyer to ask, unless he states its "sold as seen" , you just can't ...even in a private sale. So by hiding those facts I believe he has commited an offence and you could sue through the small claims court..cheaper or your solicitor.and if he doesn't pay the court will get the baliffs in...unless he's a real ducker and diver. Its not that scary in reality..a piece of cake as the process is very user friendly.

You could also try calling him and asking for your money back. Awkward I know but if you do just stay calm and don't get involved in any discussion. Just state the facts, politely ask for your money back and if he refuses just say that you will be in touch in writing.

Bottom line...see a solicitor...good luck and tell us how you get on


Oh, I would get the car thoroughly checked out..I know that will cost...but you never know it might be worth while getting it fixed..it might not be a great deal...I assume it has an MOT but there might be some mechanical, dangerous problem which you would want to know but also may help your case.

[jasear]

Thanks for your advice guys. I dont think the Service history or the mileage issue is my strong points in this case but (as you have pointed out) it could be used to show this guy has a habit of misleading.

However, I can probably get hold of the ad where he did not mention at all that the car was a write off in the past. Surely this is against the law? He also has no excuses such as ignorance e.t.c. because it clearly states on the V5 that it has been repaired in the past.

The price I paid for it also proves that I had no idea it was an x-writeoff as no one would pay that much for it.

He clearly also stated that it was HPI clear when I asked him specifically. I know that is something that could come down to his word against mine.

Anyway, Im going to contact him first and see how he responds and then take it further as you sugges topgazza.

Will keep you guys updated.

[topgazza]

The service history is a material part of your claim I would have thought as he has stated in his ad that he had this ? As I said , all you have to do is say he was going to forward it on...

not declaring something depends on what it is..in this case I would have thought that not declaring it had been an insurance write off (ish) is pretty significant and to support this it is worth getting that check done. Still, eac case is diffrent and that solictitor is best placed.

[minty0_10]

not being funny mate dont wast any more money if you bought the car without checking it you have learned a valuable lesson.
its just a case of buyer beware.

there was a program on tv last year about it called watchdog a chap who bought a car without knowing it was a right off called them in.
in the end it came down to what they called buyer beware and there was nothing they could do about it.

and that car was bought from a garage forecourt.

[Sam]

^ Hence my request for more information on the receipt.

Unless it says "SOLD AS SEEN" you have comeback.

Caveat Emptor

[topgazza]

Yup depends on the ad and what can be demonstrated from the transaction. Just spoke to my golfing buddy and he confirms that proving someone has deliberately withheld pertinent information is tricky but if proven is conclusive. If this crook knew the car was a write off, had been repaired and failed to disclose this as jasear only found after the event then our man has a good case.

Like all solicitors he did say that each case depends on the actual evidence. Cast iron cases can collapse from the simplest of reasons and vice versa.

Again he said to see a solicitor and get the car checked out. The more evidence jasear can find to support the claim the better and you never know...the car might not be that bad...being optimistic.

Interestingly the caveat emptor thing is valid of course but if contradicted by statements in the ad "has full service history" but it doesn't and you find out after nudge nudge...thats a whole different case and nullifies that statement.

[jasear]

It wasnt sold to me as "sold as seen". And Ive just worked out something very interesting.

The car had a VIC done on it on the 5.1.05. The guy who I bought it from bought the car on the 24.12.2004.

Which proves that this guy actually bought it as a salvage, repaired it and now without mentioning it in the ad, lieng to me when I asked him about it he sold it to me. Surely that just cannot be right? Atleast I have (now) hard evidence that he knew it was a write off and repaired. Other than this I have reason to believe that he has used the car as a Taxi. Again something I also asked him about and he said it hadnt. The reason I am suspicious now is that I have noticed two screw marks on the right hand side of the rear bumper trim (the black bit). Something I overlooked at the time.

The car itself is fine. I wouldnt be able to tell if its a x - write off or not by looking at it or driving it. But the reason I am angry is that once a car goes onto the HPI register its value drops by 40% (I read it somewhere dont remember where) so I have ended up paying a lot more than I should have and if I now sell it I am not going to get anywhere near the price I paid unless I conn someone.

I know Ive been very stupid in this whole matter. When I think about it now I just wonder how on earth I fell for it and why I didnt just walk away. But something needs to be done about this guy.

I think at the very least Ill get some advice from a solicitor.

[topgazza]

Good man...let us know