Would you ask for a partial refund?

[savageswimmer]

I purchased a 6k car in cash from a small garage a few days ago and it had a boot tray to reveal more space underneath that I didn't realise lifted up until today. Anyway I have lifted it up and i have found rubbish underneath such as tobacco packets and rizzla paper, personal documentation such as bank statements belonging to the previous owner and dirty needles and a used needle disposal box🤢 I honestly feel sick that I have had my small child in this car and I just immediately shut the boot and haven't touched it since, i am going to talk to the garage owner tomorrow but what would be reasonable to request? A professional clean? A partial refund? Tbh I feel like just telling him to take the car back altogether.

Under trade description act you have 30 days to take it back if there is an issue with the car.
Ha ha ha what section of "trade description act" would that be then?

they may have been for drug use

They 100% were for drug use - but not necessarily illegal drug use.

Never share needles won't be for a diabetic.

Pinkyyy

This is so funny, the opposite of good customer service 🤣

I also know that when a customer has a bad attitude, they don't deserve anything. I'm Sick of people thinking they can walk all over businesses just because they're a paying customer.

OP, you bought a car, don't be so fussy by expecting it to be clean and needle-free. Maybe you should pay them more as awkward you complained...

No @Chocmallows business owners don't have to put up with rude customers. It's not bad customer service, it's just realising that you're a human being and you deserve respect.

I have a sharps box, the pharmacy take it when full.
I only have the smallest size and some prefilled injections are too bulky to close the lid, the needles could have fallen out. Carefully put them back into the box and get rid. A valet company won't touch them.

Why don't you return the car?

If a valet company won't touch the needles, then why should the OP touch them?! Surely it's up to the garage to arrange and pay for their removal and a decent clean after?

Five pounds?? Thats taking the micky!!
Get some proper advice on your consumer rights from CAB:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue/
I would never feel like the car was safe. Thats gross.
Or Martin Lewis Resolver tool is good too:
www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/resolver/
You are really not BU

"If there's a problem with a second-hand car soon after you've bought it - for example, the car develops a problem you wouldn't expect for its age and mileage, or it turns out not to be what you’d been led to expect - you may have the right to reject it and get your money back.

If you bought the car any time after 1 October 2015, you have only 30 days to reject it and get a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act."
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

OP, I really do not understand those suggesting that you are a rude customer for having concerns about loose needles. I can only assume that they would be happy to sell similar items.

You don't know what the needles are for and nor should you have to know. The garage left them there, probably an oversight, but they need to rectify the problem.

I can see why you would complain and insist that they fix the issue that they passed onto you.

I can’t see where the OP has been rude?? I can be assertive without being rude, you just have to state what your expectations are calmly.
Its basic minimum standards of decency not have sharps lying about in a car, the garage should had found these when (if) they cleaned this before sale. Personally I’d be appalled and take it back and refuse to leave until they sorted it one way or another. £5 is an insult.

I'm totally gobsmacked at the vitriol aimed at the OP here, absolutely disgusting, she's done fuck all wrong.

The OP is completely in the right! I wouldn’t be touching those needles with a barge pole! I’d be looking into putting in a claim with the small claims court for a professional clean to be honest. Totally the fault of the dealership! They’re lucky no one was actually hurt from this!

I would have thought that you might be able to argue that you purchased a second hand car but not a second hand car WITH NEEDLES! 😯 (not part of your terms & conditions in contract of sale).

I did successfully argue this once when we received a delivered pizza that had an unordered additional topping of broken glass

However I did giggle & short my coffee about pp mention of a seaman in the back of the car!!!!! (/Runs off)

Fairly sure the trades description act doesn't even exist anymore 😂

Fairly sure the trades description act doesn't even exist anymore 😂

Actually, it does (😂)

However, the rejection of a second hand car would come under the consumer rights act. The law doesn't allow for rejecting a car under the act because it's dirty though. It's for actual problems.

Is this daftness still going on?

OP just clean the boot - use gloves and the sharps box that is there and then get on with your life and your new car.

Her rights would require there to be a problem with the vehicle. There are no (known) problems with the vehicle itself, just some extra contents.

I'm shocked so many people would be ok with this! If the needles were anywhere else for example a bus or taxi or on a park there would be uproar but because they were in my car it's ok

I don’t think you can compare public transport to private car sales, so nevermind that angle. Nobody is saying it’s ok either, it’s shit and it should not have happened, expecting a partial refund however is utterly ridiculous.

It wasn't a private car sale as I bought it from a business. If you read the full thread you will see that I didn't ask for a partial refund I asked for it to be professionally cleaned and I got offered a fiver.

Anyway I can see that people will disagree with me whatever I say. I accept wanting a partial refund was probably too much but I will not accept that they shouldn't have been apologetic and sorted it out.

I would be ok with it to a certain extent if it appeared to be a genuine oversight, nobody was hurt and the garage dealt with it appropriately.

I'm shocked that they have only offered a fiver. I assume you've replied and said that this is not acceptable? I would contact trading standards or similar for advice as their response is not acceptable

Unless your kid plays in the boot I'm not sure what hazard those hidden contents posed. I wouldn't bring my child into the story.

That said, I would
A) keep the car if I otherwise liked it, to avoid bigger hassle
B) wouldn't demand or pay for a professional clean
C) be badmouthing them, too. You thought you had a well cleaned car, not a cache of someone else's sharps to deal with.
D) 3 pairs of gloves? Maybe a video on Youtube to show the original mess & the steps you had to go to to get rid of it. Plus a screenshot of any written comms (hopefully) from the selling garage to confirm they refused to sort it out.