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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Scammed. Help?

62 replies

BeenScammed · 12/10/2021 21:38

Not really aibu.. more posting fit traffic.

Basically brought a second hand car. Guy said he didn't have time to stick a new mot on it. He said nothing wrong with it etc. (MOT till dec).

I took it for mot today. There's an endless list of serious reasons it's failed. Not worth fixing.

I have the guys name. I've looked him up
On Facebook. He runs a "buy any car, dead or alive" business. Clearly he knew this car was a piece of shit.

I want to take him a small claims court. How do I do this? How do I get his address?

I'm on mat leave, getting paid very little and that'll stop soon. This is the last thing I needed right now Angry

OP posts:
icedcoffees · 13/10/2021 21:46

@Dutchesss

I've got messages from him saying he's a dealer and there's nothing wrong with the car. If you have a message from him saying there's nothing wrong with the car then you would be entitled to a refund. How long ago did you buy the car?
Not necessarily.

The car has a valid MOT until December. If he hasn't taken it to a garage since then, why would he think there was something wrong with it?

The onus is on the buyer to get the car checked before buying it from a private seller. It's different if you buy from a dealer.

takenforgrantednana · 13/10/2021 21:51

@BeenScammed

Not really aibu.. more posting fit traffic.

Basically brought a second hand car. Guy said he didn't have time to stick a new mot on it. He said nothing wrong with it etc. (MOT till dec).

I took it for mot today. There's an endless list of serious reasons it's failed. Not worth fixing.

I have the guys name. I've looked him up
On Facebook. He runs a "buy any car, dead or alive" business. Clearly he knew this car was a piece of shit.

I want to take him a small claims court. How do I do this? How do I get his address?

I'm on mat leave, getting paid very little and that'll stop soon. This is the last thing I needed right now Angry

you wont get anywhere im afraid, as annoying as it is, its a case of buyer beware. your time for walking away was before you gave him your money.
takenforgrantednana · 13/10/2021 21:54

@TheMagicPudding

Unfortunately I would agree I dont think you will get very far with a claim, unless he has deliberately mis sold but that will be hard to prove. You could have asked him to provide a copy of the previous MOT prior to purchasing.

I also.didnt think you could take a car for a new MOT until shortly before its previous one expired? May be wrong about that though!

you can take a car for an mot any time you want, as an mot is only valid for the day it was done. any number of faults can develope after that, all it means is that on such and such a date it was safe to be on the road
neededafart · 13/10/2021 21:59

It's not a scam. You willingly bought a car with a MoT running out im afraid !

Original poster
BeenScammed · 13/10/2021 22:42

@LawnFever

Failed for a list of identical things which were apparently fixed in dec last year. Strange that the exact same things are corroded or split. No evidence of any repairs.

OP posts:
takenforgrantednana · 13/10/2021 22:56

[quote BeenScammed]@LawnFever

Failed for a list of identical things which were apparently fixed in dec last year. Strange that the exact same things are corroded or split. No evidence of any repairs. [/quote]
ok in that case you can take it to the department of transport, who will want to inspect the car much more throughly than any normal mot, and they will also do several spot checks on the previous testing station and also check up on the cars/mots esp those done by a particular mot tester in case their is any connection to the place you bought your car from. just out of interest can you give the reg number and i can see the sort of things its failed on

jimmyhill · 13/10/2021 23:08

Any decent dealer will sell a car only with a new MoT even if test is not due.

It's not a bad negotiation point either. You can offer to pay for MoT yourself (price capped at £50 odd) ... if it's comes up with fails, they have it fixed at a legit garage before you purchase

Original poster
BeenScammed · 14/10/2021 07:07

@takenforgrantednana

Scammed. Help?
OP posts:
LawnFever · 14/10/2021 07:12

[quote BeenScammed]@LawnFever

Failed for a list of identical things which were apparently fixed in dec last year. Strange that the exact same things are corroded or split. No evidence of any repairs. [/quote]
Have you had another garage look at the repairs that were done? This still doesn’t prove much I’m afraid, the mot was valid a year ago and an mot only states a car is roadworthy on that date.

You haven’t answered if you got the service history?

LawnFever · 14/10/2021 07:15

[quote BeenScammed]@takenforgrantednana [/quote]
How old is the car? Has this been repaired with welding?

I’m sorry I know this is really annoying but the time to look this info up was before you handed cash over

Waspsarearseholes · 14/10/2021 07:18

You haven't been scammed - you rushed into buying a car in poor repair by not doing any checks and trusting the word of the seller. I'd love it if a man's word was his bond still but unfortunately that couldn't be further from the truth today. You can try threatening this guy with reporting if he doesn't give you a refund but after that you might just have to chalk it up to a bad experience. I'm sorry this happened to you.

mummyh2016 · 14/10/2021 07:29

If the car had a valid MOT until December why did you take it for one two months before it is expiring? Of course you can take a car for an MOT whenever but it just seems a strange thing to do.

ILoveJamaica · 14/10/2021 07:43

How did you pay for the car?

Debit card - use the charge back scheme

Credit Card - get your money back via Section 75

I bought a car using my debit card, which had loads wrong with it. Got my money back via the Charge Back Scheme.

LawnFever · 14/10/2021 08:21

I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what an mot even means.

Even if a car passes an mot today it could still break down, an mot checks lots of things and means it’s roadworthy but it doesn’t cover the condition of the engine, clutch and gearbox.

You should never buy a used car in a private sale without it being checked by a reputable mechanic.

icedcoffees · 14/10/2021 08:24

@mummyh2016

If the car had a valid MOT until December why did you take it for one two months before it is expiring? Of course you can take a car for an MOT whenever but it just seems a strange thing to do.
It's generally advisable to do that when you buy a second hand car, but before you've bought it (so you're only out of pocket £54 if it fails) rather than afterwards as the OP has done.

The reason being that an MOT is only really valid on the day of the test - anything can happen after that to make the car dangerous or un-road worthy, so buying a car with "full MOT" isn't proof that you're buying something that's safe and mechanically sound.

FreedomFaith · 14/10/2021 08:31

Probably best you can do is what someone else suggested with reporting the garage. Saves someone else driving round in a dodgy car.

Would doubt there is much you can do against him really, you bought it knowing it didn't have an updated mot, things can be broken on a car in a year. There was every likelihood that you would be paying for something to be fixed.

RealBecca · 14/10/2021 08:40

If i was you id try to get evidence of him acting as a trader, screenshots etc.

Then ask him about your vehicle. Of you arent happy id approach it with a faux "but i thought you were a trader? What is your official complaints process or should i go to trading standards?" If onwasnt happy id report ths fuck out of him to hmrc, talradong standards, anything really where it appears he is not complying with proper standards and acting as a rogue trader.

HedgesAreBlue · 14/10/2021 08:45

Hello, I'm sorry this has happened. Not your fault - he was the deceiver.

I had a similar experience last year. Guy sold me a car, claiming to be a private sale, with fresh MOT, but once it I took it to be inspected, my mechanic tells me the faults in the car, that should have failed the MOT, meant it was not economic to repair.

Best summary I found of legal situation with used car is this:
client.lawexpress.co.uk/so-you-are-buying-a-used-car/

(Contrary to some of the posts above, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, your sale was not a "private sale" because the seller is a trader. "A trader claiming that an individual was not acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside the individual’s trade, business, craft or profession must prove it.")

You can report an MOT tester for fraud here:
www.gov.uk/guidance/report-an-mot-tester

I used the following to start to make a small claim:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

I'd say you have a chance of getting some money back, though it's not certain. My story was that I was polite and persistent asking the seller to refund my money. He stalled. Eventually, I told him I was going to send him a "Letter before claim" (first step taking him to small claims court), and that I was going to report his pal the MOT tester to the DVSA Intelligence Unit (fraud team). At that point, he decided to refund my money - I suppose it was getting to be more trouble to him that it was worth.

Good luck!

Sleepyquest · 14/10/2021 08:50

He sold you a piece of shit car that a baby would be travelling in. He's a nob.

I'd contact him, telling him what you've found with the MOT and how you don't believe last years failings were addressed as the failures are not common occurrences. Therefore you will be reporting him and the MOT centre to whatever bodies, unless you get a refund.
I'd also say that I've had my BABY in that car and how could he sell something so awful in those circumstances.

Hope you get it sorted. I'd be very extremely stressed but try not to worry about it because it isn't worth it in the grand scheme of things.

TrollsAreSaddos · 14/10/2021 09:32

Lots of shite info on this thread but plenty of correct info!
You need to research this properly how OP

takenforgrantednana · 14/10/2021 09:34

[quote BeenScammed]@takenforgrantednana [/quote]
ok so by the sounds of that it needs new cills /welding doing around the place where the seat belt attaches? not an expensive job at all. and wont take long to be done. but this is something that you should have seen yourself, its hard to not see it to be honest, so what else was wrong with it?

mummyh2016 · 14/10/2021 10:30

@icedcoffees it might be recommended but in real life I don't know anyone that has done that when buying privately.

takenforgrantednana · 14/10/2021 10:45

[quote mummyh2016]@icedcoffees it might be recommended but in real life I don't know anyone that has done that when buying privately. [/quote]
no because most people realise that if they dont know anything about cars then they take some one with them that does!

icedcoffees · 14/10/2021 13:02

[quote mummyh2016]@icedcoffees it might be recommended but in real life I don't know anyone that has done that when buying privately. [/quote]
Then those people are taking a big risk and choosing to buy a car they know nothing about mechanically!

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