Money Claim Online - dealership - who do I go after?

[Dog Star]

Bit of background - I got a used car from a marque-specific main dealer back on the 7th.

I was trading my old car in and had taken my plate off several days before, but due to the state of the post office these days the replacement V5 for my trade-in didn’t arrive in time for new car collection day.

This meant that when I traded my car in I left them a £500 deposit to be refunded when they got the V5, which actually arrived that day so they were emailed with the reference number and on Monday the physical V5 was mailed to them, recorded delivery. So they got this and I’ve email acknowledgments.

Now we get to the annoying bit. This £500 refund simply isn’t happening. It’s “tomorrow”, there was a system issue, the finance dept is doing it - all the stuff you’d expect off some back street dealer.

So far I’ve been very patient - the whole sales process was brilliant, as is the car, and I don’t want to go causing bother, but I’m now beginning to think I’m having the mickey taken.

So the point of all of the above - I’m considering doing a MCOL but obviously I need to know who to “serve” it to. It’s a franchise, huge group with lots of dealerships.

Any advice?

[Plus4Four#]

Phone to say you are coming to collect the refund. Date/time. Take the evidence you need. Cash preferred. Any issues on that day kick up a fuss and say you are staying while someone gets the cash.
Be polite but firm. Take a "letter before action" in case it's needed due to no cash forthcoming stating a time limit for refund before legal action will commence.

[Dog Star]

[quote=Plus4Four#]Phone to say you are coming to collect the refund. Date/time. Take the evidence you need. Cash preferred. Any issues on that day kick up a fuss and say you are staying while someone gets the cash.
Be polite but firm. Take a "letter before action" in case it's needed due to no cash forthcoming stating a time limit for refund before legal action will commence.
[/quote]

I forgot to mention - the dealership is 250miles away, so any ideas that involve me going to see them aren’t going to fly.

[Subterra]

Go and park in their access road on the property and tell them it's not moving until they weigh you in by immediate bank transfer.
They might call plod, but it's civil matter they won't get involved so as long as your are polite and not causing a row.

[carl_w]

How did you pay the £500? Cash, debit card, credit card, bank transfer?

[E-bmw]

Phone up, speak to the actual salesman that did the deal, get them to put you through to & name the actual person who will be dealing with this.

State categorically that they have 7 days to comply and if that doesn't work then as above "letter before action" is the way forward. IMHO.

[QBee]

E-bmw said:

Phone up, speak to the actual salesman that did the deal, get them to put you through to & name the actual person who will be dealing with this.

State categorically that they have 7 days to comply and if that doesn't work then as above "letter before action" is the way forward. IMHO.

..... and you might consider warning them that failure to pay in 7 days will result in their appalling behaviour being publicised all over the internet as well as to the manufacturer of said car.

[TonyF1]

Go straight to the CEO and ask if they could help get the issue sorted. Done it myself over an issue with a new car and sorted next day.

[Sir Bagalot]

If you have already tried several times then simply a letter before action to the CEO of that branch. Give them 14 days to refund or you will start MCOL.

14 days later then go online and start proceedings

[BertBert]

Sir Bagalot said:

If you have already tried several times then simply a letter before action to the CEO of that branch. Give them 14 days to refund or you will start MCOL.

14 days later then go online and start proceedings

But the OP is right. you need to work out an entity to serve the action against. A LBA to "CEO c/o branch address" might be ok, but the contracting entity is required for MCOL action. Who did you contract with OP?

[FlyVintage]

BertBert said:

Sir Bagalot said:

If you have already tried several times then simply a letter before action to the CEO of that branch. Give them 14 days to refund or you will start MCOL.

14 days later then go online and start proceedings

But the OP is right. you need to work out an entity to serve the action against. A LBA to "CEO c/o branch address" might be ok, but the contracting entity is required for MCOL action. Who did you contract with OP?

From recent personal experience, you need to be very specific on the company name and serving address. Companies House is your friend here.

[ADJimbo]

Dog Star said:

So the point of all of the above - I m considering doing a MCOL but obviously I need to know who to serve it to. It s a franchise, huge group with lots of dealerships.

Any advice?

Forget all the ‘go round and block their service roads till they give you the cash’ suggestions as it’s likely to weaken your position if you do have to litigate, its 250 miles away, you’ll look like a bit of a tit and its quite frankly, wholly unnecessary.

Have a look at CEO Email online - get the CEO email address for the Dealer Group from it, and then drop them a short courteous note asking for their personal involvement in remedying the situation without the need for timely and costly escalation.

It’ll be picked-up and filtered through to someone in their Exec. Team, and it’ll be sorted immediately.

If you do have to litigate, your MCOL claim is against the Dealer Group - for example, Vertu, Arnold Clark etc.

[OPUT]

ADJimbo said:

Dog Star said:

So the point of all of the above - I m considering doing a MCOL but obviously I need to know who to serve it to. It s a franchise, huge group with lots of dealerships.

Any advice?

Forget all the go round and block their service roads till they give you the cash suggestions as it s likely to weaken your position if you do have to litigate, its 250 miles away, you ll look like a bit of a tit and its quite frankly, wholly unnecessary.

Have a look at CEO Email online - get the CEO email address for the Dealer Group from it, and then drop them a short courteous note asking for their personal involvement in remedying the situation without the need for timely and costly escalation.

It ll be picked-up and filtered through to someone in their Exec. Team, and it ll be sorted immediately.

If you do have to litigate, your MCOL claim is against the Dealer Group - for example, Vertu, Arnold Clark etc.

So just to confirm, are you saying that with a franchise (as stated by OP), that the Company who own the "brand" and who receive a fee for use of etc is the legally the contracting party?

I am no lawyer so I ask for information, but that sounds surprising.

[ADJimbo]

No - the brand of the car is irrelevant.

If I bought a Nissan Micra from ‘Inchcape Nissan - Sunderland’ then my claim would be against Inchcape and papers served to the Inchcape HQ.

[Pro Bono]

ADJimbo said:

If you do have to litigate, your MCOL claim is against the Dealer Group - for example, Vertu, Arnold Clark etc.

This is dangerous advice, and should not be followed.

Many car dealers operate under a group name but are independent companies. Consequently, if you just sue the Group the case will almost certainly be struck out, meaning you've wasted your time and money. Yes, you can apply to amend the Claim Form, but it's more hassle and expense than just issuing a fresh claim.

You will presumably have received some sort of paperwork, and that will identify the exact company with whom you contracted. That's the company that you need to name in the Claim Form.

[QBee]

Pro Bono said:

ADJimbo said:

If you do have to litigate, your MCOL claim is against the Dealer Group - for example, Vertu, Arnold Clark etc.

This is dangerous advice, and should not be followed.

Many car dealers operate under a group name but are independent companies. Consequently, if you just sue the Group the case will almost certainly be struck out, meaning you've wasted your time and money. Yes, you can apply to amend the Claim Form, but it's more hassle and expense than just issuing a fresh claim.

You will presumably have received some sort of paperwork, and that will identify the exact company with whom you contracted. That's the company that you need to name in the Claim Form.

Confirmed - I have noticed this several times when buying cars for our company fleet.
For example, we bought a Mercedes from Mercedes-Benz of Swansea.
When I came to pay for it, I paid Sinclair Garages (Newport) Limited.

[Dog Star]

Update: at last it’s been repaid.

I’m not going to lie - the aftersales from the selling branch has been a bit rubbish, though my local branch (same company) has been excellent, which I guess is more important.

[ADJimbo]

Pro Bono said:

ADJimbo said:

If you do have to litigate, your MCOL claim is against the Dealer Group - for example, Vertu, Arnold Clark etc.

This is dangerous advice, and should not be followed.

Many car dealers operate under a group name but are independent companies. Consequently, if you just sue the Group the case will almost certainly be struck out, meaning you've wasted your time and money. Yes, you can apply to amend the Claim Form, but it's more hassle and expense than just issuing a fresh claim.

You will presumably have received some sort of paperwork, and that will identify the exact company with whom you contracted. That's the company that you need to name in the Claim Form.

It’s not dangerous advice at all - CPR6.6(2) Service of Documents applies.

If you purchased a Skoda from Arnold Clark Skoda - Blackburn then you would serve against Arnold Clark HQ in Glasgow as they are the contracting party - and not the branch in Blackburn.

[RAB2000]

So if you bought from Vertu Motors, would you go after "Vertu Motors plc" or one of their various subsidiaries:

https://investors.vertumotors.com/legal-entities/

I expect there are examples where independent companies are using a shared trading franchise name rather than part of the same Group as in the Vertu example above.

[ADJimbo]

You would go after the Company named on your invoice (with the company number being the correct legal entity to pursue) and not the dealer / branch themselves.