Can you cancel when selling your car to online buyers?
Discussion
My niece is emigrating so decided to ring around and see what the many ''We buy any car'' type companies. Eventually she provisionally accepted an offer of £10.5K, although she had been advised that a private sale would most likely get her more.
Despite my offer to sell on her behalf, she accepted the £10.5 provisional offer and waited for their agent to turn up and view the car in person. Despite the fact it's a relatively low mileage car, in great condition, he revised their offer to £8.1K! She refused outright and he then upped the offer to 9K, then 9.5 and finally £10K, to be paid by 5pm today.
An hour or two later, she has changed he mind. Mainly down to the things in the contract, where she is liable for any faults they find and that they will hold her accountable for the next 12 months. I'll ask for a copy of the contract to post shortly. Also, the promised payment by 5pm never arrived. She still has the car but they took the keys and V5.
Am I right in thinking that all contracts done online, or over the phone, are subject to a cooling off period, where they can cancel without being penalised?
Their contract says that cancellation refunds are ''at their discretion'' and that just doesn't seem legal to me. I may well be wrong though, hence my asking for help here.
I had a bad feeling about this from the off and was disappointed that my niece went ahead, despite my warning.
Is there a way out of this, that won't result in her being charged for all manner of things?
Despite my offer to sell on her behalf, she accepted the £10.5 provisional offer and waited for their agent to turn up and view the car in person. Despite the fact it's a relatively low mileage car, in great condition, he revised their offer to £8.1K! She refused outright and he then upped the offer to 9K, then 9.5 and finally £10K, to be paid by 5pm today.
An hour or two later, she has changed he mind. Mainly down to the things in the contract, where she is liable for any faults they find and that they will hold her accountable for the next 12 months. I'll ask for a copy of the contract to post shortly. Also, the promised payment by 5pm never arrived. She still has the car but they took the keys and V5.
Am I right in thinking that all contracts done online, or over the phone, are subject to a cooling off period, where they can cancel without being penalised?
Their contract says that cancellation refunds are ''at their discretion'' and that just doesn't seem legal to me. I may well be wrong though, hence my asking for help here.
I had a bad feeling about this from the off and was disappointed that my niece went ahead, despite my warning.
Is there a way out of this, that won't result in her being charged for all manner of things?
The misrepresentation clause is the one that mentions 12 months but its the clause 1.4 that would concern me more as it implies any faults will be at the sellers cost with no time scale ?!
Of more concern is the fact they have already taken the keys and V5 though -really not sure why your niece gave them those without any money being received ?
In not paying her by the agreed time though it must be worth a strongly worded email now mentioning this but also the low balling offers etc and requesting immediate cancellation of the deal and the return ( today ) of the vehicle - all at their expense obviously.
I'm assuming she signed the contract but best not to mention that fact.
Of more concern is the fact they have already taken the keys and V5 though -really not sure why your niece gave them those without any money being received ?
In not paying her by the agreed time though it must be worth a strongly worded email now mentioning this but also the low balling offers etc and requesting immediate cancellation of the deal and the return ( today ) of the vehicle - all at their expense obviously.
I'm assuming she signed the contract but best not to mention that fact.
1.4 is basically carte blanche to get the car on a ramp, find absolutely every single fault and then send a threatening legal letter in an attempt to extort money from the seller.
Basically what we have seen time and time again in the "sold a car privately..." thread, but this time from a company.
I would avoid them like the plague.
Basically what we have seen time and time again in the "sold a car privately..." thread, but this time from a company.
I would avoid them like the plague.
Just been on phone for past 90 minutes trying to sort this mess out. She should never have signed the contract but they have been incredibly shady throughout the past 2 days.
They stopped responding after my niece emailed them and said that she no longer wanted to proceed. She cited a ''cooling off period'' being UK Consumer Law and told them within 45 minutes.
Their promised payment wasn't made until I was on the phone with them an hour or so ago.
I called (as they wouldn't answer my niece's calls) and repeated that the sale would not be going ahead. I also said that the car was now in a secure location, at which point they were less than happy.
There was a lot of back and forth but I stuck to my guns, pointed out the obvious red flags in that contract and just repeated the ''cooling off period''. Eventually they must have realised that I was not going to be persuaded so, once their 10K has been sent back, I can collect the keys and V5.
I feel like she very much dodged a bullet.
They stopped responding after my niece emailed them and said that she no longer wanted to proceed. She cited a ''cooling off period'' being UK Consumer Law and told them within 45 minutes.
Their promised payment wasn't made until I was on the phone with them an hour or so ago.
I called (as they wouldn't answer my niece's calls) and repeated that the sale would not be going ahead. I also said that the car was now in a secure location, at which point they were less than happy.
There was a lot of back and forth but I stuck to my guns, pointed out the obvious red flags in that contract and just repeated the ''cooling off period''. Eventually they must have realised that I was not going to be persuaded so, once their 10K has been sent back, I can collect the keys and V5.
I feel like she very much dodged a bullet.
Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:
Nicetobenice said:
On a practical level if she's emigrating how would they enforce the contract?
I m not sure, but they were planning on doing an inspection and charging her for any repairs. Anyway, I hope to collect the keys tomorrow.That does seem rather unreasonable of them. https://www.car-planet.co.uk/
I have sold through WBAC and didn't have any of that. Probably didn't read any contract but didn't think there was much of one tbh...
I have sold through WBAC and didn't have any of that. Probably didn't read any contract but didn't think there was much of one tbh...
Looking up Car Planet and they seem very much your typical car supermarket with sharp suits and attitudes. Filtering Trustpilot to one-star reviews gives a more honest opinion when you look at specific problems.
Their posted T&Cs are pretty shocking, and you can tell the culture of a company by the ridiculousness of the T&Cs - often drafted by a control freak owner.
Their posted T&Cs are pretty shocking, and you can tell the culture of a company by the ridiculousness of the T&Cs - often drafted by a control freak owner.
Notwithstanding the aggro, if your niece accepted the offer, they paid the amount, albeit late, and she's emigrating, why not bank the cash and move on?
What's going to happen now? You're going to take the responsibility for selling the car while she's off somewhere else. Even if you get an extra £1k, will it be worth the hassle?
Anyway, good luck - It's a buyer's market out there, and it's like a shark-infested pool.
What's going to happen now? You're going to take the responsibility for selling the car while she's off somewhere else. Even if you get an extra £1k, will it be worth the hassle?
Anyway, good luck - It's a buyer's market out there, and it's like a shark-infested pool.
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