Sale or Return - Think I have been conned
Discussion
Nightmare scenario, I handed over my car to a garage stocking high end cars. I am in Scotland the garage is in England. The car was given without the V5 (not that that maters too much it would seem) and I signed basic agreement allowing them to sell the car on my behalf, if they don't sell the car then it would be returned to me.
They are saying they have sold the car and the finance for the car has been transferred to them by the new owner, in which case my dispute now rest with getting my cash from them. The latest excuse is that the owner has been in a car crash and is in intensive care, nothing can be transferred until his return. Total bull.
I am hoping the car is still on their sales yard and I can go and take the car back. If not then is down to chasing the company for the money.
What on earth made me trust them and hand over the car on a sale or return basis. In terms of proving ownership the only thing I have is the original sale receipt. They have nothing, so if the car hasn't been sold and is still there, great. If it been sold then this could be a nightmare. Sale or return is not a route I would recommend.
Does anyone have advice or has anyone been in a similar situation and navigated their way through this kind of mess?
They are saying they have sold the car and the finance for the car has been transferred to them by the new owner, in which case my dispute now rest with getting my cash from them. The latest excuse is that the owner has been in a car crash and is in intensive care, nothing can be transferred until his return. Total bull.
I am hoping the car is still on their sales yard and I can go and take the car back. If not then is down to chasing the company for the money.
What on earth made me trust them and hand over the car on a sale or return basis. In terms of proving ownership the only thing I have is the original sale receipt. They have nothing, so if the car hasn't been sold and is still there, great. If it been sold then this could be a nightmare. Sale or return is not a route I would recommend.
Does anyone have advice or has anyone been in a similar situation and navigated their way through this kind of mess?
Sorry, the new owner has financed the car. I have had someone go past the showroom approx 10 mins ago and the car is no longer on their site, so I need to assume its legitimate that they have sold the car. I haven't been asked by the DVLA to confirm the transfer of the V5 which I think is strange we still have this in our possession.
The way they described their business model was that they get a commission rate from the finance company they use, slim margins but it allows them to hold more stock. Naive on my part.
The way they described their business model was that they get a commission rate from the finance company they use, slim margins but it allows them to hold more stock. Naive on my part.
alspeed said:
Sorry OP, have read your post through several times and am still confused by it.
What's the time frame on all this ? Did they sell the car ages ago or yesterday?
It seems they have told you it's sold, are they now refusing to hand over the money or simply saying there might be a delay?
Sorry message a bit scrambled. What's the time frame on all this ? Did they sell the car ages ago or yesterday?
It seems they have told you it's sold, are they now refusing to hand over the money or simply saying there might be a delay?
They are saying they sold the car last week and had been waiting on the finance company paying them, this supposedly happened last week. We have now been phoning them since Friday asking for the cheque. The story today from the garage today is that the director was in a car crash and is in intensive care. On hearing this I did another search and found a note saying that he has been convicted of theft on Monday past and is now serving 12 community order and ordered to pay costs.
A colleague is going tomorrow to the garage and will threaten to stay until the money is transferred. Not sure if this will succeed and in the meantime I will get a lawyer onto them.
Steve, thanks. I have sent an email on this morning with this listed. I will send recorded by mail also.
I have someone in their offices waiting for the transfer if they fail to do this then I have made them aware that we will contact the police in the first instance if they do not transfer the money by mid day, I see very little option left and this is how I will progress from today. I will also start to have something drafted by the lawyers we use at work.
I have someone in their offices waiting for the transfer if they fail to do this then I have made them aware that we will contact the police in the first instance if they do not transfer the money by mid day, I see very little option left and this is how I will progress from today. I will also start to have something drafted by the lawyers we use at work.
divetheworld said:
One saving grace is that following the information you've just seen, if he pulls the same stunt he may be looking at a custodial. Avoiding that would be a reason to pay up.
That's what I am hoping, also with the amount of stock that is assembled is not just to ensnare one customer, the business looks to be a going concern with ambition to continue. Police as expected has reminded us this is a civil matter. This might have to be a waiting game with continual pressure to insist they pay as soon as he gets out of hospital (if he is even in hospital). alspeed said:
I would imagine a high number of these types of businesses are all show with very little real money behind them
Hopefully it's just a cash flow issue, they probably need to sell a couple of cars before settling with you.
I'm guessing he will have picked you to hold out on because of your location, figuring it would be easier to fob you off for a while by phone and email rather than deal with an angry debtor face to face in the showroom.
Keep up the pressure mate, you might have to wait, but reckon they will pay up in time.
I agree with most of what you have said, the company is a joke and the mistake engaging with them lies with me trying to sell the car in this manner, never again. After a significant amount of pressure and personal visit to their showroom they have agreed to transfer the balance on Wednesday. The lies being told to date is unbelievable and really starting to p*** me off. Until Wednesday we will keep up the pressure, if this comes and goes then we will pursue them legally as hard as possible and do everything possible to limit their trade. Hopefully it's just a cash flow issue, they probably need to sell a couple of cars before settling with you.
I'm guessing he will have picked you to hold out on because of your location, figuring it would be easier to fob you off for a while by phone and email rather than deal with an angry debtor face to face in the showroom.
Keep up the pressure mate, you might have to wait, but reckon they will pay up in time.
Edited by alspeed on Friday 11th September 09:22
I feel I should update everyone on the outcome.
Lord T, no excuses for my actions, extremely foolish and life lesson learned.
The rationale was that we were keen to sell the car, its metallic brown which wasn't proving popular and after some research, sale or return seemed to be a increasingly common route, hence the reason I decided to put my trust in what looked to be a high end reputable garage. Quite a few specialist independents offer SOR and I am sure there are a number of people it has worked for but ultimately you are handing over your asset for the garage to sell and this brings the risks associated with this.
In terms of our car, the police seized the car and its getting collected today and will be delivered late tonight or tomorrow by a car collection company we use.
Fortunately my local police after dismissing this as a civil matter in the first instance were able to take this forward as a criminal matter given the circumstances of our case. 10 out of 10 to the police.
Lord T, no excuses for my actions, extremely foolish and life lesson learned.
The rationale was that we were keen to sell the car, its metallic brown which wasn't proving popular and after some research, sale or return seemed to be a increasingly common route, hence the reason I decided to put my trust in what looked to be a high end reputable garage. Quite a few specialist independents offer SOR and I am sure there are a number of people it has worked for but ultimately you are handing over your asset for the garage to sell and this brings the risks associated with this.
In terms of our car, the police seized the car and its getting collected today and will be delivered late tonight or tomorrow by a car collection company we use.
Fortunately my local police after dismissing this as a civil matter in the first instance were able to take this forward as a criminal matter given the circumstances of our case. 10 out of 10 to the police.
I have been following the posts to the thread and I appreciate that the topic is something people are keen to follow given the frequency of this type of issue whether it be with a car or a boat or whatever. There is always more to any situation than the simple details that have been posted and I wont be expanding on these on the forum.
The whole situation is a nightmare and a lot of people have lost considerable sums of money.
The whole situation is a nightmare and a lot of people have lost considerable sums of money.
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