In this post, we explore your legal rights when rejecting a faulty van from a van dealer and privately.
Buying a used vehicle can be a stressful experience, especially if the vehicle develops a fault shortly after purchase and the dealer doesn’t fulfil their legal obligations. While there is a wealth of information on the internet about consumer rights law with used cars, there is less information about buying a used van. While you should seek actual legal advice from an expert for any specific case, this article, written from the perspective of a van dealer with over 30 years experience in the motor trade, will give an overview of a customer’s legal rights and different paths you can take.
The key legal difference between buying a used car and van is that, while cars are bought by consumers who can rely on the Consumer Rights Act of 2015, van purchases are often businesses who cannot rely on this law. If a commercial vehicle is bought by a business (sole trader, limited company, partnership, self-employed) then the purchaser can only rely on the Sales of Goods Act 1979 and the specific contract between the buyer and seller. The key difference between the two laws is that, while the Consumer Rights Act offers a clear right to reject within 30 days if a fault develops, the Sales of Goods Act doesn’t. Instead, the Sales of Goods Act states that goods must be ‘as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose’ at the time of sale. If you are buying a van to convert into a campervan, or for private non-business use, then you can still rely on the Consumer Rights Act, which is a lot more comprehensive. If a fault develops within 6 months, The Consumer Rights Act leaves the burden of proof on the seller to prove the fault wasn’t there when sold, while the Sales of Goods Act leaves the burden of proof on the purchaser.
If you have bought the vehicle privately, there is also little chance of legally forcing the seller to fix any issues that arise after purchase as private sellers are not seen as experts, unlike dealers. The only exception to this is if the private seller deliberately misrepresented the vehicle to you. An example of this could be that they didn’t disclose that it was an undeclared insurance write off. This would still be difficult to prove in terms of evidence that they did know about it. Another example could be that the vehicle had a dodgy MOT where faults were not fixed that should have been. Perhaps, just before you bought it, the vehicle failed its MOT with a litany of faults, then mysteriously passed 2 days later with no advisories. If the faults clearly haven’t been fixed, then a wise move in this case would be to contact DVSA and ask them to re-MOT the vehicle. If it is found to have had a dodgy MOT, the garage who tested it will be in serious trouble and it is likely that the garage will know the seller of the vehicle, in which case the garage may persuade the seller of the vehicle to buy it back from the customer to avoid the customer taking legal action against the seller and to avoid action from DVSA.
Under the Consumer Rights Act, if a fault develops 3 weeks down the line after purchasing from a dealer, you are legally entitled to a refund. Under the Sales of Goods Act, you will need proof that the fault was there when you bought it. An example of this may be that you purchase a van and after 3 weeks the turbo fails; On the last MOT before you bought it there was an advisory for an ‘oil leak from turbo area’. This may constitute sufficient evidence that the fault was there when you bought it, in the eyes of a judge. On other hand, if you bought a van and after 3 weeks the cambelt broke, you may struggle to find sufficient evidence that the fault was present at the time of sale as this, considering a cambelt can break at any time, this may be deemed bad luck. If a fault develops after 3 weeks and you cannot provide sufficient evidence that the fault was there when you bought it, you may struggle if the dispute went to court. The reason that the Consumer Rights Act is more comprehensive than the Sales of Goods Act is that the law sees businesses as having a greater expertise and commercial knowledge than an average consumer.
Another important point about business-to-business sales is that you should pay particular attention to the terms of sale and contract when you buy the vehicle. If you are a business and there are specific terms which limit your right to legal redress, then this is unlikely to be overturned by a judge who will probably uphold the terms of that contract. An example might be that a business buys a van that is sold for ‘spares or repair and not to be driven on the road until fixed’, then if the van breaks down after 10 minutes of driving, you are unlikely to win any case. A more likely example is that a dealer offers a warranty on the vehicle, for perhaps 3, 6 or 12 months. This warranty will likely have a claim limit for both parts and labour. If you buy a van and 3 weeks later the engine fails and the repair bill is £2500 but you have a warranty claim limit of £500 as part of your business-to-business contract, then a judge would unlikely overturn these terms as you have agreed to them at the point of sale and you are a business, not a consumer.
In short, if you are purchasing a van for business use, it can be more difficult to successfully bring about a claim for a faulty van if there isn’t sufficient evidence that the fault was there at the time of sale. It will often be left to the discretion of a county court judge who will use their own discretion. While they may well rule in your favour, this is both time consuming (you may have to wait over a year for a hearing) and expensive if you want to hire a solicitor to fight your case. Even if you do win the case, there is no guarantee that the dodgy seller who sold you the car will pay you the compensation if they close their business in the meantime or simply refuse to pay.
So what is our advice if you have bought a van and it has developed a fault shortly after purchasing it?
- Keep everything in writing and collate as much paperwork as possible. If you get the fault diagnosed, then get the garage to write a receipt for the diagnosis and what the diagnosis actually is. The more paperwork you collate the stronger your case will be.
- Contact the dealer, first by telephone. Be reasonable and polite and tell them that you have a problem with the vehicle you bought from them and you would like them to fix it. Dealers often get angered by customers who don’t even speak to them but send a vicious email either by themselves or a solicitor. This can often cause unnecessary conflict at the start of a dispute. Speak to them on the phone and be polite.
- If they don’t help after speaking on the phone, then send a politely worded email detailing the faults and asking them to fix it.
- Give them a chance to fix the fault before escalating the dispute with court action.
- If they refuse to fix it, tell them in writing that you will be taking court action against them. In this instance, they may come back with some sort of offer, such as going halves on the repair. While not perfect, this may still be better than waiting a year for a court case which you have no guarantee of winning. You could also suggest some kind of offer to meet in the middle in order to bring the matter to a close. Dealers often appreciate that it is better to pay half a repair than go to court, lose and pay for the full repair plus the customers’ legal costs. In many vehicle disputes, finding some kind of middle ground will often result in resolving the conflict.
- If you still don’t get anywhere with the dealer and you are left with no option. But going to court, then it may be a good idea to get an independent inspection by a trained engineer. You can ask them to answer a question such as ‘in their professional opinion, was the fault present at the time of sale?’ This may well be crucial evidence if the dispute goes to court. A well-known inspection service in the UK is Automotive Consulting Engineers Ltd.
Finally, if you don’t have time to wait over a year for a court date or don’t have the financial resources to hire a solicitor, then the best option may be to cut your losses and move on. Long court disputes are often time-consuming and stressful which can have a hugely detrimental affect on your mental health. If the van is completely broken or you have simply lost all faith in it, then sellthevan.co.uk is a well-known buyer of all types of commercial vehicle. New or used, running or broken, clean or damaged: they will buy any van.