Been scammed!

[TonTom]

He probably won't, because he entered his credit card into Paypal, and paid via Paypal - so he didn't actually pay with his CC, he paid via Paypal, so he loses the part of the consumer credit act (sect 75) which gives you the right to a refund if you're scammed. (Paypal has no buyer protection for buying used cars).

It's basically a black hole, because you'd think you'd be covered by either the CC or Paypal, but in reality you're probably not (in the case of used cars)

I’d imagine the CC will take the money back from PayPal leaving PayPal to deal with the seller.

even though it’s a friends and family payment the CC company will be able to take the money back.

I suppose the best step will be for the OP to contact his CC company to get the answers.

 

[touch]

I’d imagine the CC will take the money back from PayPal

Why would they do that? PayPal have upheld their part of the agreement - they were asked to forward the money on to the seller of the car and they did exactly that.
Credit card protection covers you if have a dispute with the transaction. In this case, the transaction was between OP > Credit Card > PayPal and all went as it should. It's not the credit card provider's problem if the OP has a dispute with another transaction further down the line.

 

[Hades]

Why would they do that? PayPal have upheld their part of the agreement - they were asked to forward the money on to the seller of the car and they did exactly that.
Credit card protection covers you if have a dispute with the transaction. In this case, the transaction was between OP > Credit Card > PayPal and all went as it should. It's not the credit card provider's problem if the OP has a dispute with another transaction further down the line.

This is my understanding too.

 

[Top_gun]

"Getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal

You should try to get your money back from the seller first. If you don’t get your money back, you might be able to ask your card provider or PayPal to help. <read more>"

 

[vanpeebles]

Any photos of the underside? I bet the car is normal condition for its age.

 

[Tek81]

What make of car is it....?

 

[hyperseven]

"Getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal

You should try to get your money back from the seller first. If you don’t get your money back, you might be able to ask your card provider or PayPal to help. <read more>"

As said before he used friends and family not goods.
OP chose to use this option.

 

[Top_gun]

As said before he used friends and family not goods.
OP chose to use this option.

OK, understand. Thanks.

Looks like chargeback isn't an option. I guess the next option is to contact Trading Standards for advice and then seek legal advice from a professional. CAB telephone advice is rather limited. Only good for people with reading problems.

 

[Puzzled]

Probably have to go through the process of small claims court and might want to get a second opinion on the condition to back up the original sellers report. If the guy knows it was dodgy and you have proof of communications where he says the car is good condition then I doubt he will even show up to contest it.

Then you'll have the problem of actually getting him to pay, time to call in the Sheriffs

All in all a good lesson of not buying a car without looking at it in person but also shows that we probably need a register of cars that have been declared unsafe in-between MOT's.

 

[touch]

All in all a good lesson of not buying a car without looking at it in person

I'm not sure that actually made any difference in this case? OP didn't notice any problems with the car until a previous owner told him about it.

 

[Adam]

You rushed in to it and didn't check it properly. Very different to be scammed.

You agreed to buy the car without seeing it and paid using a method where there was no comeback whatsoever.

Classic case of always somebody elses fault.

 

[BUDFORCE]

I think you'd have enough evidence to take it to court, but I'm not a legal professional.

You should seek legal advice see what they say, I'd like to think given the evidence and circumstances of this the court would see it in your favour as the guy was clearly hiding the true condition of the vehicle.

 

[koolpc]

How does anyone with a level head, buy a car without checking it over?

 

[ron3003]

Post the pics, lets see how much damage needs £4k of remedial work.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

You paid PayPal with a credit card, you didn’t buy a car with it. Big difference.

Unless the company he bought it off is using paypal as their merchant

 

[Lethal`]

Did you actually get a new keeper slip from the V5C?

I've not bought/sold any vehicles in some time but seems surprising the DVLA would have turned around the documents so quick for the seller's purchase.

 

[Robbo]

What car is it?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

You rushed in to it and didn't check it properly. Very different to be scammed.

You agreed to buy the car without seeing it and paid using a method where there was no comeback whatsoever.

Classic case of always somebody elses fault.

Not only that but apparently there is an abundance of amazingly safe £1500 vehicles on the market.

Instead of picking one locally which would be easier to inspect, pick up and resolve any issues. He decided to pick one 5 hours away.

I'm sure something isn't adding up.

I once sold a fully working electrical item when there was knee deep snow outside, the deepest snow I've ever seen in my life, even aldi was shut and I had to walk to asda and back as no car could get through. I told the guy that it wasn't a good idea to pick up and wait for it to clear some more as the roads had only just been gritted but my driveway was still knee deep.. I wouldn't be able to help him carry it until the snow cleared. I didn’t want me to fall or drop it and then be left with a damaged item. He wanted it straight away and brought a friend. They proceeded to drag it through the snow to the car. I showed him that all the electrics were now covered in snow and it wasn't just a little bit they had literally scooped up a pile of it inside whilst dragging through the snow. Like a shovel.

He text me 2 hours later to say he wanted his money back. I explained that wasn't my fault his negligence broke it and he said he dried it before turning it on.

I explained that kind of thing would take several days in a high temperature environment to be completely dry. Not a simple wipe with a cloth.

Again his fault for not knowing how water and electrical components work.

Some people will always learn the hard way.

OP is angry at the seller but in reality he is the one to blame for this whole mess. He put his own kids at risk.

I once had a cheap Chinese power adapter blow up on me. Luckily no fire. But I swore to never buy anything like that again. Could have wiped out everyone in the house.

Buy cheap buy twice.

 

[Akagi]

We need pictures to be honest. Some people can't tell bad rot from normal rust.

 

[Transform_IT]

Not only that but apparently there is an abundance of amazingly safe £1500 vehicles on the market.

Instead of picking one locally which would be easier to inspect, pick up and resolve any issues. He decided to pick one 5 hours away.

I'm sure something isn't adding up.

I once sold a fully working electrical item when there was knee deep snow outside, the deepest snow I've ever seen in my life, even aldi was shut and I had to walk to asda and back as no car could get through. I told the guy that it wasn't a good idea to pick up and wait for it to clear some more as the roads had only just been gritted but my driveway was still knee deep.. I wouldn't be able to help him carry it until the snow cleared. I didn’t want me to fall or drop it and then be left with a damaged item. He wanted it straight away and brought a friend. They proceeded to drag it through the snow to the car. I showed him that all the electrics were now covered in snow and it wasn't just a little bit they had literally scooped up a pile of it inside whilst dragging through the snow. Like a shovel.

He text me 2 hours later to say he wanted his money back. I explained that wasn't my fault his negligence broke it and he said he dried it before turning it on.

I explained that kind of thing would take several days in a high temperature environment to be completely dry. Not a simple wipe with a cloth.

Again his fault for not knowing how water and electrical components work.

Some people will always learn the hard way.

OP is angry at the seller but in reality he is the one to blame for this whole mess. He put his own kids at risk.

I once had a cheap Chinese power adapter blow up on me. Luckily no fire. But I swore to never buy anything like that again. Could have wiped out everyone in the house.

Buy cheap buy twice.

I fail to understand your logic!? First off, the story regarding you selling an electrical item has no relevance to my current situation. Secondly, I fail to see how I am solely to blame for purchasing an item, whether it be a car or an electrical product, that was described as excellent condition, yet is far from it. It isn't uncommon for people to buy vehicles from a popular auction site, solely based on the description and photographs. In this instance, I purchased a vehicle, based on the in-depth description of the AutoTrader advert. Nowhere did it mention the car was structurally unsound or it was rotten underneath. Based on this and the conversation I had with the seller (who told me they were emigrating, which turned out to be a lie and they changed their story to, it was because they couldn't afford the insurance), there was no reason to suspect the vehicle was a 'lemon'. Now, on delivery of the item, the condition seemed to match the advert, however after receiving some information from a third party, it appears I have been scammed by someone who purchased the car for a low price, fully aware of its issues and sold it on to me. You could argue it's wildly different to buying a second-hand TV from eBay or a £1200 graphics card from Amazon, only to find, once it been delivered it's not as described... but in reality, it's not, it's very much the same. I purchased an item based on its description and it doesn't match this. Regardless of whether I purchased it face to face or from the other side of the world. I have sold several cars to individuals in other countries. Based on my description and photos, they have sent me the money via BT and arranged for transportation of the vehicle.

Anyway, I've had a think and decided to cut my losses and move on.

• Could I pursue this and get my money back? Yes...
• Am I going to? Probably not...
• Why? because of the hassle, stress and time and effort, it will take. Also, if the guy is happy to sell a car to someone knowing it is unroadworthy, I can only imagine what else he is capable of, considering he knows my home address. I don't need that sort of aggro, and I believe I can put some of the issues right myself and keep the vehicle or sell it on and get my money back.