Motor Claims Helpline

18/08/2024

Case Study £75,000 Landrover - Vehicle Finance Fraud

In November 2023 we were contacted by a customer called Vanessa who had an issue with a Landrover Discovery she had purchased on Finance.

Her problems started on day 1 when the vehicle was delivered. She had only seen pictures of the vehicle as she bought it online and when it arrived it was in a terrible state. It had bald tyres, warning lights on dashboard, internal trims missing, no service history as promised, and it was filthy dirty. She had paid a very large deposit and had a large amount on finance with a well-known finance company.

When she complained the dealer did collect the vehicle and rectify most of the issues but Vanessa was very unhappy with the whole experience. Shortly after return the vehicle developed a bad oil leak so she took it to her local garage for inspection. They confirmed that the oil leak was a result of poor repairs carried out on the engine that still had considerable major faults. They informed her the engine would need to be replaced and quoted approximately £10,0000 to undertake the work. They recommended that she returned the vehicle for a refund as she had only had it for a short period of time.

She had never visited the dealership she purchased it from but had researched them and they had a good reputation and good reviews online. She had been dealing with a salesman there called Chris who seemed very nice and she trusted him. She had his mobile number and all of the communications were done by calls and text messages directly to him.

She called and explained all of the issues and Chris agreed to have the vehicle rejected, the finance agreement would be cancelled and he would find her another replacement vehicle. She agreed and after a few weeks he found one, however it more expensive and whilst not 100% happy she agreed to purchase it. Chris arranged finance through a DIFFERENT finance company and Vanessa signed all of the necessary documents and awaited collection of the old vehicle and delivery of the new. Unfortunately, this never happened.

She was contacted to say the replacement vehicle needed a small repair but they were waiting for parts to arrive from Land Rover which were on back order, therefore delivery would be unfortunately delayed. This excuse went on for weeks, and eventually months. Her calls were no longer being answered and messages not returned, she had no transport and was really worried about the situation. She was already paying the finance on the new vehicle which she hadn’t even received and the finance company did not assist at all.

A friend of hers recommended she contact us at Motor Claims Helpline as we specialised in dealing with motor disputes. We gathered all of the necessary information and immediately took on the case as there was clearly cause for concern, and on a ‘No-Win No-Fee’ basis.

Our investigation progressed swiftly and after communicating with the dealer and two separate finance companies we immediately uncovered some worrying facts. The dealer was not even aware of the engine issue, nor the offer to reject it for a refund which we found hard to believe. But then we discovered that ‘Chris’ no longer worked for the company and hadn’t for several weeks. He had actually left and set up his own car sales business at a different location.

Vanessa had only been communication with him via his mobile number. At no point during any of the discussions with her did he tell her he no longer worked for the supplying dealer. There was never any intention of rejecting the vehicle as he had no authority to do so as he was not connected with the supplying dealer. We believe his intention was to effectively take Vanessa’s old broken vehicle in part exchange without her knowledge at a considerable loss to her, and then to sell her the replacement vehicle at an inflated price.

Now we were aware of all the facts we concentrated our efforts on both finance companies that were involved, and to our horror they were both reluctant to assist. In their opinion neither finance company had done any wrong. The first claimed they had financed a vehicle that they were unaware had a problem, consequently there was nothing they were prepared to do. And the second claimed they had financed a vehicle in the correct manner and therefore were not prepared to cancel the agreement even though the vehicle had not even been received by the customer.

This was an absolute nightmare for poor Vanessa who now had 2 huge finance agreements in her name. One for a broken vehicle that was unable to be driven and stuck on her drive. And the second for a vehicle that she had never received from a fraudster who had tricked her into buying it on finance.

This claim should have been straightforward as it was clearly a case of ‘faulty goods, not fit for purpose’ in contravention of ‘The Sale of Goods Act 2015’ and in addition, a clear attempt of fraud. When we challenged the 2nd finance company as to how they had paid out such a considerable amount of money to a dealer who hadn’t even supplied the vehicle they confirmed it was because all of the paperwork and documentation had been provided and was in order. No proofs or ID documentation had been provided by Vanessa.

We insisted on being provided all documentation in relation to the sale of the fictitious 2nd vehicle and were shocked at our findings. It turned out that the dishonest Chris had actually retained copies of the proofs of identity from Vanessa from the first vehicle she purchased at the dealer he used to work at. He then copied those proofs and submitted them to the finance company so he could get paid for a vehicle he had never supplied. We believe his intention was to string Vanessa along for long enough that he could disappear with the money before the finance company became aware. But we put a stop to that.

After revealing the scale of the fraud and the methods used to both finance companies, they finally took notice. This however took nearly 2 months which in our opinion was far from acceptable. As you can imagine during this time Vanessa was suffering unnecessarily with stress and anxiety. She had a family with 2 young children and no means of transport over the Xmas period. Neither finance company nor the dealers were willing to assist with a replacement vehicle despite her desperate situation which was very upsetting to her. Motor Claims Helpline could see how this was affecting her mental health, having spoken to her virtually daily for several months. Not wishing for her to have any more unnecessary stress, or to have her Xmas ruined we supplied her a vehicle to use free of charge until the matter was fully resolved. It was worth it just to see a smile on her face for the first time in months.

At the end of January 2024, we finally won the case. We successfully arranged for return of the 1st Landrover to the supplying dealer with the finance agreement cancelled. Finance company 2, whilst not admitting there was clearly fraudulent activity, they too agreed to unwind their finance agreement. Vanessa’s monthly payments already made were refunded along with her deposit, and her credit file which had been considerably damaged was fully repaired. This enabled her to purchase a new vehicle from a reputable dealer and with a new finance company.

When Motor Claims Helpline won this case for Vanessa it was a very special moment indeed. We had communicated daily with this lovely lady for nearly 4 months learning much of her personal circumstances and family life. If she hadn’t made that call to us for assistance she would have been at a severe loss. Before calling us, she thought there was no one who cared or who could help her. She had actually planned on selling the broken Landrover at a loss and then settling the outstanding finance herself. This would have cost her nearly £20,0000! We are so glad she called us instead.

If you have an issue with a faulty vehicle, finance company or any vehicle related dispute, Give Motor Claims Helpline a call because we are here to help.

The MCH Team

https://www.motorclaimshelpline.co.uk/

02/08/2024

CASE STUDY - £20,000 claim against our client for damages to rental vehicle.

Mr & Mrs Little are retired pensioners who live in Cardiff, South Wales. In August 2022 the couple had booked their dream holiday and were in Florida having a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful weather and the exciting surroundings.

But then disaster struck. ‘Hurricane Ian’ hit Fort Myers Beach and caused total devastation across Florida. A ‘threat to life’ warning was issued and the flooding was so bad that Mr & Mrs Little were air lifted to safety by rescue helicopter as the hotel they were staying at was destroyed. The Jeep Cherokee they had rented from Budget Rent-A-Car was washed away and damaged beyond repair. Their holiday was cut short and the couple were repatriated to the UK and considered themselves very lucky as many people lost their lives during the storm.

After their return to the UK, several months later they received a letter from Budget Rent-A-Car’s solicitors claiming the insurance policy they had taken out did not cover them for the damage caused to the vehicle which was now a total-loss write-off. They were presented with a bill for nearly $21,000. This eventually would increase to over $25,000 (£19,000) with the legal fees that were being applied by Budgets solicitors.

Mr & Mrs Little were horrified and immediately contacted Budgets solicitors who were hostile from the very beginning. They insisted Mr Little had not taken out the required Loss Damage Waiver Insurance which would have covered them. Mr Little was convinced he had taken out the necessary insurance but with no documents to prove this he was stuck. Without authorisation they took a payment of £3000 from Mr Littles credit card which he had used to make the booking reservation. This was for unsubstantiated late return fees and damages. Then without further warning the solicitors instructed bailiffs from the UK to attempt to seize goods from Mr & Mrs Little to recover the rest of the alleged debt.

The couple were worried beyond belief. The credit card company would not assist them and it seemed there was nobody who could help with their desperate situation. That is when they contacted us at Motor Claims Helpline. We immediately gathered all of the information surrounding the events and the vehicle rental. Within a few days we discovered some discrepancies with the claim from Budget Rent-A-Car and the evidence provided by their solicitors. We intervened immediately and the bailiffs appointed were told to cancel the enforcement. The solicitors agreed to pause any proceedings until we had fully assessed the claim and provided the evidence that would prove our clients were innocent. Mr and Mrs Little were relieved beyond words that we had made such a difference in such a short space of time. They had been battling for nearly 4 months and had got nowhere themselves. Both pensioners had been subjected to unnecessary excess levels of stress and anxiety and MCH had now taken control they felt much better.

Within a few weeks Motor Claims Helpline had gathered new evidence which explained why the LDW insurance had not been put in place as Mr Little had thought. It transpired that Mr Little had in fact been mis-informed when he took out the rental agreement and effectively ‘mis-sold’ the rental vehicle. We were able to prove this categorically from the correspondence and documentation we obtained and when presented to Budget Rent-A-Car and their solicitors they had no option other than to cancel the claim. Once we had secured this win, we then concentrated our efforts towards the credit card company who had paid out £3000 from Mr Littles account to Budget. Despite initially claiming the transaction was legal and valid there was nothing that could be done, on our producing the new detailed evidence they then conceded the transaction was therefore not legal and refunded Mr Little in full.

This was a complex claim totalling over £20,000 that Mr & Mrs Little, in their own words “We would never have won without the assistance from Motor Claims Helpline”. MCH proceeded to successfully navigate the USA legal system, to communicate effectively with the time difference issues which occur when dealing with international claims and different time zones. And ultimately to deliver justice for a lovely couple who were once again the targeted victims of a big corporation and their intimidating solicitors.

If you have a situation or issue with a motor vehicle that needs resolving Motor Claims Helpline are here for you. Click this link to send us an enquiry.

https://www.motorclaimshelpline.co.uk/

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19/12/2022

13/12/2022

Are you the victim of insurers undervaluing your Total-Loss vehicle. Well you're not alone as many owners are finding themselves in the same position. Insurers value your vehicle based on industry standard guides such as CAP or Glasses Guide. The trouble is the market at present since Covid has seen huge price increases of up to 50% on certain vehicles which these guides don't allow for.

We can correctly assess the true PAV (Pre-Accident Value) of your vehicle and deal directly with your insurer to get you the correct amount you deserve, which in some cases can be thousands of pounds extra.

Call or Whatsapp us on 02922 331181 and we will be happy to assist.

23/11/2022

Criminals purporting to be legitimate used car dealers are still conning customers out of cash – two months after reports first surfaced of the scam.

29/10/2022

Historic Motoring Awards 2022 - Home Page

29/10/2022

03/10/2022

We cannot emphasise enough how much extra protection you gain when you pay at least £100 on a CREDIT CARD.