On 20th January, our son, who now lives in Switzerland, agreed to purchase a 2006 Land Rover Discovery advertised by a Trade Seller in Auto Trader. A price of £ 14,500 was agreed and a deposit of £500 was transferred to the vendor on January 21st. The vendor agreed to meet my son at Liverpool airport on January 28th to finalise the deal.
Our son checked that the car was debt and accident free. Train travel and flights were booked, and just before departure from Geneva airport in Switzerland on the agreed date of 28th January, my son called the vendor to confirm pick-up time etc., only to be told that the car had been involved in a serious crash that morning. The vendor agreed that the deposit, plus extra costs involved, would be refunded. However, despite many phone calls and e-mails, he has since refused to refund any money, saying that the car would be ready to be picked up once it had been repaired. The latest correspondence now states the car had been sold but that he will hold the deposit against a future purchase. Our son is not interested in purchasing damaged goods or accepting an alternative vehicle and only wishes to recover his deposit plus consequential expenses incurred as a result of the vendor being on breach of the original agreement. Before taking this further, are you able to advise him how best to proceed?