New Car Import Services - HJ please read

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Tue 19 Mar 2002 08:32
New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Mark Abbott
HJ,

I have ordered a car through this company and am now getting the runaround.

They appear to have gone into liquidation but are offerering me the chance to still obtain my car (I have paid the deposit to them, not the dealer - yes I know I shouldn't have but I did), however they are asking for another couple of grand on top of what was agreed in the contract to take the total just shy of UK list.

They talk of a new company that will handle the delivery etc. but I know for a fact that they have set up a new company with a slightly different name and I'm pretty sure that this is the company that will be handling the transaction, i.e. they are pulling a fast one.

Please take this company off your places to buy an import car on your FAQ pages and warn anyone else off from dealing with this them (New Car Import Services Ltd) or their new company New-car-imports.com Ltd

I don't know what I will do yet as I placed my deposit on a credit card cheque and will be covered for a full refund under the consumer credit act 1974 (although I suspect this could drag on a bit).

Could anyone tell me if I have any legal recourse to the new company (if it is indeed run by the same people) to get the car for the original price and what other options, if any, I may have available?

thank you in anticipation of your replies,

Mark Abbott aka mazza
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Tue 19 Mar 2002 12:02
Re: New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Martyn (Back Room moderator)
Entry deleted.

In instances like this, would people please contact me or HJ directly, rather than via The Back Room.
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Tue 19 Mar 2002 12:08
Re: New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Mark Abbott
Sorry Martin but I was looking for any advice people could offer me aswell, perhaps I could have worded it all better but I was in a rush when I wrote it.
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Tue 19 Mar 2002 13:15
Re: New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Martyn, Back Room moderator
Hey, that's ok! In this instance there's no problem;, but often I would prefer to deal with questions of possible questionable practices quietly behind the scenes.
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Tue 19 Mar 2002 16:45
Re: New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Rob F
This needs checking (pardon the pun, as I am not posting in jest) but IIRC credit card cheques do not have the same joint & several liability protection as straightforward use of a credit card.

Hope I'm wrong, Mark.

Rob F
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Tue 19 Mar 2002 19:14
Re: New Car Import Services - HJ please read - Keithb
I wondered about this as well. It appears that you're correct and credit card cheques do not have protection under the Consumer Credit Act. I think this is because they are treated as a cash loan i.e. the same as if cash had been drawn from an ATM and then spent. Goods purchased with that cash would obviously not be covered. The following is from the Citizens Advice Bureau site :

If the goods or services were bought by credit card, credit card cheque, trading check or with credit arranged by the supplier and the value was below £100, the supplier is responsible. If the goods or services are valued between £100 and £30,000 both creditor and supplier are responsible (except in the case of a credit card cheque where only the supplier is responsible) if:-

the credit was arranged by the shop of business when the goods or services were bought; and

the credit agreement is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974

Sorry Mark. Hope it turns out OK.
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