Black Kia Sportage SH11 YKS Beware.

[Rustynuts]

Hypothetical situation.

 

If you were interested in a used car from an independent dealer who also advertised finance arranged, would you consider using the dealers finance? Okay, it's slightly more expensive over the 4 years, but insignificant really.

 

Then, when the finance is all arranged and sorted, you've signed the forms etc. and everything is going ahead and you buy the car. It then becomes apparent that there's an issue with the car and you want to return it, but you then find out (from the actual finance company, not the broker or the dealer) that the "finance" isn't actually finance for a car, it's a personal loan which has been paid directly into the dealers bank account even though the loan is in your name. Would this concern you at all? Usually, the finance company buys the car and leases it to you while you pay off the outstanding amount, correct? So how would you now proceed with rejecting the car and getting your money back when the dealer starts playing hardball?

Edited 26 May, 2017 by Rustynuts

[Aspman]

Missold finance. Complaint to the FSA?

[Rustynuts]

Well, the hypothetical situation is getting rather interesting. The dealer is still burying his head in the sand. The finance broker is crapping himself and has just started to realise that he's in the deep (after the finance company sent a seven days to respond letter to the managing director of the company) and is now falling over himself to be nice and is doing everything to sort it out. The finance company are chasing everyone responsible (presumably to get themselves out of the deep), the credit card company have refunded £900 which was paid as a deposit (meaning the dealer is now £900 out of pocket but still refuses to answer the phone or any correspondence). The Financial Services Ombudsman is watching very closely. Trading Standards are investigating the dealer and the parent company who run them. DVSA are supremely uninterested in why a vehicle with very definite and specific faults passed an MOT with no advisories, and Citizens Advice have been as much use as a butter dish.

All in all, for a hypothetical situation it's getting rather exciting here at Rusty Towers.

 

 

[Rustynuts]

The end is in sight...

[Rustynuts]

Some details.

 

A couple of months ago my daughter bought a black Kia Sportage SH11 YKS from Simply Vehicle Sales in Knutsford. Finance was arranged by the dealer through their tame broker, and the car was brought home to North Yorks. There were some issues with the actual handover of the car due to her part exchange breaking down on the way to the dealers, but that's not relevant here.

When she got home with the new car and we had a good look at it, it became apparent that the car had been involved in an accident and had been badly repaired. Overall, it was in a pretty poor state once you looked past the fairly clean and tidy bodywork.

They contacted the dealers and told them they weren't happy with it as it was significantly "not as described" and told them they would be bringing it back for a refund and cancelling the purchase. At this point the dealer decided that not answering the phone and not replying to any emails was a viable course of action, and the situation dragged on to the point where she sent a final email saying the car would be returned at a stated time and date, and off we went on that date. When we got there the people in the business next door said they'd decided to close early and had gone home at lunchtime. So with no one there to hand the car back to we set about the phone.

The dealer refused to answer, the finance company (arranged through the dealers tame broker) informed her that she didn't actually have a finance agreement for the car, but she'd been arranged a personal loan which had been paid direct to the dealer.  The finance broker had managed to get himself a sudden 10 day holiday at conveniently short notice and left his workmate to look after business. So with no other option we brought the car back home.

More phone calls next day to Trading Standards, the Financial Services Ombudsman, Citizens Advice, the actual finance company again, and also to the local Kia dealers (SG Petch in Richmond) who were fantastic. They booked the car in the next day for a full check, and provided a detailed report of the condition of the car and stated it was unsafe to drive.  Trading Standards replied saying the dealers parent company were already under investigation by Cheshire Police and that they were in liquidation. The Ombudsman was very interested in the mis sold finance package (which is also not entirely relevant here), and will be looking closely into the dealings there.

The deposit for the car was paid on credit card, so they were contacted and sent all the supporting documents, and they immediately refunded that part of the payment, so that was a bonus. Also the finance company deferred payment until the issue could be sorted one way or another.

The car remained off road until two weeks ago when finally the finance broker (still no contact at all from the dealer) arranged for the car to be collected and returned to the dealers, and once it was back there they would be cancelling the finance and refunding all payments. So the car was now back at Simply Vehicle Sales (who are claiming they are sending it back to the people they bought it from), Creditas Ltd (the broker) will be updating us "this side of the weekend" (his favourite saying which generally means I'm not going to be in touch any time soon), and we started looking for another vehicle.

 

Fast forward two weeks and this is still rumbling on, but coming to a conclusion (apparently) this week.

The finance broker (Creditas Financial Solutions) has been hounded on the phone nearly every day, and has been forthcoming with an endless stream of misinformation and bodyswerve tactics in an effort to prolong the conclusion of this farce. They quite readily accept that our daughter is not going to be in the frame for a substantial loan against an unroadworthy vehicle, but were seemingly unwilling to actually do anything about it.

 

Until yesterday that is when we spoke to them. They were apparently waiting for the dealer to return the funds as soon as the car had been returned to the people they bought it from (a Kia dealer in the lake district), and the car had been sent back to them. At exactly the same time our daughter received an email from the Financial Services Ombudsman stating that they'd spoken to the finance broker and had been informed that before anything could be done the car needed to be returned, at which point we could expect some movement. At this point daughter phoned the Ombudsman and blew up, telling them that the finance broker had actually collected the car from us 2 weeks ago, and we had a signed collection form stating as such. She really let rip at them, and the end result was the case was upgraded to an official complaint, and we would hear something positive by Friday.

So, yesterday afternoon we were called by Creditas and told that they will be clearing the finance by the end of the day (or tomorrow) and have been to Simply Vehicle Sales that morning and collected the car, and is now in their possession under lock and key until the dealer pays up.

Now that strikes me as a little odd, given that Simply Vehicle Sales apparently sent the car back to Kia in Windermere (of course I believe that, who wouldn't?) so how could they collect it from Knutsford? So, either the dealer is bullsh*tting and hadn't done anything with the car at all, and were still stonewalling in the hope we'd go away, or the broker is bullsh*tting in the hope we'll go away and he'll still get his commission from arranging the loan.

Overall, it would appear that Creditas Financial Solutions have paid for and bought a rather expensive unroadworthy Kia Sportage.

Truth be told, I don't trust anything either of them say, and I never did. Typical sales personnel full of fragile promises and hollow facts, and I wish them all the best in their newly found fame.

I'll provide a final update as soon as we have the documents tying all this up.

 

So, if anyone sees SH11 YKS up for sale or anything, then don't buy it.

[Rooted]

How many previous keepers had shown with it.

2015 it sits 2 months before it got a mot, then again in 2016 2 months from expiry until the test.

was it leased for the 1st 3 years then just doing what ever where ever after that?

Hire car!

Edited 26 May, 2017 by Awayoffski

[Rustynuts]

First registered 14/06/2011, current owner/keeper acquired on 21/05/2015. Last registered keeper was Kia dealership in Windermere. Possibly used as a loan car, then sold through the trade/auctions to the sharks at Knutsford. Not unusual for a main dealer to hold a car in stock and only MOT it when it comes to time for sale or whatever, so no real issues there.

 

The big issue is who and when effected the crap repair. Most likely is the car had an accident at Kia Windermere, and was sold as is with no insurance mark or repair, and someone threw some panels on it and shifted it on. I rather think it wouldn't be Kia, so that would put it firmly into Simply Vehicle Sales court. If they didn't do it then they know someone who did...

 

[Rooted]

It could have gone to Auction or been in trade any time and bought by repairer or even private for repair.

Could even have had more than one accident / damage incident....

This is the issue with the UK Insurance System & vehicles do not need reported damaged no matter how serious if there is no Insurance Claim on them.

Then no guarantee of a Electrics Check, Seat Belts or Airbags replaced etc.

 

I see you have it on another forum and a google of the reg number brings it up for peoples attention so that is good.

[Aspman]

It's still taxed,are you getting that back?

[Rustynuts]

That's being handled directly with DVLA, they're aware of the issue and have promised to refund whatever is applicable. Anything outstanding will be dealt with via small claims, as will the insurance which needed to be paid while the vehicle was off the road.

[The Zee]

I admire your dogged determination. I would have driven straight through the dealership window and then said "oops seems to be something wrong with it"

[Rustynuts]

If the dealers were closer than the 100 plus miles we had to travel I'd have been inclined to do the same, although with a vehicle not fit for the road I'd have some trepidation. No matter, we have verbal confirmation now that the finance has been settled by the broker, just need written confirmation from Hitachi Finance now.

[Rustynuts]

It's back up for sale again...

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201706286857577

[davidwhite]

So is this for sale at the same dealership ? How the hell can they offer finance if it's already been returned once ? Just goes to show how misleading pictures and dealership descriptions can be 

if this is the same dealers surely trading standards ( even the national press ) ought to be tipped off unless of course previous issues have been addressed some one is going to spend their hard earned on a lemon .....

[Ally_bassman]

correct, if the car is un-roadworthy, trading standards need to be aware as surely it's an offence to sell it!

[Rustynuts]

Trading Standards are aware of the car, they're investigating the dealers parent company (who have been closed down for illegal activities and the Police are also investigating), and yes it's the same dealers as before.

Maybe it's had all the issues sorted... or maybe not. The towing eye cover will cost pennies to replace and that hasn't been done, so I doubt the other front end damage will have been addressed.

[Rooted]

What exactly did SG PETCH in Richmond say made it un-roadworthy & unsafe to drive?