Consumer help

[Prez]

Help needed please, to cut a long story short, i recently purchased a car from Cazoo and part ex my old one. The company is by far the worst and most inept company i have ever dealt with, refusing to give me my full refund back for the car which was faulty from the day i had received it, and or ignoring emails, or manger getting back to me via phone. The car was handed back to Cazoo in December.

I just realised yesterday also that i am been still being charged for my road tax for my old Audi i part ex in November. DVLA have just emailed me and my old car is still registered to me!!! (i gave cazoo my V5 when traded in)

Just how the hell can i cancel it when cazoo are impossible to deal with and what are the implications for me if the car is still in my name (parking tickets etc)?

Whatever you do under no circumstances buy a car from these cowboys.

Any advice what to do legally i would be grateful to hear. Is it really a case of taking them to court?

Many thanks

Martin

[Filo]

My gaffer had something similar with copart, a taxi was written off Cat N, insurance recovered it and it went to copart, 6 months later my gaffer gets a speeding ticket from down south, the car was still in the taxi company’s name, no idea what he did to rectify it though

[BobG]

It's not guaranteed to work, but a concise (I mean that too!) letter to the Chairman, copied to the Chief Executive sometimes works. You can get their names from their Report and Accounts -it'll be on their website somewhere - abd their HQ will be listed in both the Report & Accounts and at Companies House. A short reference to advising the poluce and DVLA of their dereliction of legal duties wouldn't go amiss.

BobG

[Prez]

Thankyou for that Bob, much appreciated.

[Sprotyrover]

You can get onto the DVLA website on line and tell them you sold your car, thinks it's an online VQ form, that will show any organisation looking at your ex vehicle on the DV website will see you are no longer the keeper.
Go on companies house and get one of the Directors names and address, if you get a Notice of intended prosecution answer it stating you sold it on whatever date and put the directors details on the form.That will put the 'Cat amongst the Pigeons'!
Did you cancel the insurance, that's always an indicator of when you sold it?

[Prez]

Thanks Sproty yes I did cancel my insurance. Regarding notifying DVLA as you stated I was under the impression I would still need the log book number in order to do so. I may be wrong of course.

[roverstillidie91]

Help needed please, to cut a long story short, i recently purchased a car from Cazoo and part ex my old one. The company is by far the worst and most inept company i have ever dealt with, refusing to give me my full refund back for the car which was faulty from the day i had received it, and or ignoring emails, or manger getting back to me via phone. The car was handed back to Cazoo in December.

I just realised yesterday also that i am been still being charged for my road tax for my old Audi i part ex in November. DVLA have just emailed me and my old car is still registered to me!!! (i gave cazoo my V5 when traded in)

Just how the hell can i cancel it when cazoo are impossible to deal with and what are the implications for me if the car is still in my name (parking tickets etc)?

Whatever you do under no circumstances buy a car from these cowboys.

Any advice what to do legally i would be grateful to hear. Is it really a case of taking them to court?

Many thanks

Martin

If it helps I purchased a BMW from a Evans Halshaw dealer in 2017 and after 2 months I had issues with my car which ended up totalling almost £1,200 in repairs. It was a scheme they ran where even though they didn't retail in BMW cars it part exchanged by someone and then they sold it on (unfortunately to me).

Did they give you a full refund for your car or re-imburse you in any way? And was the car purchased on finance?

The reason I mention this is because I went to the Financial Ombudsman and put in a formal complaint against the finance company because they still owned a small portion of the car. It would be the company Cazoo if you fully owned the car.

However I was told that because they couldn't prove there was nothing wrong with the car in the first 6 months they found in my favour and re-imbursed me for all the repairs that I had carried out.

Whether it would work for your instance with this but to be honest I didn't expect to get anything and I received all the money back plus some interest on top as well.

[Prez]

Thanks roverstilidie91, they still owe me £350 from the refund they gave me in December, but after numerous emails phone calls I give up. They are simply not interested. Furthermore as I stated I’m also owed nearly £50 in road tax, which of cazoo had done their job properly, DVLA, would have cancelled my direct debit.

They are an appalling company, I would not be surprised if they go out of business, they are in the middle of downsizing big time as I understand.

[roverstillidie91]

Thanks roverstilidie91, they still owe me £350 from the refund they gave me in December, but after numerous emails phone calls I give up. They are simply not interested. Furthermore as I stated I’m also owed nearly £50 in road tax, which of cazoo had done their job properly, DVLA, would have cancelled my direct debit.

They are an appalling company, I would not be surprised if they go out of business, they are in the middle of downsizing big time as I understand.

Have you put it in as a form of a complaint? If they haven't responded with a set response time phone Citizens Advice Bureau to see what they advise. They told me to go to Financial Ombudsman to sort mine out. If they also promised to cancel your direct debit you should be owed that as well. However the financial ombudsman was really excellent and efficient, took a bit of time however it got the job done and my money back ! Good luck with it anyway

[Prez]

With the help of a friend who is a consumer expert, will be writing to the CEO tomorrow. Like Bob G says, he agrees its the only way forward. They are clearly breaking the law.

[BobG]

Please keep us posted anout any responses you get Prez.

Another thought, if you can be bothered, is to enclose  with your letter to the CEO a formal draft of a letter to DVLA and/or the police and advise that this draft will be posted, recorded delivery, in X days from the date of your letter if you have not recieved full repayment, an apology and compensation for all the stress, aggro and work they have caused you.

Tell 'em you are so appalled by their behaviour that you are not willing to  discuss the matter any further. Apologise and pay up, or the letter goes.

BobG

[Prez]

Absolutely will do Bob, many thanks for your support.

Martin.

[BobG]

One ought to consider the worst case before backing opposition into a corner. If Cazoo decide to ignore you or deny your claim what would you do then? Send the letter to DVLA/ police of course -  but that wouldn't get your money back. So, a suggestion in your letter to the CEO that you will file a case at the Small Claims Court might be useful. I used that Court once. It's pretty simple. There is a fee but you add that onto your claim. So, keep all receipts,  reports, letters and a diary of the time you spend, letters written, calls made. The objective is to build an irrefutable case . It then becomes a game of brinkmanship. Cazoo would likely stall until the day of the Court hearing  or the day before, but if your case is good, they will fold.

The good news is that if Cazoo fail to respond to the Small Claims Court you gain the power to have the entire company made bankrupt! Look online for the Small Claims Court - and record the date and  time you spend doing so.

BobG

[normal rules]

Help needed please, to cut a long story short, i recently purchased a car from Cazoo and part ex my old one. The company is by far the worst and most inept company i have ever dealt with, refusing to give me my full refund back for the car which was faulty from the day i had received it, and or ignoring emails, or manger getting back to me via phone. The car was handed back to Cazoo in December.

I just realised yesterday also that i am been still being charged for my road tax for my old Audi i part ex in November. DVLA have just emailed me and my old car is still registered to me!!! (i gave cazoo my V5 when traded in)

Just how the hell can i cancel it when cazoo are impossible to deal with and what are the implications for me if the car is still in my name (parking tickets etc)?

Whatever you do under no circumstances buy a car from these cowboys.

Any advice what to do legally i would be grateful to hear. Is it really a case of taking them to court?

Many thanks

Martin

Hi prez.
The car dealer industry is overseen by the The Motor Ombudsman.
They are like ofsted for car dealers.
Send them a report of your experience.
There is a link for consumers on their website pal.
https://www.themotorombudsman.org/

[Prez]

Brilliant, yet again many thanks guys.

[Prez]

Just an update and closure on this case to all those concerned.

i wrote to the CEO of Cazoo, last week, threatening to take my complaint to court if i wasnt paid. The next day i received 3 emails, all pretty much saying the same thing, sincerely apologizing, system error etc. They refunded me the full amount and also gave me £200 as a goodwill gesture, for the inconvenience, (which in truth i didnt ask for). All monies in my bank now.

Big thanks to all those who offered advice on this case especially Bob G.

I would still strongly advise though anyone who is looking to purchase a car from them though not to do it. . They are clearly a company on the decline, many branches are being closed including Doncaster.

You only have to look on trustpilot for recent reviews from customers up and down the UK.

Again many thanks.

Martin.

[BobG]

Brilliant!! Well done Martin. I hope you're enjoying a virtuous glow right now  It doesn't always work, but if you can write a sensible and polite letter or email it usually does.

BobG

[tommy toes]

Cazoo lost £329million last year. Seems they've made nothing but huge losses since being founded in 2018, yet they continue to sponsor nearly every major sport under the sun.

[BobG]

I've been reading their reviews on Trustpilot. There's no sitting on the fence there. It's either sycophantic lauding or vitriolic condemning.

Not a company you would want to trust with your hard earned. Perhaps there are brilliant examples of customer service and care, but there's far too many catastrophic horror stories to trust 'em with thousands and thousands of my or your ackers.


BobG

[SydneyRover]

''lex Chesterman, founder and CEO of used car marketplace Cazoo, is stepping down as CEO from April. The company also anticipates more layoffs this year.

The news was announced in the listed company’s latest report, released on Wednesday. Paul Whitehead, currently COO at the UK-based one-time unicorn, will take over the CEO role, while Chesterman will move into a new position as full-time executive chairman.

It’s the latest in a string of big changes for Cazoo. In September 2022, the company announced that it would pull out of the EU and continue to operate solely in the UK. In 2022, it laid off 1,500 employees.

Since listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in August 2021, Cazoo’s share price has dropped 97%. Its market cap is currently $234m — a fraction of the $7bn it was valued at when it floated''

https://sifted.eu/articles/cazoo-alex-chesterman-ceo-exit/

More about 'financials' in the link

[BobG]

I heard today that another of these online wunderkind is falling apart. Purplebricks has put itself up for sale after losing 98% of its share value.

Either online trading ain't the Nirvana that's claimed or Britain has a large collection of shit senior management. That would bode well for the brave new Britain striding forth around the world.

BobG