A quick update.
.
.
Got a phone call from Peter Gidden in the week, who I must say, has been extremely helpful throughout this issue.
He said that Ben's mother had been in touch, and had finally come to her senses, and agreed to contribute half to the cost of the repair.
I was really pleased that she had taken some responsibility
(would have been nice if it had been Ben, but who was I to moan), and held her hand up.
The payment was to be made to whom ever I chose to do the repair under the condition that I made an apology for accusing Ben for knowingly not replied to any of my acusations, when he was out of the country.
It was explained to me that it had been Ben's mother Gina that had logged on and made the replies.
I agreed to this, and waited for Peter to draught up the agreement for both myself and Gina to sign.
I waited.
.
.
Nothing.
I again heard from Peter a couple of days ago.
He was absolutely fuming, and played me a message that Ben's mum Gina had left for him.
In it she said that she had changed her mind, and would no longer be contributing to the cost of the repair, as a family friend had advised her not to
(or words similar to those).
Peter was tamping as a couple of days earlier, she had been on the phone to him in tears, for well over an hour.
The upshot of this is, Peter has now spoken to his solicitor, and has found out that Ben is liable to be prosecuted for deception, as the car's resale value would have been effected by the engines condition.
The resale value of the car in the condition it was in at the time of the exchange was around
£3000, but he had advertised it for
£7500, knowing full well that engine was damaged.
However, the Integra's condition was perfect, and was worth around
£8000 at that time.
Therefore, Ben will be sued either for the difference between the price of the cars, or to re-exchange the vehicles back.
The latter is not an option I want to take, as I really do want to keep the MR2, so it looks like Ben will be on the losing end of a compensatory payment.
Furthermore, Peter has offered to appear in court and provide evidence, as he on more than one occasion, warned Ben of the engines problem, and also explained this in writing to Ben's mother Gina.
I feel quite confident now that between Peter and myself, we have enough evidence to win this case quite conclusively.
I just wish that Ben had owned up in the first place.
It would have cost him
(or Gina) a lot less.
EarL.
