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This week the Watchdog team investigated We Buy Any Motor Car. A company which promises to buy any car that you want to sell. However, our contributors did not receive their money. We first meet Grant who decided to sell his vehicle and was quoted £6,400. He was told that payment would happen within three days, but the money didn't arrive. We also meet Janet who had to sell her van and was quoted £2,700. She also never received the money. Watchdog decided to investigate.

We wrote to Guiseppe Randino, company Director of We Buy Any Motor Car, and he told us that Grant wasn’t paid as the contract he signed stated that the vehicle had ‘Full Service History’, which wasn’t the case. He said that Grant was notified as soon as this was discovered, and was given the option of having the vehicle returned for free. Guiseppe told us that the contract also clearly states that if, for any reason, the vehicle isn’t purchased by We Buy Any Motor Car then the company will charge a storage fee per day, which was waived as Grant claimed that he had the missing service invoices/receipts. We were told that, as months elapsed and no storage was charged, the vehicle was becoming a liability to the company and cost it a good amount to store. Guiseppe reiterated that these charges were waived for Grant, but We Buy Any Motor Car was charged by the third-party storage company. According to Guiseppe, Grant was given a reduced offer over the phone because of the lack of service history. Guiseppe said that other car buying services also offer substantially less if service history is only partial or completely missing. We were told that Grant refused to take the vehicle back for free, stating that he had already experienced difficulty selling it privately, so therefore didn’t want it back. We were told that Grant eventually accepted We Buy Any Motor Car’s offer of £5800, which was made a month prior to his acceptance. According to Guiseppe, this amount should have been lower as it was accepted a month later, but that the company honoured it, allowing him to have this offer, which wouldn’t ordinarily be still valid a month later.

In Janet’s case, Guiseppe told us that her vehicle has a clear mileage discrepancy on the DVLA website, and because it had to contact her regarding this matter, her payment was delayed. We were told that Janet was given the offer of having her vehicle returned free of charge, but she declined it. According to Guiseppe, Janet was advised to contact either the DVLA or the garage where the MOT was conducted with the mileage discrepancy. We were told that Janet was granted free vehicle storage throughout this period, which was something the company didn’t have to provide. Guiseppe said that Janet had signed the contract, which clearly stipulated that she would be charged a daily rate in the event of an issue arising that could lead the company to either not buy the vehicle, or delay the purchase of the vehicle. Guiseppe said that after a few weeks, Janet notified the company that she couldn’t get the mileage issue resolved, which resulted in the company issuing her a lower offer as the vehicle was deemed substantially less valuable with a mileage issue on its record. According to Guiseppe, Janet declined this offer.

When we asked Guiseppe why Grant and Janet were only paid for their cars after we intervened, we were told that We Buy Any Motor Car had the right to withhold the payment of both vehicles due to the issues with the service history and mileage discrepancy. He told us that both customers declined his offer of returning their cars to them, adding that neither were charged a daily storage rate on their vehicles whilst they attempted to sort the issues out. Guiseppe told us that he didn’t want to jeopardise the reputation of his business, and felt coerced into making the payments just to resolve the matters, adding that Janet also received compensation. He said that his company didn’t have to honour this, but made the decision to do so.

When we asked why Janet’s van was listed on a different website, Guiseppe told us that she had clearly expressed her difficulty in selling the vehicle privately, and did not accept his offer of returning the vehicle. He said that whilst she was investigating the issue with the vehicle, his company offered her the opportunity to list the van with one of the garages it sells vehicles to on a “sale or return” basis. He said that it was agreed that if the van sold before the mileage discrepancy was resolved, the company would pay her what it originally offered and disregard the issue with the vehicle. Guiseppe said that the garage wasn’t aware of how We Buy Any Motor Car came into possession of the vehicle, explaining that it was simply selling the vehicle on its behalf.

When we asked how long customers should expect to wait for payment, Guiseppe told us that the wait time would be stated in the contract at the time of the deal, which is usually within 3 to 5 working days. He went on to say that, as the contract states, any issues arising such as the declarations specified by the car owner within the contract not being true, then payment can be delayed. He said that payments are only put on hold if there’s a mechanical issue with the vehicle, an issue arising on a HPI Check (mileage discrepancies or other issues), or issues with the paperwork of the car.

Finally, in relation to his previous conviction Guiseppe said that he was inexperienced in the field at the time, and was unaware of any wrongdoing. He said the court process educated him, and led to him investing in getting a legally binding contract made. He says that this was done, and thousands of pounds was spent in the process to ensure it was a legitimate contract, including verifying it with legal professionals.

You can watch the VT here, for 28 days - /iplayer/episode/m002jwzh/the-one-show-24092025