A MAN who sold a 'not fit for purpose' car has been ordered to pay back the woman who bought it off him.

Tony Stoiles has been told to pay a total of £2,021, plus legal costs, to Chevonne Shaw after a county court judge ruled he had sold her a car that was ‘not fit for purpose’ and not of ‘satisfactory’ quality.

The private sale was made in February 2021 however the claimant found the 2014 Vauxhall Corsa had several MOT fails when they had it examined.

Miss Shaw said: “I’ve got no trust in buying cars privately or on Facebook anymore.

"It’s made me scared and far more curious about buying now.

“I’ll be happy when the full amount has been paid because I’ve waited over a year for this and financially times have been hard.

“I lost my job in November and all the time and money this has cost hasn’t helped.

“I am worried this might happen to other people so if anyone else is thinking of doing this, get the car checked by a fully qualified mechanic and be very careful when buying cars privately.”

The court heard the defendant had at previous hearings accepted he buys and sells cars on occasion with a view to profit. The court was satisfied, for the purposes of The Consumer Rights Act 2015, that he was acting as a trader.

The court determined Miss Shaw was entitled to recover the cost of the vehicle and the associated expenses.

The judgement also included that the ownership of the car would now be passed back to the defendant.

Mr Stoiles was ordered to pay the amount by January 20. Miss Shaw said it had not been paid yet but Mr Stoiles had agreed to pay the amount owned over time in instalments.

He was also absent during the court’s official ruling and did not file any written evidence, court papers seen by The Mail show.

Mr Stoiles said he did not wish to comment when approached by The Mail.