Showroom sells a used car for Dhs68,000, stalls payment to vehicle's owner

Al Ain Civil, Commercial and Administrative Cases Court obligated a showroom for selling new and used cars to return Dhs68,000 to a customer and fined it Dhs15,000 for failing to transfer the price of a car to a customer.

Earlier, the customer asked the showroom to help him sell his car and consequently he was asked to transfer the ownership of the car to the showroom’s name to make it easier to sell it.

Later, an agreement on the sale price was reached, but the showroom did not commit to transferring the amount to the car owner and began to stall.

The car owner filed a lawsuit against the showroom in which he requested the court to obligate it to pay him Dhs68,000 plus a legal interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of the claim until full payment.

He also requested the court to obligate the showroom to pay him Dhs30,000 in compensation for the material and moral harms he had befallen plus the incurred fees, expenses, and lawyer’s fees.

The car owner pleaded that he owned a car, and the defendant was a licensed showroom for selling new and used cars.

As he wanted to sell his car, he agreed with the showroom for his car to be displayed at the showroom and then sold at the highest satisfactory price.

The car continued to be displayed until the showroom informed the car owner that it had agreed with a buyer to sell the car for Dhs68,000, which the car owner agreed to.

However, the showroom informed the car owner again that the buyer wanted to buy the car through a UAE bank and consequently the car owner was requested to transfer the ownership of the car to the showroom to be able to sell the car and complete the procedures faster.

The showroom asked the car owner to use his digital ID and carry out the procedures for waiving the car and promised him to transfer the amount as soon as the procedures were completed.

The car owner stated that the showroom, however, continued to stall on this matter and refused to transfer the amount to him although the car had already been sold and the sale price had already been received.

This prompted the car owner to file a lawsuit, requesting the court to issue a verdict in his favour.

He supported his lawsuit with a copy of the WhatsApp conversations and a copy of the car ownership document.

The court explained that it was evident from the documents that the car owner had handed his car over to the showroom and declared that the showroom had sold it and collected its price Dhs68,000.

The showroom did not dispute the origin of the debt and acknowledged the car owner’s right to claim it.

The court thereby ordered the showroom to pay the amount claimed and estimated the compensation due at Dhs15,000 for all the material and moral harms that the car owner had befallen.