A car dealership in Harlow, Esssex has been accused of scamming over £740,000 from customers.
Happier Cars promises to sell your car for a commission.
But an ITV News investigation has found at least 50 people have been left without their cars or their money.
The investigation, by ITV News Reporter Kaf Okpattah, also found evidence of possible illegal trading and the sale of stolen cars.
I was halfway up the stairs to my kitchen, two bags of shopping in each hand, when my phone began to vibrate.
A big part of me wanted to ignore the call, both on account of it being a Sunday and not having any hands free to physically pick up my phone.
But by the time I reached the kitchen and placed all four bags on the dining table, the vibrations were still carrying on.
Begrudgingly, I drew my phone from my pocket and answered: “Kaf speaking,” I said.
“Kaf mate!” the excited and eager voice on the other end of the line replied.
“I’ve got a big story for you. This car dealership in Essex is carrying out a major fraud and I think you should look into it. They’re called Happier Cars.”
The anonymous voice on the phone refused to provide any more information, not his name, or his relationship to the story, just the name of the car dealership and the allegation of a “major fraud”.
Initially, I dismissed his accusations as mere hyperbole, but later that night, amidst a period of boredom and sleep deprivation, I decided to do a quick Google search of Happier Cars.
On the surface, it looked like a very sleek operation – a well-designed website featuring over a hundred used cars for sale, some of which were of a luxury vintage class.
It wasn’t until I started reading the online reviews that the first red flags started to appear, with multiple people alleging that Happier Cars had sold their vehicles for them but failed to pay them.
I spent the next three months digging into the affairs of this dealership, speaking to over 50 people with claims that they had been scammed.
Among them was a London-based mechanical engineer, Salvador Marval.
“A person contacted me on the phone saying they’re from Happier Cars and they’d be interested in selling my car.”
A month after the initial contact, a salesperson from Happier Cars tells Salvador that they have found a buyer for his Tesla.
Salvador drove his car to the Happier Cars dealership in Harlow, where he left it for the buyer.
ITV News tracked down the buyer of Salvador’s Tesla who shared receipts of a £22,000 cash payment for the car.
When I asked Salvador how much of that he received his response was blunt and to the point.
“It’s been nearly five months and I haven’t received a penny.”
Documents shared with ITV News show that Salvador isn’t alone; at least 52 people are owed money by Happier Cars, with a total debt of over £700,000.
In their frustration, some customers have reached out to the police for help.
Shameer Ahmed sold his BMW through Happier Cars, it was sold for £16,000, but like Salvador, he never received his payment.
After reaching out to the police, his car was marked as stolen and seized by the police. But despite this Shameer’s car still hasn’t been returned to him.
The Metropolitan Police told ITV News: “We are investigating an alleged theft of a car which was reported to us on Wednesday, March 19.
“The victim claims their car had been sold without their permission and they did not receive any payment. Our investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage”.
Essex Police, who are also looking into Happier Cars, told us: “We’re investigating a number of allegations of fraud in relation to a car dealership in Harlow.
“Our inquiries are ongoing and we remain in close contact with an appointed insolvency practitioner.”
ITV News also understands that several reports from customers have been made to the Trading Standards Agency
As we dug deeper into Happier Cars, we found further evidence of potential criminality.
Whilst the Happier Cars website was still active, two vehicles which had been sold by the company – a White Land Rover Defend, and a black Land Rover Range Rover Sport – had previously been reported as stolen.
ITV News has also found evidence of potential illegal trading by Happier Cars.
In August last year, the company applied to be dissolved.
However, we’ve seen contracts – including one signed in October – which show that Happier Cars was still taking on clients, knowing that the company was about to be dissolved, something which is a breach of the Companies Act.
In a statement, Companies House, which deals with such matters, told ITV News that it does not comment on individual companies but any breaches of the companies could lead to legal and financial repercussions for those involved.
In every case we investigated one name consistently kept popping up: Charles Dean Cavendish, the company director of Happier Cars.
Up until now he’s proved elusive to find.
When we visited the car dealership, we were met with a closed, empty car lot and a sign that said ‘Happier Car is no longer trading at these premises’.
With no way of physically reaching him, the only way we could contact him about these allegations was through a phone call, which he never answered.
We made multiple further attempts to contact Mr Cavendish, both via text and email, as well as delivering a letter to one of his colleagues and to a liquidation firm he had appointed.
Despite all our efforts, Mr Cavendish never responded.
Currently, there is no trace of the Happier Cars website and the company has been dissolved.
As the police begin their criminal investigation, the hope now from customers is that they get their cars or their money back.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
