A DRIVER who took a dealership to court won his case - but now has no cash or car.

William Duncan and his wife purchased a Ford Focus in January from iCars Ibrox but claim there were problems with the vehicle.

They asked showroom owner Jamie Miller for a refund, sparking a string of events that has ended with the car being scrapped against their will.

Mr Duncan said: “The car made a loud noise all the way back to Irvine, where we live, so we phoned and messaged Jamie immediately.”

The couple ended up locked in a war of words with Mr Miller and eventually took him to the small claims court.

A sheriff found in their favour, meaning Mr Miller should have paid the Duncans £1,295, plus expenses.

Mr Duncan, however, said: “All he has to do is give me a refund. This has caused huge stress for my wife and I.

“A court found in our favour - that should have been that.”

Mrs Duncan bought the car from the Ibrox dealership on January 12.

She claims problems with the Ford Focus were evident as she drove it home and so she contacted Mr Miller immediately.

Mr Miller wanted the car returned to be checked over but the Duncans felt it was unsafe to drive. 

Instead, they asked VOSA - the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency - for a new MOT for the car.

It had passed an MOT arranged by Mr Miller on January 12 with a clean bill of health.

This MOT, on January 22, failed the car for a faulty stop lamp. It also lists nine advisories, which are not present on the January 12 MOT.

These include a front tyre being worn close to the legal limit, brake discs and brake linings worn, the exhaust pipe tied on with cable ties, and the registration plates deteriorated.

Mr and Mrs Duncan then went to the small claims court where a sheriff at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court found in their favour.

But Mr Miller refused to pay up.

Meanwhile, Mr Duncan said he had been unable to tax the vehicle because the log book - the V5C - had not been transferred to his name.

On May 14 the vehicle was impounded due to being untaxed or SORN, taken to the DVLA centre in Dalry and scrapped.

Mr Duncan said: "We now have no car and no refund. We're waiting for Jamie to do the right thing."

Mr Miller told the Evening Times he has sold more than 500 cars since 2016 and has received fewer than two per cent of complaints.

He pledges that he would have offered the couple a refund had they only returned the vehicle in January.

Mr Miller claims the court only found for Mr Duncan because information he sent to Kilmarnock Sheriff Court went missing in the post.

The salesman also insists he did send away the log book to the DVLA but these were lost in the post. 

Mr Miller claims Mr Duncan phoned the DVLA to report the car out of “spite” but Mr Duncan refutes this. 

A spokesman for the DVLA confirmed a car would not be scrapped without contact first being made with the registered keeper, in this case Mr Miller.

The car dealer now claims he is taking Mr Miller to the small claims court, although he declined to say what for, and said he intends to raise legal action against Mr Duncan after he and his wife set up a Facebook page for people to report complaints about iCars Ibrox.

The page received around two dozen responses before being shut down.

Mr Miller said: “We are not saying we are perfect but we always try and accommodate and resolve any issues that occur. 

“However, sometimes its impossible to mediate with people who would rather abuse the legal system instead.

“Mr Duncan refused to come in with the car, hence we are here at this juncture.”

A spokesman for Trading Standards said: “Trading Standards has received complaints in relation to this company.

“We have written to the company to ask them to comment on these complaints and we are currently awaiting a response.”