What happens if you win in court and the seller still does not pay?

Most private vehicle sales end without any need for formal action after handover. Sometimes, however, a serious dispute develops after the sale, and the buyer has to go through the claims process.

This article covers the scenario where:

• The buyer and seller have exhausted the internal claims process;
• The seller has refused to make adequate payment to the seller in respect of the buyer's claims;
• The buyer has taken the matter to court and obtained a judgment;
• The seller has refused to make payment in respect of the court order.

In certain circumstances, Condensis may offer to take over a qualifying unpaid judgment. If that happens, the buyer can accept a payment from Condensis and leave further recovery against the seller to Condensis.

Where relevant, a request may also rely on an instalment order governing payment of the judgment, which affects the minimum amount Condensis may offer.

For broader background, see how payment default enforcement works and the seller's financial obligations after the sale.

When this option is available

This is not an automatic payment scheme for every dispute. It only applies where there is a final Irish court judgment against the seller for money due under the agreement, and at least one such judgment remains unpaid for a continuous six-week period when the request is made.

The option is also limited in scope. The buyer gets one transfer request only, the outstanding judgment amount must be at least €120, and the request must be made within 104 weeks of the agreement date. If the buyer wants Condensis to price the request on the instalment-order basis, the request must also include the relevant instalment order.

• Final court outcome: The relevant judgment, and any instalment order relied upon, must be final and in force.
• Payment judgment required: A payment judgment is required. An instalment order is optional but affects pricing.
• Continuous non-payment: At least one qualifying payment judgment must still be unpaid for six continuous weeks when the request is submitted.
• Time and amount limits: The request must be made within 104 weeks and the outstanding judgment amount must be at least €120.

What the buyer has to submit

The buyer must send the request by email to Condensis. It must include certified or sealed copies of the qualifying payment judgments and of any instalment orders relied upon, evidence showing the extent to which the judgment remains unpaid and that the six-week condition is met, a breakdown of the outstanding amount, and the buyer's bank details.

If information is missing or the request does not yet meet the requirements, Condensis must notify the buyer of the deficiency. The buyer may then correct or supplement the request, provided the overall time limit has not expired.

What Condensis offers

If the request qualifies, Condensis can either make a transfer offer or issue a discretionary decline notice subject to a penalty. If it makes a transfer offer, the buyer can decide whether to accept it. If it issues a discretionary decline notice, no assignment takes place and the buyer keeps the judgment, but Condensis must pay a penalty to the buyer as compensation, as detailed later.

The minimum pricing depends on whether the request relies only on a payment judgment or also includes a qualifying instalment order.

The outstanding amount is measured after giving credit for payments already received from the seller. If the seller makes a further payment after the request but before the offer is accepted or expires, the buyer must tell Condensis because that changes the calculation.

What happens if Condensis declines

If the request qualifies and Condensis chooses to decline, Condensis must now pay a penalty of half of the minimum amount that would otherwise have been payable under the contract's pricing formula.

At the same time, the buyer retains the judgment because no assignment happens. The buyer therefore keeps the ability to pursue the seller. The underlying court enforcement rights remain with the buyer.

What happens if the buyer accepts

If the buyer accepts the offer, the judgment debt is assigned to Condensis. Condensis then becomes responsible for further enforcement. From that point, the buyer no longer has the right to pursue the assigned judgment themselves, apart from receiving payment from Condensis and providing reasonable cooperation if needed.

Condensis also takes on the recovery risk after assignment. If it later cannot recover from the seller, it generally cannot come back to the buyer for that loss unless the buyer acted fraudulently or materially misrepresented the judgment status.

Example calculations

• Example 1 — instalment order, low amount: If the protection amount is €2,400, the unpaid judgment amount is €1,000, and the buyer includes a qualifying instalment order, the minimum transfer price is €900. That is 90 cents in the euro.
• Example 2 — instalment order, high amount: If the protection amount is €2,400, the unpaid judgment amount is €4,400, and the buyer includes a qualifying instalment order, the minimum transfer price is €1,080 on the first €1,200 plus €720 on the next €1,200 plus €400 on the next €2,000, for a total of €2,200. That works out to 50 cents in the euro overall.
• Example 3 — judgment only: If the protection amount is €2,400 and the unpaid judgment amount is €1,000 with no qualifying instalment order, the minimum transfer price is €600. That is 60 cents in the euro.

Example calculation for a discretionary decline

Assume the same figures as Example 1: a €2,400 protection amount, a €1,000 unpaid judgment amount, and a qualifying instalment order. The minimum transfer price would be €900. If Condensis issues a discretionary decline notice instead of making an offer, it must still pay 50% of that minimum figure. The decline payment would therefore be €450. The buyer would still keep the judgment and could continue pursuing the seller directly because no assignment would have taken place.