When our client saw the opportunity to own a vehicle he loved, he never thought a polygraph test in Sheffield would be necessary after he bought it.

Michael had wanted an Audi for some time. He’d never been able to afford the Audi A4 model but had just inherited some money from his late grandmother’s estate. He excitedly started to shop around and came across one with only 10,000 miles on the clock. The car was over 10 years old and had apparently been kept in a garage for most of its life. The odd thing was it had 3 previous owners and was immaculate.

Too good to be true

Michael organised an appointment to see the vehicle and thankfully it was local to where he lived in Sheffield. The car was beautiful inside and out. Without hesitation he bought it, paying in cash to the old boy he was buying it from. He even managed to get a few hundred off the already unbelievably low price of £3,950. Jonathan, the seller, seemed genuine enough and said the car had been in his garage for almost a year and not been driven. She started first time and sounded wonderful. A few tyre kicks later and Michael had the car of his dreams. He hadn’t even worried at the time about the ‘sold as seen’ receipt but he should have.

Buyer Beware

The car had run well for a month but then the problems began. She broke down constantly and even the AA was getting annoyed with the constant call outs. In the pub one afternoon Michael bumped into an old friend. Nathan was a mechanic and offered to come and take a look at his new prize possession. He was shocked to see just 10,000 miles on the clock and confirmed she should have more like 200,000 miles given the condition of the engine. Nathan explained someone had bought a car from him once and when it wasn’t what they expected they’d asked him to take a polygraph test in Sheffield. The results of the test confirmed Nathan was telling the truth and it was just one of those things that go wrong with cars of a certain age.

Polygraph test in Sheffield

Michael contacted us to book a polygraph test in Sheffield and after speaking to Jonathan was surprised that he accepted the challenge. Michael started to feel guilty about making this man of 71 take the test. A lot of thought went into the questions Michael wanted asked. The Sheffield polygraph examiner formulated them in such a way to ensure Michael would learn what he needed to know.

The results confirmed that Jonathan had tampered with the mileage and he knew how many miles the car had done. Not only that, he bought and sold cars for a living and Michael’s beloved Audi hadn’t been kept in a garage all its life. Jonathan’s son owned a body shop and this is how the car looked so perfect when Michael had first seen it. Armed with the lie detector test results Michael gathered all the evidence, took Jonathan to small claims court and won. Sold as seen didn’t matter in this case as Jonathan had seen a car with fictitious mileage, therefore the product he’d bought wasn’t what was advertised. Michael now has a new Audi A4, which he bought with the compensation and refund from the case.

Have you had a problem with a dodgy car salesperson?

The answers to questions posed in a polygraph examination often provide sufficient information to gather more evidence. Michael has the car fully checked by a mechanic and obtained all the details necessary to build his case.

If you’d like to discuss or order a polygraph test in Sheffield for malpractice or for any other reason, please call our confidential and free helpline on 07572 748364. Alternatively, you can make a reservation using our secure online booking system.