united-kingdom consumer-protection breach-of-contract
Can I use WhatsApp for legal communication in the UK?
<p>I currently have a consumer rights dispute over a car and have been trying to resolve it via WhatsApp, as the only method I had to communicate with the dealer. I have followed everything I can and sent him messages explaining my rights and the issue.</p>
<p>Last week I sent him a message stating I wanted to hear back in 7 days regarding the next steps as I was getting nowhere but I still got no response (it does show he's seen all my messages).</p>
<p><strong>Would I be able to go down the route of a partial refund or have I wasted all my time waiting and have to start again with writing letters?</strong></p>
<p>I am happy to do a letter before going to court asking for a refund, but I don't want to cancel my garage appointment for the repair and start all over again waiting months for a reply just because I used WhatsApp.</p>

<p>Short answer: I can't find anything saying that electronic communication doesn't count here. If you have taken the necessary steps to seek further action, doing them over WhatsApp is valid (though using a second method is recommended, if only to pre-empt &quot;my phone broke&quot;).</p>
<p>Long answer:</p>
<p>To do so, you need a letter of deadlock or &quot;final response&quot;, showing you have exhausted attempts to resolve the situation. You will need to request this from the company- stating that they're resolution of your complain has been unsatisfactory and to issue the letter. This should include a reasonable deadline (the samples I've found suggest two weeks), after which you will consider the issue deadlocked and proceed anyway.</p>
<p>I couldn't find anything to suggest that the request must be physical. Obviously a verbal request is not recommended as you will need to prove it later. However, your last message probably wouldn't be enough to count if you were simply discussing your next step and didn't mention this.</p>
