bought a car on credit

[hannah29]

as the title shows we bought a car on credit about a month ago....went to a large uk car company signed all the paperwork and drove away.....we wanted the car immediately due to holiday so we were asked to take the car back to have a new mot put on as they always do...(old mot still valid) two weeks after having the car we got a call saying we owe them £700.....it turned out that the lad who filled in the paperwork had filled in the credit paperwork wrong and had outdone themselves to the sum of £700. the lad told us if we didn't pay it they would void all the warranties that came with the car...we also have it booked in for its mot with them and are now worried they may not give it us back....the first payment has gone out the bank, the paperwork was signed and agreed...do they have a case or not....it was their mistake, i can honestly say we didn't know at the time when we signed that it was wrong and is it our fault that the staff they employed cant do maths???

[spaceman5]

sorry dont know where you stand on this one, but i dont know how they could demand more money from you, if you signed the paperwork, and they signed it, surely that is a contract, and they cant change that without your consent, so if warranties where part of the deal, i cannot see how they could just rip them up, go and see local c/a/b to see where you stand, surely if this is a large uk company £700 would be a drop in the ocean to them, stand your ground until you get proof that they are entitled to this extra money, like i say go and see citizens advise, i am sure they are more qualified to advise you than i am, but in my opinion if you signed documents, and they have as well, and you have a copy of the document they signed, then i cannot see how they have got a leg to stand on, HTH Dave.

[hannah29]

my thoughts exactly

[hannah29]

well we are still in the same place here and battling it out....when we went to buy the car we had a budget of around 150 per month we wanted to spend, found the car, filled in paperwork and with all the warranties and extras it turned out to be 180 a month which we agreed to and are now paying...then they come back and say we owe them £700. after talking with numerous people at the company we finally got to talk to one of the directors...he still says we must pay the money back, we said fair enough but on our terms. we told them we would pay this back over a period of time...he phoned today and said this was not acceptable and must be paid back within 3 months. an extra 230 quid a month on top of normal outgoings is not possible for us at the moment, he then suggested we add it to the credit....this would mean paying it back with interest and bumping our payments up to much more over than we originally wanted to, so we said no to both. this was their mistake so why should we pay for it? we have said they can have the car back providing we get our 450 deposit, the money for the part exchange and the first payment that we have made. they have said if we do this our credit will be blacklisted. this i don't believe but is worrying all the same as we are in the process of applying for a mortgage. i may be wrong but surely the car now belongs to the finance company and not the car company, the finance is being paid at the agreed rate with them so they are happy. i am finding this really stressful and waiting for a call from trading standards at the moment as in my opinion you cannot sign an agreed contract and then decide you want more money for something. this company is using major bullying tactics on the phone in order to get us to pay up which is not right in my opinion....any ideas????

[deltic]

well we are still in the same place here and battling it out....when we went to buy the car we had a budget of around 150 per month we wanted to spend, found the car, filled in paperwork and with all the warranties and extras it turned out to be 180 a month which we agreed to and are now paying...then they come back and say we owe them £700. after talking with numerous people at the company we finally got to talk to one of the directors...he still says we must pay the money back, we said fair enough but on our terms. we told them we would pay this back over a period of time...he phoned today and said this was not acceptable and must be paid back within 3 months. an extra 230 quid a month on top of normal outgoings is not possible for us at the moment, he then suggested we add it to the credit....this would mean paying it back with interest and bumping our payments up to much more over than we originally wanted to, so we said no to both. this was their mistake so why should we pay for it? we have said they can have the car back providing we get our 450 deposit, the money for the part exchange and the first payment that we have made. they have said if we do this our credit will be blacklisted. this i don't believe but is worrying all the same as we are in the process of applying for a mortgage. i may be wrong but surely the car now belongs to the finance company and not the car company, the finance is being paid at the agreed rate with them so they are happy. i am finding this really stressful and waiting for a call from trading standards at the moment as in my opinion you cannot sign an agreed contract and then decide you want more money for something. this company is using major bullying tactics on the phone in order to get us to pay up which is not right in my opinion....any ideas????

STOP - do not agree to pay anything until you have consulted the following for advice. If you pay anything then you could damage your position.

- Trading standards.
- Citizens Advice Bureau.
- RAC or AA if you are a member.
- The Finance company.

They sound like they are bullying you and relying on you not knowing the law.

It looks to me like you and they have a legally binding Finance Agreement which cannot be changed unless you (not they) want to change the terms and conditions with the Finance company. This contract is solely with the Finance company and not the dealer so the dealer can't make you do anything in this regard.

Also, the dealer has completed the sale and you and/or the Finance company have an invoice stating this - the Finance company must have one in order to pay the dealer. Once the contract of sale is complete it cannot be changed in law by the seller unless there is a breach of contact - incorrect charging by the seller is not a breach of contact as far as I'm aware. It would be like Dixons ringing you up after you bought a TV and telling you they made a mistake and the price displayed was wrong and you owe them £200 - it doesnt happen !!

Please please please get some professional advice...

[chris147]

As deltic has said DON'T PAY THEM A THING OR AGREE TO ANYTHING without speaking to who he/she mentioned.

Quite simply I would say that both sides have signed the agreement therefore it is legally binding. If you bought the car at well over market costs then realised later you had could you go back in and ask for money back 'or else'? I don't think so.

Trading standards would probably be the best bet and let the garage know you are speaking to them as well. It may just call their bluff.

What do you mean by bullying tactics?

[hannah29]

i am feeling bullied because everytime they phone they are saying things like "if we don't pay they will cancel the warranty" and "your credit will be blacklisted"...in my opinion they are trying to scare us into paying....it is worrying, however neither my husband or i am scared, just getting angrier. i am sure there could be a few people out there who they may have done the same to who on the threat of "no warranty" or "bad credit" would have paid up straight away. it shouldn't be allowed

[custardy]

tbh i would stop dealing over the phone.
step back and do everything via letter.i know its slower but it keeps everthig on record.
send them all via recorded delivery.
im sure people on here plus the bodies recommended can help but TBH i think you have a strong case.
of course it gets tricky when it comes to warrenty work

[chris147]

tbh i would stop dealing over the phone.
step back and do everything via letter.i know its slower but it keeps everthig on record.
send them all via recorded delivery.
im sure people on here plus the bodies recommended can help but TBH i think you have a strong case.
of course it gets tricky when it comes to warrenty work

Good advice to be fair. Everything by letter therefore they can't wriggle out of anything.

I personally don't think it will be tricky for warranty work.

They and you have signed a legally binding agreement. You can't turn around later and say 'oh hang on I got it wrong'. It's signed.

[hannah29]

thanks to all we are now awaiting a phone call back from our local trading standards which should be in the next few days....will keep you posted

[chris147]

Don't give up Hannah!

A lot of businesses use bullyboy tactics but back down when challenged.

[deltic]

With regard to the warranty, as you bought the car on finance, the finance company have what's called 'equal liability'.

Without boring you with the detail, it means if you bought a car with a warranty and the dealer then claims its void without good reason (e.g. you didn't have it serviced or maintained properly), you can pursue both the dealer/seller AND the finance company to enforce the warranty for its full duration or provide equivalent cover at their expense.

[TBeckett100]

there is no such thing as a blacklist.

some oik has made a balls up and been told to sort it. Consult the Cab and enter into no further discussion with them and only then in writing. if he mentions blacklist one more time, remind him that only the finance agreement is enforceable and provided those repayments are made, you have kept to your agreement. seek advice, NOW

[hannah29]

ok a quick update. the company in question was the carshop. when they last phoned we told them to put everything in writing and we would consider once we had spoken to the trading standards. this was over 2 weeks ago and have not heard anything yet. in the meantime we have spoken to trading standards who have said "don't pay, its their mistake, the contract was signed, they are using bullying tactics" exactly as we all thought. we are leaving it be for now unless we hear anymore that is the end of it as far as we are concerned. i just hope one or two people read this and it helps them in the near future not to back down to bullies
hannah