buying a car showroom do not accept payment by card

skcollobcat10

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Hintza

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

I am going to pick up my car on Monday, the car showroom have just phoned and said that I need to pay for the car by cheque or cash.

I find this strange as I wanted to pay by debit card with a small amount on my credit card for the section 75 guarentee.

The amount I am about to pay is £14,800, I do not feel comfortable paying this amount without some form of protection.

The showroom say they do not let people pay by debit or credit card because they are charged £40-50 per month from the bank for having that type of facility.

Any ideas on what to do?

Either go elswhere or do as they wish. I'm surprised any dealer allows anything to go on a CC.

WestonDave

Putting a small amount on the credit card is pointless as the credit protection will only apply to the amount you've paid - £500 out of £15k isn't much protection.

Debit card won't provide any protection so you might as well pay by cheque.

The problem for car dealers accepting credit cards is twofold - firstly the chargeback protection means that you have an expensive item that you could get the credit card company to refund you and charge them back for, without them being able to verify that you haven't actually caused the problem yourself. The other problem is that credit card processors typically charge a percentage (1% is a good rate - it gets higher) of the price so on your £15k car they'd be paying £150 in credit card charges, plus of course the monthly fee for maintaining the terminal. Chances are if they have service desk, they will have a credit card machine for people paying for repairs etc, but they won't let you use it to buy a car.

stugib

WestonDave wrote: »

Putting a small amount on the credit card is pointless as the credit protection will only apply to the amount you've paid - £500 out of £15k isn't much protection.

Not according to Martin's article on s.75

OlliesDad

WestonDave wrote: »

Putting a small amount on the credit card is pointless as the credit protection will only apply to the amount you've paid - £500 out of £15k isn't much protection.

As response already, S75 would cover the whole purchase.

OlliesDad

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

I don't know what to do for the best, I do not want to carry that amount of cash with me. Also if it is a cheque it will need 3 or 4 days to clear.

Could you offer to pay the charges the car dealer would receive from the bank (i.e the £50).

DonnySaver

What about a bankers draft? Will they accept that?

garth549

I can understand them not allowing payment by CC as they are charged up to 3% of the transaction in fees. I'm suprised they dont allow payment by debit card as they just cost a small flat fee to process AFAIK.

Perhaps they have been stung by fraud in the past. Like others have said if you want the extra protection you might be best going elsewhere.

daveyjp

Find a dealer who operates in the 21st century. To expect anyone to wander round with £15k in a bag is madness.

Cheques are another nightmare as they won't release the car until it has cleared or they have ensured a bankers draft is genuine. You pay, they go bust, goodbye cash and car.

KevInChester

Sure you have already, but have a bit of a Google to see if there have been any issues with that particular showroom.

Hermanmunster_2

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

I am going to pick up my car on Monday, the car showroom have just phoned and said that I need to pay for the car by cheque or cash.

I find this strange as I wanted to pay by debit card with a small amount on my credit card for the section 75 guarentee.

The amount I am about to pay is £14,800, I do not feel comfortable paying this amount without some form of protection.

The showroom say they do not let people pay by debit or credit card because they are charged £40-50 per month from the bank for having that type of facility.

Any ideas on what to do?

What Car magazine advises you to put a small amount on your Credit Card because the whole deal then falls under the credit card consumer protection laws!


I cannot understand them not wanting you to pay by debit card as this is the modern way garages want you to purchase. I recently purchased a new car and put the £500 deposit on with Credit Card just in case the garage went bust in the 4 months wait then I paid the balance of £25,000 by debit card when I collected .


The salesman said he had had a family in the day before collecting three cars and just over £100,000 went through on their debit card.