The Car Shop - Returning a vehicle on finance

yatesy1979

Hi, my girlfriend went to look at cars alone 2 days ago and went into The Car Shop. She was sold a vehicle that she can't afford and signed up to finance that she now considers 'over the top'. While in the dealership they told her she had a 14 day cooling off period but also took her vehicle in part exchange and she drove the new car off the forecourt that evening.
I called the dealership yesterday morning to speak about returning the vehicle and cancelling the agreement but they said that as the finance paperwork had been sent off then there was nothing they could do.
Please can someone help ASAP??

Thanks in advance!!

maninthestreet

Did she sign the contracts whilst on their business premises? What does the contract actually state about any cooling-off period?

yatesy1979

The contracts were signed on their premises. I think the finance paperwork says that there is a 14 day cooling off period when the hard copy arrives in the post but is this only with the finance company and not the dealership??

bingo_bango

yatesy1979 wrote: »

The contracts were signed on their premises. I think the finance paperwork says that there is a 14 day cooling off period when the hard copy arrives in the post but is this only with the finance company and not the dealership??

Correct. You can cancel the finance but this is a right of withdrawal under S.66A of The Consumer Credit Act which does not mean that the linked transaction (contract for purchase of the car) is cancelled also.

It might be easier to 'find' something wrong with the car and then reject it under SoGA.

mambo69

Alternatively dont let her go on her own next time, take some one else to check the figures before she signs

bris

You will need to read the contract very carefully as cooling off periods do not normally apply to contacts signed on the premises.

sabz3008

It seems to me that there's a 14 day cooling off period on the finance itself but not on the sale of the vehicle. She doesn't have any legal right to return the vehicle, only has the legal right to cancel the finance agreement without incurring any fees / interest / etc... It's probably BS that they said because the finance has been sent off they can't do anything, that's not true at all.

It might be easier to 'find' something wrong with the car and then reject it under SoGA.

This sounds about right really, you have a right to 'reject delivery' of the vehicle if there's something wrong, but then again, they may be adamant that they want to repair it instead... Don't accept that, leave the vehicle with them, get in touch with the finance company too.

fthl

only has the legal right to cancel the finance agreement without incurring any fees / interest / etc...

Actually some fees/interest and costs etc are incurred so will have to be paid back if the agreement is withdrawn from.

If there is nothing about a contractual cooling off period, then the best option might be to cancel the finance and seek to get a more competitive deal elsewhere.

sabz3008

fthl wrote: »

Actually some fees/interest and costs etc are incurred so will have to be paid back if the agreement is withdrawn from.

If there is nothing about a contractual cooling off period, then the best option might be to cancel the finance and seek to get a more competitive deal elsewhere.

OP says that the finance has a 14 day cooling off period, therefore I'm guessing that this won't incur any fees/interest etc...is this not the case with some finance companies? I thought cooling off meant, cooling off...

fthl

the 14 day cooling off period for finance agreements is actually a right to withdraw (with some exceptions) now, not a cooling off period.