Fuming...just Bought Car And Apr Changed Without Informing Me....is This Legal

sarahmoo

Bought a car from a famous car supermarket today. ( will tell you if you message me...) Deal was £9299. They then tagged on some compulsory service charges (e.g. years breakdown at £89, number plates, but NO TAX...hmmmmmm)
which made grand total £9470ish
Gave me £250 for my old car. Unfortunately I could not use credit cardsa or cheques so had to pay by bankers draft or finance. I said I would raise £2000 by bankers draft and they could give me finance for £7000. No problem. Salesman quotes price of 7.9% over 3 years. Fair enough.

Went home and next day mum says she will lend me £4k so I will only need to borrow £3k. Great. Decide to do this over one year. RIng finance woman again who says no problem and then tells me the figure I will be paying each month. Tells me minimum term is 13 months. I say fine. She tells me number which I vaguely think sounds a little steep but don't worry too much.

Turn up today with all papers etc. Go and get tax disc etc. Come to sorting out finance. She goes through everything and then tells me monthly payment. I ask for APR and she says 29.8%!!!!!

I WAS GOBSMACKED and she simply said...well, we judge it by the amount people are happy to pay each month. You said you were happy to pay this amount over the phone. I said, yes but you didnt tell me the APR she said you didnt ask!

She explained that this was a standard rate over this period and I would be offered similar deals elsewhere. I told her it was outrageous and she said that it was only £500 interest! and not as much as if I had paid over 3 years.

Amazingly, when I threatened to walk away, she said, well you could just pay for it all now ....HA HA HA

Fortunately my dad was there ,and they changed their tune and we could pay miraculously by credit card at 2% (costing only £64). We decided not to bother and were about to walk away when they said we could use debit card without interest.

I AM FUMING. Should I report this company ? Is this legal?

Thanks for reading...feel a bit better now!

jonesMUFCforever

Yes it is. I feel they are stretching the law but did not break it. Most lenders offer the best rates to those who borrow more - it is industry standard practise.
What is your credit rating like/ If at all possible look elswhere first like your existing bank.

sarahmoo

Thanks for that. I can't see that it is right that they didnt tell me the apr over the phone beforehand though.


29.8% is standard over this period?

mjr600

Road Tax is rarely now included by a garage, it has nothing to do with the sale and is often cashed in by the seller prior to selling the car.

Repayment term confusion is pretty standard sharp practice for the type of car dealer you sound to have bought from, its a guess but is it Carcraft ?

MarkyMarkD

How would this not be legal? You weren't legally bound to take the loan until you saw the documentation, including the APR, and made your decision to accept or reject their offer.

All they are guilty of is poor customer service in not stating the APR over the phone - but, as they say, you could have (and should have) asked.

peterbaker

No of course it is not legal if this finance woman was already aware of the previous quote to you of 7.9% over 3 years, and if she had attempted to coerce you into signing the deal without highlighting the new rate.

Obtaining money by deception is fraud, pure and simple. Sounds like this salesperson was well on the way to deceiving you by having knowledge of one verbally quoted low rate deal, substituting a completely outrageous one without highlighting the fact, and then perhaps seeking to close the deal and obtain your money by hoping you wouldn't notice.

Let's be generous ... perhaps she wasn't aware that her colleague had quoted the 7.9% deal, and perhaps she was going to highlight the 29.8% before you signed.

Yeah right.

Parasites.

sarahmoo

Thanks for people's varying views. Just to say that it was the woman who offered me the 29 % rate and the one who initially arranged the 7.9 % deal were one and the same ! So she knew damn well....


Worth reporting this or not?

Ta

withabix

You were borrowing a different amount. Not sure there's anything to report.


As a rule it is generally better to avoid obtaining finance at the car dealers, as they're a bunch of crooks. Better to get the finance separately elsewhere.

Emmzi

It's legal. You got a chance to read before you signed.

Sorry.

peterbaker

I don't understand the comments of those who say unconditionally that it is legal.

Are they saying that is how they themselves expect to conduct business when they are selling? Or are they saying that they don't feel strong enough to complain about the world around them and therefore they double-check everything because they've been told that in 2007 the world is legally sharp as razors? I would have some sympathy with the latter.

Emmzi

I didn't say it was *moral*....