Unfair credit card surchages upon buying a car?

lazy&indebt

Hi everyone!

So, long story short - I purchased a Freelander from a small garage on 4th February and the car is faulty. It has been since I first had it and they have attempted to fix it 3 times. It is still not fixed so I am requested my money back. The car cost me £2995 + £80 contribution toward the road tax but they also charged me 4% credit card fee on £2575 of the cost (the first £500 was a deposit and they didn't charge me on this for some reason) totaling £103. My question is first of all, am I entitled legally to have this charge 100% refunded?? And, if not am I entitled to a part refund? I have read a lot about 'unfair card charges' and that a business cannot charge you more than what it cost them but how am I supposed to know what it cost them? What is classes as 'excessive' ? Any help with be appreciated. Thank you!

motorguy

lazy&indebt wrote: »

Hi everyone!

So, long story short - I purchased a Freelander from a small garage on 4th February and the car is faulty. It has been since I first had it and they have attempted to fix it 3 times. It is still not fixed so I am requested my money back. The car cost me £2995 + £80 contribution toward the road tax but they also charged me 4% credit card fee on £2575 of the cost (the first £500 was a deposit and they didn't charge me on this for some reason) totaling £103. My question is first of all, am I entitled legally to have this charge 100% refunded?? And, if not am I entitled to a part refund? I have read a lot about 'unfair card charges' and that a business cannot charge you more than what it cost them but how am I supposed to know what it cost them? What is classes as 'excessive' ? Any help with be appreciated. Thank you!

They probably pay around 3%.

LandyAndy

lazy&indebt wrote: »

Hi everyone!

So, long story short - I purchased a Freelander from a small garage on 4th February and the car is faulty. It has been since I first had it and they have attempted to fix it 3 times. It is still not fixed so I am requested my money back. The car cost me £2995 + £80 contribution toward the road tax but they also charged me 4% credit card fee on £2575 of the cost (the first £500 was a deposit and they didn't charge me on this for some reason) totaling £103. My question is first of all, am I entitled legally to have this charge 100% refunded?? And, if not am I entitled to a part refund? I have read a lot about 'unfair card charges' and that a business cannot charge you more than what it cost them but how am I supposed to know what it cost them? What is classes as 'excessive' ? Any help with be appreciated. Thank you!

Their merchant fee could well be 4% so that is not, in itself, excessive.


My feeling would be that it is not a cost of buying the car, rather a cost of your chosen method of finance, so you wouldn't be entitled to the card fee back.

colino

Well lazy&indebt, have you actually agreed you are getting your money back? I think that would be your number one priority having invested in a cheapo Freelander that is faulty.
Secondly, the garage swallowed the cc charge on the deposit, they didn't on the total amount, normal business practice and they certainly aren't going to refund your method of bill payment if they do refund the car sale price.

cherryblossomzel

As I understand it, the 4% charge wouldn't have gone to the dealer, but to the credit card company, so why should the dealer refund it?

lazy&indebt

colino wrote: »

Well lazy&indebt, have you actually agreed you are getting your money back? I think that would be your number one priority having invested in a cheapo Freelander that is faulty.
Secondly, the garage swallowed the cc charge on the deposit, they didn't on the total amount, normal business practice and they certainly aren't going to refund your method of bill payment if they do refund the car sale price.

For your info, they have not agreed my refund as of yet but I have not queried that here as I am well aware of my rights. They have to refund me after selling me a car that is not fit for purpose, regardless of whether or not it is a 'cheapo freelander'

It is stressful and upsetting that I have shelled out this much of my money for a car that has done nothing but breakdown, sometimes in unsafe situations. Maybe you should think about these things before offering your 'advice'. I do not think I am to blame for my choice of car.

roonaldo

You are not legally entitled to have it back as its not illegal. It's not an unfair charge either, its a charge passed on to consumer for the charges incurred by paying by credit card. If you are not happy with it you shouldnt have agreed to it and instead paid by another means.

I always read that Landrovers are the most unreliable car on the road so im not suprised its breaking down.

lazy&indebt

So what if it is classed as an unreliable car??? I bought it 3 weeks ago and it has been in the garage FOUR times since then? So basically I have absolutely no rights because Freelanders have a reputation?! I thought MSE was usually on the side of the consumer. People seem to prefer to point out that I shouldn't have bought it in the first place. Which isn't helpful really!

lazy&indebt

roonaldo wrote: »

You are not legally entitled to have it back as its not illegal. It's not an unfair charge either, its a charge passed on to consumer for the charges incurred by paying by credit card. If you are not happy with it you shouldnt have agreed to it and instead paid by another means.

I always read that Landrovers are the most unreliable car on the road so im not suprised its breaking down.

The law says they cannot make a profit from a credit card charge. But I have no idea what the transaction would have cost them, so how do I know if they have overcharged me or not?? Basically, I don't see why I should be out of pocket when I have been sold a faulty vehicle. And again, pointing out NOW that Land Rovers are unreliable does not really help my situation!

Bantex_2

lazy&indebt wrote: »

The law says they cannot make a profit from a credit card charge. But I have no idea what the transaction would have cost them, so how do I know if they have overcharged me or not?? Basically, I don't see why I should be out of pocket when I have been sold a faulty vehicle. And again, pointing out NOW that Land Rovers are unreliable does not really help my situation!

They cannot make a profit from penalties, think they are allowed to on up front charges though.

AdrianC

lazy&indebt wrote: »

So what if it is classed as an unreliable car??? I bought it 3 weeks ago and it has been in the garage FOUR times since then? So basically I have absolutely no rights because Freelanders have a reputation?

You have the usual SOGA rights. They give the garage a right to repair. If they decline, or if they fail, then you have the right to a refund.

Which, it appears, is exactly what's happening. No problem there, right?

The cost incurred for paying by card was not part of the purchase price, so would not be part of the refund. It is not unfair because it was not excessive, and you had plenty of opportunity to avoid it by using another means of payment.