Unfair credit card surchages upon buying a car?

lazy&indebt

Someone on another board has made the following point:

"Yes the OP agreed to the charges at the time, but that was in order to get a working car. If the car is being refunded, then the charges should be too. I think it's the case that if the retailer processes a refund to the same card, the charges are reversed by the system provider, but I could be wrong on that. It may be worth looking in to though, because if that is the case, it is most definitely unfair that they keep the card charge."

I think this is fair. You agree to the CC charges when you believe you are buying a functioning vehicle. But the car turns out to be a load of rubbish, why should I be £103 down? And does anyone know if these charges are refunded?

lazy&indebt

AdrianC wrote: »

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.

What is classed as 'failing' ? They have had the car back 3 times and have not fixed the fault. I requested a refund and they seem to think that legally, they have 6 weeks to fix it before giving me a refund? I have not heard this anywhere else.

roonaldo

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!

Which law? If you are referring to The Conusmer Rights (Payment surcharges) Regulations 2012. I'm pretty sure the law doesnt apply in this case so this isnt a legal issue. Rules brought in says they cannot make a profit from a credit card charge but this doesnt apply to all businesses including new and small businesses where it kicks in later this year. It also excludes certain transactions.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3110/contents/made

The make and condition of the vehicle is irrelevant to this and a seperate issue.

roonaldo

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?! I thought MSE was usually on the side of the consumer.

You have rights! but your post is about credit card charges not a dodgy motor. You would be best off posting that in a different section.

roonaldo

lazy&indebt wrote: »

You agree to the CC charges when you believe you are buying a functioning vehicle. But the car turns out to be a load of rubbish, why should I be £103 down? And does anyone know if these charges are refunded?

No, they may as a gesture of goodwill if they do agree and refund you for the car but wont be obliged to. But again as pointed out this is a charge passed on by the credit card company to the consumer (you), you chose to pay by this method. You could have avoided the charge. It's not the fault of the car dealer that you paided by credit card.

AdrianC

lazy&indebt wrote: »

What is classed as 'failing' ? They have had the car back 3 times and have not fixed the fault. I requested a refund and they seem to think that legally, they have 6 weeks to fix it before giving me a refund? I have not heard this anywhere else.

That's a separate issue to the card charges. SOGA doesn't give any specific timescales or number of attempts. Especially with complex used goods, like cars, everything is flexible with regard to the reasonable expectations of the goods, given the age/condition/value.

The expectations for a £3k (10+yo, ~100k miles?) used car are much lower than those for a brand new one.

If you want some suggestions on the specific fault/"failure to fix", then I'd start a new thread, and give many more details.

lazy&indebt

roonaldo wrote: »

No, they may as a gesture of goodwill if they do agree and refund you for the car but wont be obliged to. But again as pointed out this is a charge passed on by the credit card company to the consumer (you), you chose to pay by this method. You could have avoided the charge. It's not the fault of the car dealer that you paided by credit card.

Do you know for a fact that they aren't obliged to?

lazy&indebt

AdrianC wrote: »

That's a separate issue to the card charges. SOGA doesn't give any specific timescales or number of attempts. Especially with complex used goods, like cars, everything is flexible with regard to the reasonable expectations of the goods, given the age/condition/value.

The expectations for a £3k (10+yo, ~100k miles?) used car are much lower than those for a brand new one.

If you want some suggestions on the specific fault/"failure to fix", then I'd start a new thread, and give many more details.

The car does not drive more than 3 minutes down the road before it cuts out. I'd say that was unfit for purpose, regardless of it's age (9 years old) and mileage (116,000)

AdrianC

lazy&indebt wrote: »

The car does not drive more than 3 minutes down the road before it cuts out. I'd say that was unfit for purpose, regardless of it's age (9 years old) and mileage (116,000)

That doesn't mean it won't be a quick and easy fault to fix, once diagnosed. And it's fairly safe to assume that this fault developed since the purchase of the car, though, because it would have been immediately apparent on even the most half-hearted pre-purchase test-drive and inspection.

But that's academic, since they've clearly accepted that there is a fault. The question is merely one of when their right to attempt to fix takes a back seat to your requirement for a refund.

lazy&indebt

AdrianC wrote: »

That doesn't mean it won't be a quick and easy fault to fix, once diagnosed. And it's fairly safe to assume that this fault developed since the purchase of the car, though, because it would have been immediately apparent on even the most half-hearted pre-purchase test-drive and inspection.

But that's academic, since they've clearly accepted that there is a fault. The question is merely one of when their right to attempt to fix takes a back seat to your requirement for a refund.

They have had the car three times and not fixed the fault. So clearly not a quick and easy fix. I test drove the car one afternoon and it did not cut out. This usually happens in the morning when the engine is cold and first became apparent 2 days after I bought it. I contacted them and told them the same day. They have had the car three times and have not rectified the fault.