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!

meer53

You agreed to the charges at the time, why do you think it's unfair now ?

whatmichaelsays

Card charges are legal, as long as they are not "excessive". What is considered "excessive" is widely open to debate - the ticketing and airline industries in particular have been at the centre of the argument. If you want to take the fight to the dealer, good luck to you, but it likely be more effort than it is worth.

Ultimately however, the above poster has it right - you have agreed to a contract which included a 4% card surcharge. If you didn't agree, your options were to negotiate a deal that negated this charge or take your business elsewhere.

lazy&indebt

meer53 wrote: »

You agreed to the charges at the time, why do you think it's unfair now ?

This is why I put 'unfair' in inverted commas. My question relates to whether this should also be refunded, as well as the cost of the vehicle. I do not know where I stand legally and was after some advice.

SuperHan

The points above are moot.

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.

lazy&indebt

SuperHan wrote: »

The points above are moot.

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.

Thank you so much for being the first helpful person I have spoken to. This is exactly what I thought also.

unholyangel

Would also depend on what the fault is. For the price paid, i'm guessing we're looking at a 10+ year old freelander. Quite a lot of things can go wrong with a car that age.

lazy&indebt

unholyangel wrote: »

Would also depend on what the fault is. For the price paid, i'm guessing we're looking at a 10+ year old freelander. Quite a lot of things can go wrong with a car that age.

Thanks, I am aware that an older car won't work quite as well as a younger one.

It is 9 years old and the engine cuts out whilst driving it. The car is not fit for purpose.