Incorrect finance given

eddiet89

Hi, I recently purchased a couch and carpet from SCS. The tolal cost of this was £2065, I paid a £245 deposit which resulted in me getting finance for an amount of £1817. However, due to a mistake on SCS part they have only taken finance of £1572 because the finance officer unwittingly took the desposit off twice!. Now they have politely asked me to pay the difference but with a discount of £48 for the inconvience. I am wondering if I have a legal obligation to pay this amount back or not. I don't have a spare £200 nor do I want another search on my credit file because of their mistake. Any advice would be most welcome. Thank you. Eddie

marliepanda

You need to pay for your sofa.

eddiet89

Thought so, do you think they would be open to a monthly payment scheme, suppose I'll just have to ask them!

paddyrg

If you can find £200, £48 discount seems generous and worth having. If you get them to agree to terms for the £248, you may end up paying the £248+ interest.

naedanger

eddiet89 wrote: »

Thought so, do you think they would be open to a monthly payment scheme, suppose I'll just have to ask them!

I think they should be agreeable to a payment scheme because if they had not made a mistake you would not be in the position of having to find £200 immediately.

You could suggest that the reduced shortfall is spread evenly over the remaining payment term (so if you have 10 months left then increase the repayment by £20 per payment).

They may well suggest something higher e.g. as above but with interest, or by spreading the full shortfall (without the £48 discount) with or without interest.

What you get will likely depend on how well you can negotiate.

unholyangel

As others have said, the contract itself was for the £2065, they've just made a mistake with the finance portion.

That being said, you shouldn't be any worse off due to their mistake - so they can't force you to take out another finance agreement (as it could adversely affect your credit records particularly if applying for any other finance) or to pay the difference before it would have been due under what was originally agreed.

They're legally bound to offer what was originally agreed but of course, that doesn't stop you from agreeing to vary the contract (they just can't vary it without your agreement).

eddiet89

They won't allow me to pay a monthly allowance, they want to redo the credit agreement and have politely told me the consequences would be debt collectors and taking away the carpet I purchased along with the couch. You see the price of the carpet is exactly the amount I owe, so the couch is fine they just want paying for the carpet. I didn't react well to being threatened and said I was within my rights to send everything back and cancel the whole agreement which was met with a less than pleasenr response. I took that agreement out because it was an affordable credit arrangement, the monthly payment will now increase but I do like the couch though.... Thank you for all the replies and advice, much appreciate!

unholyangel

eddiet89 wrote: »

They won't allow me to pay a monthly allowance, they want to redo the credit agreement and have politely told me the consequences would be debt collectors and taking away the carpet I purchased along with the couch. You see the price of the carpet is exactly the amount I owe, so the couch is fine they just want paying for the carpet. I didn't react well to being threatened and said I was within my rights to send everything back and cancel the whole agreement which was met with a less than pleasenr response. I took that agreement out because it was an affordable credit arrangement, the monthly payment will now increase but I do like the couch though.... Thank you for all the replies and advice, much appreciate!

Did they say this to you on the phone or by email? If by phone, personally I'd tell them I'm not willing to discuss it over the phone and they can do so in writing so theres a record of whats said and whats agreed.

Who's providing the credit?

I take it the finance agreement had the repayments set at the £1500 amount of credit and would need to be adjusted to account for their mistake? Leading to you either paying more or longer?

naedanger

eddiet89 wrote: »

They won't allow me to pay a monthly allowance, they want to redo the credit agreement and have politely told me the consequences would be debt collectors and taking away the carpet I purchased along with the couch. You see the price of the carpet is exactly the amount I owe, so the couch is fine they just want paying for the carpet. I didn't react well to being threatened and said I was within my rights to send everything back and cancel the whole agreement which was met with a less than pleasenr response. I took that agreement out because it was an affordable credit arrangement, the monthly payment will now increase but I do like the couch though.... Thank you for all the replies and advice, much appreciate!

Have you thought of speaking to Citizen's Advice to see if they can offer help?

eddiet89

Everything that has been discussed has been over the phone, I thought this odd because I assumed they would have contacted by via post first. I am going to speak to trading standards and CA on Monday, they will increase the payments. I have seen that there is a discrepancy from the price and the finance, I don't see why they are threatening me with a debt collectors and removal of the carpet because of there mistake. I don't think they are dealing with the issue very well. Once I know more about the legalality of the situation I will be able to make an informed decision.

unholyangel

eddiet89 wrote: »

Everything that has been discussed has been over the phone, I thought this odd because I assumed they would have contacted by via post first. I am going to speak to trading standards and CA on Monday, they will increase the payments. I have seen that there is a discrepancy from the price and the finance, I don't see why they are threatening me with a debt collectors and removal of the carpet because of there mistake. I don't think they are dealing with the issue very well. Once I know more about the legalality of the situation I will be able to make an informed decision.

Theres basically two scenarios. There is a contract - and therefore the terms are legally binding on both parties. Or there isn't a contract and you're free to cancel....

You cannot have a contract that is only legally binding on one party. And given their attitude, I'd put it to them exactly like that.
Given the amount of the contract, you'll receive better advice by getting a free half hour consultation with a lawyer specialising in contract law - CA are okay for simple generic advice but often advise completely wrongly on more complex situations.

What resolution are you actually looking for? Or what resolutions would you be satisfied with?