car dealership altered amount of finance I applied for without my permission

mgmarkseven

Hello everyone.  I am new here so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place.
I was going to buy a secondhand motorcycle from a well-known dealership in London.  I initially applied for a loan of 4250 and 2 days later received an email from the dealership informing me that the finance application had been put through to the finance company.  When I checked the summary they sent I saw that the amount requested had increased by nearly £100.  When I questioned this I received an email saying the additional money was to cover "road tax".  I told the company I was not happy about my finance application being altered with my contacted beforehand to give my consent to any changes.  I also informed them that I had separate funds to cover additional costs like "road tax" and insurance and did not want to pay additional interest on the loan for something I did not consent to.

I realise the amounts involved are small but I am concerned that the dealership acted in this way without giving me the courtesy of an email or telephone call to discuss this with me.
I want to cancel the purchase now but I am concerned at the impact on my credit rating if I do this.  Any advice appreciated.
Thank you.

MinuteNoodles

It won't have any impact. At worst it appears as a settled loan. At best it's one hard search.

phillw

mgmarkseven said:

I realise the amounts involved are small but I am concerned that the dealership acted in this way without giving me the courtesy of an email or telephone call to discuss this with me.
I want to cancel the purchase now but I am concerned at the impact on my credit rating if I do this.  Any advice appreciated.

Have you paid a deposit?
Have they offered to amend the application for the lower amount and take the payment individually?
I'm not aware of any impact on your credit file.

mgmarkseven

MinuteNoodles said:

It won't have any impact. At worst it appears as a settled loan. At best it's one hard search.

Thanks for the replay, what is a "hard search"?

mgmarkseven

phillw said:

mgmarkseven said:

I realise the amounts involved are small but I am concerned that the dealership acted in this way without giving me the courtesy of an email or telephone call to discuss this with me.
I want to cancel the purchase now but I am concerned at the impact on my credit rating if I do this.  Any advice appreciated.

Have you paid a deposit?
Have they offered to amend the application for the lower amount and take the payment individually?
I'm not aware of any impact on your credit file.

Luckily no money taken yet.  When I checked the DVLA about VED (road tax) it states quite clearly that it cannot be transferred on sale of a vehicle and has to applied for by the owner with the insurance and mot if required.
Really unhappy as it is a very good vehicle.  I just think it was wrong of them to adjust this with speaking to me first and getting my consent.

[Deleted User]

Surely you signed a document which stated the amount you would be applying to borrow?

bazzyb

mgmarkseven said:

phillw said:

mgmarkseven said:

I realise the amounts involved are small but I am concerned that the dealership acted in this way without giving me the courtesy of an email or telephone call to discuss this with me.
I want to cancel the purchase now but I am concerned at the impact on my credit rating if I do this.  Any advice appreciated.

Have you paid a deposit?
Have they offered to amend the application for the lower amount and take the payment individually?
I'm not aware of any impact on your credit file.

Luckily no money taken yet.  When I checked the DVLA about VED (road tax) it states quite clearly that it cannot be transferred on sale of a vehicle and has to applied for by the owner with the insurance and mot if required.

A dealer can tax the car on your behalf. 

They will also be able to adjust the finance to be £100 lower if that is what you prefer. Nothing is finalised until you read and sign the agreement for the loan. 

bazzyb

nerox said:

Surely you signed a document which stated the amount you would be applying to borrow?

The agreement would need to be signed, but an application would not necessarily need to be. 

MalMonroe

Because you applied for a loan and it appears that it was granted, that WILL appear on your credit report, that is what is known as a 'hard search'. A soft search is what you can do through sites such as this MSE one where you put in your details and they tell you whether or not you'll have any chance of getting a loan. As you got the loan you applied for, it'll be on your credit report now for one year. The same thing happened to me, I went to a car showroom, saw a car, applied for a loan through the car showroom finance company but then found a better loan elsewhere. I was able to cancel because it was within the 14 day cooling off period. No problem cancelling but they wouldn't take it off my credit report. I wrote to the finance company a couple of times asking them to remove it because I hadn't taken them up on their offer but they refused each time. 

All that being said, your credit rating shouldn't be affected and even if it is, lenders can't see that anyway. Because as many people on this site are always saying, those numbers don't mean anything. And it's true. 

I wouldn't worry, if I were you. It's just another of those life lessons we're always being given!