Sale of goods act

KyeMaggie

I ordered and paid a £500 deposit for a vehicle on 6/5/21. The price was agreed and I received a contract and an invoice for total £30088.44- £500 deposit, £29588.44 balance to pay. The invoice included road tax at £330 as it would be taxed as a van. 

The Van has finally arrived 2 months late but was expecting that but now they say it has to be taxed as a car due to the rear seats and costs £1400 instead of £330 an extra of £1070. they said they will give me a discount of £250 on the van and forwarded me an amended invoice of £30408.44 making the van £820 more expensive than originally agreed plus it will cost £215 more each year to tax, where do I legally stand and is it fair for me to pay for their mistake?

Aylesbury_Duck

KyeMaggie said:

I ordered and paid a £500 deposit for a vehicle on 6/5/21. The price was agreed and I received a contract and an invoice for total £30088.44- £500 deposit, £29588.44 balance to pay. The invoice included road tax at £330 as it would be taxed as a van. 

The Van has finally arrived 2 months late but was expecting that but now they say it has to be taxed as a car due to the rear seats and costs £1400 instead of £330 an extra of £1070. they said they will give me a discount of £250 on the van and forwarded me an amended invoice of £30408.44 making the van £820 more expensive than originally agreed plus it will cost £215 more each year to tax, where do I legally stand and is it fair for me to pay for their mistake?

If they've broken the terms of the contract by changing the overall price (and you need to look very carefully at the contract and invoice is written, particularly the element about the VED), then you can cancel the order and get a full refund.  They probably won't want to lose the sale, so may make an improved offer on the £250 they've offered so far. 

Are you prepared for them calling your bluff if they agree to cancel the contract?

Ongoing VED costs are your responsibility - it's up to you to check what rate applies to future years, but if the first year's cost is specifically itemised on the contract as £330, or the whole contract is written in such a way that £30,088.44 is the overall price including VED, then I think you're on solid ground for the initial year's VED, which the dealer has agreed to pay.

Grumpy_chap

So, it sounds like the OP has ordered a brand new vehicle.

Whether a vehicle is a van or a car is normally a matter of fact, and not subject to the interpretation of the Dealer or purchaser.  There can be some vehicles which fall into a grey area, such as the Ford Ranger or VW Caddy with rear seats in the cargo compartment.  However, in many cases, these vehicles are chosen specifically because they satisfy the requirements for "van" and result in reduced BIK for a one-person Ltd Co Director.

Can the OP advise what the vehicle is?

I can't see any VED rates that exactly match the values provided by the OP.  I assume a high (200?) CO2 diesel vehicle.

Further, given that this is a van, is this a business purchase (even if for a sole-trader)?  If so, consumer rights may not apply in the same way as a straight forward private purchase.  Instead, the T's&C's of the contract are all that apply.  What do these say?

What outcome does the OP want?  Is it simply to have a discount to compensate the value of the error?  OR, is it to cancel the order?  In which case, how will the OP meet their transportation requirements?  With the current market for vehicles, the OP's negotiating position is likely weaker than would be the case in normal times.

Finally, as a thought, if the vehicles is something like a Caddy, can the OP accept without the rear seats?  Then, buy the seats as an after-market accessory and fit themselves?  This might be a route that works.

Sandtree

Private or business sale?

What exactly does the contract state? That it includes VED no matter what the price of VED on the day or it includes £330 towards VED in which case anything above that is outside the contract

Grumpy_chap

Whether a vehicle is a car or a van is usually determined by the manufacturer at first registration and then DVLA create the log-book accordingly.  Whatever is on the log-book becomes the defining status for that vehicle.  If the owner considers the log-book is incorrect, there is a process for getting this amended by DVLA.

In lay-terms, the following article gives a summary:
https://www.gocompare.com/van-insurance/is-my-vehicle-a-car-or-van/

JJ_Egan

Factory issues  a detailed description of new models  to DVLA .

They are then < type approved > as regards to classification and duty .

Dealer has a new car or van delivered from the factory with accompanying V55 document .

That is then used to first register and tax the vehicle .

Of course much is now electronic rather than paper based .

mattyprice4004

What's the make and model, and is this a business or personal purchase? 

KyeMaggie

The vehicle is a Transit Custom Kombi and when checking with DVLA they have been on car tax since 2017 so it’s a mistake by the dealer when they’ve entered road tax charges on the order agreement for £330 which has now been amended to £1400 - £250 contribution for their mistake. It is a private sale.

Grumpy_chap

KyeMaggie said:

 £250 contribution for their mistake.

I suspect that is as good as you'll get in the current climate, though you can try to push for a bit more.  No harm in asking.  However, the Dealer probably knows they can sell easily without needing to give away £250.

It does seem like genuine human error and, arguably, you could have been as well informed as the Dealer given this is not a recent change and the criteria are available in the public domain.

MalMonroe

The Sale of Goods Act has now been replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

The vehicle you have been sent is NOT as described, which is it supposed to be. That means you are going to be out of pocket. Their offer of £250 is quite pathetic, imho.

It isn't fair, no and you shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. Have you actually told the dealer that you don't want to pay for their errors? 

There is some info here for if you want to take this matter further - how to resolve a dispute and what to do if you cannot do that. 

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/consumers/make-a-complaint

If you bought the vehicle from a dealer it isn't a private sale, it's a sale from a dealer. Which is better for you. 

I'd have a go at contacting them and telling them what you want and then taking steps to actually get what you want if they won't agree. [That's what I'd do, not saying you have to but I do hate when businesses think it's okay to mess people around in this way - and let's not forget that they kept you waiting an extra two months.]

y3sitsm3

MalMonroe said:

The Sale of Goods Act has now been replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

The vehicle you have been sent is NOT as described, which is it supposed to be. That means you are going to be out of pocket. Their offer of £250 is quite pathetic, imho.

It isn't fair, no and you shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. Have you actually told the dealer that you don't want to pay for their errors? 

There is some info here for if you want to take this matter further - how to resolve a dispute and what to do if you cannot do that. 

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/consumers/make-a-complaint

If you bought the vehicle from a dealer it isn't a private sale, it's a sale from a dealer. Which is better for you. 

I'd have a go at contacting them and telling them what you want and then taking steps to actually get what you want if they won't agree. [That's what I'd do, not saying you have to but I do hate when businesses think it's okay to mess people around in this way - and let's not forget that they kept you waiting an extra two months.]

The item is as described, it's the tax that hasn't been charged appropriately.

The OP bought a Transit Custom Kombi and got exactly that.