Used Car -Dealer Demanding More Money

warbski76

Yesterday my wife collected a new (used) car. The dealership has phoned today to say she owes them £500 as they included a deposit contribution that we weren't entitled to.

She signed the order form and paid the amount on it (which included the £500). They are now saying there is an invoice (which we haven't been given a copy of) with the actual balance due.

Can they now retrospectively expect her to pay, or is the signed order form binding, leaving them to cover the cost of their mistake?

flaneurs_lobster

Mistake?

They're trying it on.

eskbanker

warbski76 said:

The dealership has phoned today to say she owes them £500 as they included a deposit contribution that we weren't entitled to.

Who was meant to have been making this deposit contribution, i.e. the dealership or another party (e.g. finance company, government scheme, manufacturer, etc)?

Is your wife likely to require any ongoing relationship with this dealership, for servicing, etc, i.e. if there's an unresolved dispute, will this cause her inconvenience in future?

singhini

Can i check, is it a Dealership or a car dealer? (not that i think this make any difference). 

I.m not legally qualified and so take this with a pinch of salt, but i would have thought the signed Sales Agreement is the contract between the business and the consumer. Once both parties sign it and the buyer pays as agreed, the contract is complete (i would have thought)

A mistake (like including a discount not actually available) is a “unilateral mistake” in contract law and normally it does not make a contract void or let them change the price afterwards (but there are exceptions like the buyer knew or must have known it was a clear error (e.g. a £30,000 car listed for £3,000), or the sales agreement form explicitly said the price was “subject to confirmation” or “subject to manufacturer approval of the contribution” or the agreement is subject to approval conditions (e.g. finance approval), the agreed price is final.

So, if your wife signed an agreement stating a specific “total to pay” and paid that sum, the dealer is bound by that contract, even if they later realise they priced it wrongly (A unilateral mistake in contract law occurs when only one party is mistaken about a fundamental aspect of the agreement. The contract may be void if the non-mistaken party knew about the mistake and tried to take advantage of it -----> but it looks like your wife is not taking advantage of a mistake she knew about IMHO)

I can't see how the dealership can just invent a different invoice once the sale has completed (the document that governs the deal is the signed forms). An invoice you haven’t seen or agreed to doesn’t override a signed sales agreement.

Go back and check your paperwork and look for any wording such as:

“Subject to manufacturer deposit contribution approval”

“Price subject to change”

“Dealer reserves the right to amend in case of error.”

If there’s no such clause, you’re on very strong ground IMHO

On the assumption there is nothing in the paperwork i would tell them politely you are not aware of any outstanding balance and ask them to send a copy of the invoice they are referring to with a written explanation of why they believe an additional £500 is due.

Do not pay anything and if they persist, respond that you have a binding contract at the agreed and paid price and the car has been supplied and accepted,

Any internal pricing error is their responsibility.

I too would be interested in what others say
i would be well hacked off being asked for more money!

eskbanker

singhini said:

On the assumption there is nothing in the paperwork i would tell them politely you are not aware of any outstanding balance and ask them to send a copy of the invoice they are referring to with a written explanation of why they believe an additional £500 is due.

I wouldn't even ask to see the invoice and would just leave the ball in their court - if the dealership don't even issue it then it weakens their case further, and why do anything that tacitly recognises their position?

singhini

eskbanker said:

singhini said:

On the assumption there is nothing in the paperwork i would tell them politely you are not aware of any outstanding balance and ask them to send a copy of the invoice they are referring to with a written explanation of why they believe an additional £500 is due.

I wouldn't even ask to see the invoice and would just leave the ball in their court - if the dealership don't even issue it then it weakens their case further, and why do anything that tacitly recognises their position?

Really good point 👍

fatbelly

This hasn't even reached the start point yet. If they want money from you they would have to issue a court claim preceded by a preaction protocol letter, preceded by an invoice and several reminders.

I agree with eskbanker. All the steps have to be taken by them. At this point you need do, and should do, nothing

Okell

warbski76 said:

Yesterday my wife collected a new (used) car. The dealership has phoned today to say she owes them £500 as they included a deposit contribution that we weren't entitled to.

She signed the order form and paid the amount on it (which included the £500)...

Can you expand on this?

eg are we saying the agreed total purchase price was £20,000 but the dealer made a "contribution" of £500?

What was the total price on the order form?  eg £20,000 or £19,500?

Did you know you were not entitled to the "deposit contribution"?

born_again

Okell said:

warbski76 said:

Yesterday my wife collected a new (used) car. The dealership has phoned today to say she owes them £500 as they included a deposit contribution that we weren't entitled to.

She signed the order form and paid the amount on it (which included the £500)...

Can you expand on this?

eg are we saying the agreed total purchase price was £20,000 but the dealer made a "contribution" of £500?

What was the total price on the order form?  eg £20,000 or £19,500?

Did you know you were not entitled to the "deposit contribution"?

Sadly OP has not been back since posting 🤷‍♀️

Grumpy_chap

warbski76 said:

Yesterday my wife collected a new (used) car. The dealership has phoned today to say she owes them £500 as they included a deposit contribution that we weren't entitled to.

She signed the order form and paid the amount on it (which included the £500). They are now saying there is an invoice (which we haven't been given a copy of) with the actual balance due.

Can they now retrospectively expect her to pay, or is the signed order form binding, leaving them to cover the cost of their mistake?

What were the entitlement criteria for the deposit contribution?
These type of incentives will very typically have some criteria to be eligible for and the incentive is also often not funded by the local Dealer with whom you are liaising but by a third party (manufacturer or finance company).
One common incentive is a deposit contribution if buying on PCP.  If you then buy cash, the deposit contribution is not available.
What are the entitlement criteria that the Dealer now says you don't meet?