Consumer Rights - Car Dealership

angry_consumer99

I thought we had bought a car on Saturday, went to dealership and signed the order form, paid the deposit, and then went away and arranged a loan for the balance, expected to collect the car on Wednesday.

Phone call on Sunday, "oh I'm sorry we didn't add VAT to the order" (clearly has VAT on the order form) we want an extra 5k off you. There has been an internal error and VAT has not been added.

No, I know my consumer rights, or so I thought, apparently they have a 24hour cooling off period although everyone I have spoken to, this is the first they have heard of this, when you go into a dealership there are no cooling off periods for either party.

They cancelled the order today, nearly a week later and have refunded our £500 deposit.

So now I am left with a bank loan for the car we were due to purchase.

What would you do next?

mebu60

Either repay the loan if there's no (onerous) penalty or put it in an easy access account paying a decent interest rate while I look for another car around the same amount I expected to spend first time around.

eskbanker

No, I know my consumer rights, or so I thought, apparently they have a 24hour cooling off period although everyone I have spoken to, this is the first they have heard of this, when you go into a dealership there are no cooling off periods for either party.

What do the terms of the purchase agreement state?

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6686871/consumer-rights-car-dealership

A retailer can have their own arrangements, as long as they do not deny you your rights.

Think M&S , you buy in store but you can return the item. That is their own arrangement.

UnsureAboutthis

Seek consumer advice via trading standards ASAP if possible, as IMO you may have a case.

Also, what is happening re loan and have you spoken to them?

Ayr_Rage

There could well be a cooling off period for the loan, check asap.

As for the car, didn't you notice the final price was a lot less than it should've been for that vehicle?

Until you've paid the balance and taken delivery I'd guess they can decline to sell to you and they've put you back in your original position.

angry_consumer99

I will look for another car with the loan.

I didn't realise that the car was 5k cheaper, the sales guy actually said to us that we are getting a really good deal, and as they always do, they check with their manager before the sale is agreed. The price was incorrect on the website, autotrader and on the forecourt. They had plenty of opportunity to check the price was correct before we signed the order form.

Grumpy_chap

I thought we had bought a car on Saturday, went to dealership and signed the order form, paid the deposit, and then went away and arranged a loan for the balance, expected to collect the car on Wednesday.

Phone call on Sunday, "oh I'm sorry we didn't add VAT to the order" (clearly has VAT on the order form) we want an extra 5k off you. There has been an internal error and VAT has not been added.

No, I know my consumer rights, or so I thought, apparently they have a 24hour cooling off period although everyone I have spoken to, this is the first they have heard of this, when you go into a dealership there are no cooling off periods for either party.

They cancelled the order today, nearly a week later and have refunded our £500 deposit.

So now I am left with a bank loan for the car we were due to purchase.

What would you do next?

This is a bit confusing as there are several factors that may come into play.

Firstly, for a consumer purchase, the price should show VAT from the outset. That was discussed recently in the following thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6685133/hidden-vat-in-online-purchase

Secondly, is this "car" a car or a light van / commercial vehicle / pick up (maybe a camper van or a Ranger or such like)? It is just, used car generally do not attract VAT in the normal way, though used vans are commonly subject to VAT.

£5k VAT would imply £30k vehicle (£25k + VAT). Is that correct?

If the "car" is indeed a car (and not a commercial vehicle) then the VAT-margin scheme would normally apply which means VAT is only applied to the Dealer's margin (profit). On this scheme, for the VAT to be £5k, the margin would be £30k (inc VAT) so the whole price for the car would be well north of £100k.

What type of car did you buy?

What is the normal price?

Did you get a bargain?

angry_consumer99

Ranger priced at £24,999

angry_consumer99

On the order form it stated VAT, so net just shy of 21k

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82169720#Comment_82169720

As well as what the Ts & Cs state regarding cancellation policy on either side, there is likely to be some form of E&OE clause in the agreement or invoice, i.e. Errors and Omissions Excepted, which will generally be the basis on which mistakes can be unwound.