Protection when using finance
Hi All
When buying a second hand Motorhome (4 years old) from a dealer, is there any extra protection if you purchase it partly through finance, as opposed to paying for it outright by bank transfer / debit card ?
If there is extra protection, is there a minimum amount you can put on finance to qualify for the protection ?
Thanks
Peter
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The above might help but only for goods costing up to £30k
I suggest trying an internet search for other info.
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If the purchase is for £30k or less put £100 or more on your credit card, perhaps as a deposit. It is unlikely that the dealer will accept the whole amount on a CC because of the cost to him. Doing that makes your CC company jointly and severally responsible for the purchase. Should your dealer then let you down in any meaningful way you will have the legal protection of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
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Oh yes. The goods, not the amount borrowed, must cost between £100 and £30k. Your link and mine are much the same and explain that. Over £30k you have the County Court system to fall back on.
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I'm reading it as the amount spent, not the list price of the goods though. So if you bought a new car at £40k without p/x you wouldnt be covered because you're spending £40k, but if you chopped in your old car at £10k you would be as you're spending £30k. Am I right?
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I take the opposite view. In my link it explains section 75 applies if “the cash price of the goods or services is more than £100 but not more than £30,000” and I take that to mean the price paid. The fact that you paid part by means of p/ex doesn’t alter the total price paid as I see it.
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Thanks everyone. I”m aware of the credit card protection, but its max is £30k. I”m specifically talking about Motorhome finance.
PS for clarification, the £30k limit on credit cards is the purchase price. It is not relevant whether you finance it by a trade in etc, it is the purchase price.
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But what is "motorhome finance"? It’s either a bank loan, HP, or credit card and no different to any other sort of finance. Surely a loan is a loan🤷🏻♂️
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TW , a loan is a loan.
Finance is secured on a specific vehicle which is registered to the finance company until you pay off the loan, and the finance company are therefore jointly responsible for the vehicle and have more clout.
As an example we purchased a settee from Furniture Village on 0% finance and the recliner developed a fault after 18 months. We contacted FV who examined it, blamed us and offered us £300, and wouldn’t budge. After 6 weeks of talking to them, we contacted finance company. Two weeks later we got a phone call from FV to arrange the delivery of our brand new replacement settee.
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In that case, you seem to have pretty much answered your own question, One. If you need more info, the finance company will supply it. 👍🏻
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Best to ask the experts rather than posters on a caravanning forum, One. 😀
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Well, good luck. Just be sure to read the small print and keep your wits about you.
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I don't think there is any way to secure a deposit where the price of goods is over £30,000. Thats quite a scary proposition when your new van might be costing £100k and the dealer is a limited company with a balance sheet showing assets of say £10,000. Dealers can and do go bust and there are examples of companies with extremely weak balance sheets.
Personally I would not pay a deposit unless the balance sheet was very healthy and even then its a calculated risk. I appreciate that some dealers will not proceed on that basis. It may be possible to enter into a HP agreement and cancel it at an early stage but that isn't simple either.
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Forums are a problem in the sense that there will be some people who are very expert indeed and some who don't know what they are talking about. Careful calm and systematic googling using section 75 (see above) etc may help you to separate the wheat from the chaff.
What may be interesting is to establish the correct name of the dealership.It should be shown on their website, communications etc. If its a company you can find out a lot about it using the following link, the official government companies website, such as the directors and their history and in particular the balance sheet of the company. This isn't perfect but it it may bring up red flags.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
Its not so straightforward if the dealer is not a company and incidentally a person who trades as a partnership or an individual may be a better bet as they will have personal liability so a bit of a minefield really.
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