Car finance Supreme Court Ruling

[otherclive]

They have since 2021 and the commission has to be declared. On the Jeep it was something like £120, but the interest rate was 6.1% in 2022 so fairly reasonable amount considering I managed to get a £3500 repair done at "their" cost. Jeep Uk actually paid, but the finance house put pressure on them otherwise finance house would have had to pay.

I know you are experienced in these sort of matters and 6.1%?was low as general interest rates and inflation were low at that time. You were satisfied with the deal, but you still don’t know if there could have been a lower interest rate. Although the part exchange might have suffered😂

 

[Jcloughie]

The Court didn’t agree that sales person was acting in the interest of the finance provider in two of the cases. It recognised that both sales person and finance house were businesses in their own right, and had a legitimate right achieve benefit for the business. In parallel the Buyer too has a responsibility to look, or ask for alternative buying options. This is where many buyers are vulnerable as they don’t understand car financing. Salesmen are employed because they are good at selling and many buyers are nit confident to haggle. But it’s no different buying double glazing, solar panels, kitchenscetc. That’s a fact of life. When I bought my first Sorento we were nearly home before the sales mam rang and said if I could sign before close of play we had a deal.

The case that was upheld was because the Court deemed the commission unreasonable/disproportionate to the sums involved. IE sharp practice, which is the beauty of Civil cases as they are not necessarily by law or case law.

It was also useful that the Court ruled that unlike a mortgage or investment advisor a car dealer offering a loan has no fiduciary responsibility to the buyer.

I suspect the FCA will seek to close loopholes but if car dealerships loose out on commission in some way, the loss will go onto the price of vehicles.

I also noted that the court said that the customer was considered as ‘financially unsophisticated’.

I thought that was interesting terminology.

John