Legal advice - Is used car order form legally binding?
Discussion
Hi, sorry if this breaks any rules (I've had a look and doesn't look like it does), hopefully I have posted in the right place too...
I have a legal/moral issue on my hands in regards to the purchase of a used car.
Before I explain the issue and get the responses I am anticipating I want to make something clear, I know morally what I need to do and will be paying tomorrow, but curiosity in me wants to know what the actual law says about this...
I went to my local Citroen dealership about a week ago, with the intention of buying a brand new car, early upgrading my PCP. The figures were awful, my monthly spend would shoot right up, and I am not willing to do that right now, as I have some savings I could use instead. They had a nice DS5 in stock approved used, less than one year old with 3,000 miles on the clock.
I agreed to part ex my Megane, pay the negative equity of my current deal and buy the "used" car from them. The negative equity was only £820, but I am willing to pay that to get out of the car.
The sales exec went and got the order form ready, I noticed the figures were wrong and they were undercharging me by £9000, I pointed this out to the exec and he ran of to amend the details. He came back told me he saw where he went wrong and amended and now is all correct, so I just signed it (I know, I'm an idiot). We agreed I would return this week to pick up the new car and drop mine off.
The following day I had a call from them saying they had messed up the figures again and I owe them £7000. It seems they took the part ex value off of the new car price, forgetting that goes towards the settlement figure.
Morally I am going to pay it as I don't want an expendable employee getting the sack (though if he were my employee, this would be too much of a near miss for me to keep him on). But I would like to know if a less honest person than I were in this situation where would they have stood legally in regards to signing the new order form and if they could buy the car for the price already paid (on a signed order form saying paid in full)?
Bare in mind they have no 14 day change of mind policy and the order form states "Only sign this agreement if you wish to be legally bound by them" and I have already paid everything the order form wanted and have a receipt. If they had done everything correctly and I decided I didn't want the car at the signed price I am sure the contract would stand then...
I have a legal/moral issue on my hands in regards to the purchase of a used car.
Before I explain the issue and get the responses I am anticipating I want to make something clear, I know morally what I need to do and will be paying tomorrow, but curiosity in me wants to know what the actual law says about this...
I went to my local Citroen dealership about a week ago, with the intention of buying a brand new car, early upgrading my PCP. The figures were awful, my monthly spend would shoot right up, and I am not willing to do that right now, as I have some savings I could use instead. They had a nice DS5 in stock approved used, less than one year old with 3,000 miles on the clock.
I agreed to part ex my Megane, pay the negative equity of my current deal and buy the "used" car from them. The negative equity was only £820, but I am willing to pay that to get out of the car.
The sales exec went and got the order form ready, I noticed the figures were wrong and they were undercharging me by £9000, I pointed this out to the exec and he ran of to amend the details. He came back told me he saw where he went wrong and amended and now is all correct, so I just signed it (I know, I'm an idiot). We agreed I would return this week to pick up the new car and drop mine off.
The following day I had a call from them saying they had messed up the figures again and I owe them £7000. It seems they took the part ex value off of the new car price, forgetting that goes towards the settlement figure.
Morally I am going to pay it as I don't want an expendable employee getting the sack (though if he were my employee, this would be too much of a near miss for me to keep him on). But I would like to know if a less honest person than I were in this situation where would they have stood legally in regards to signing the new order form and if they could buy the car for the price already paid (on a signed order form saying paid in full)?
Bare in mind they have no 14 day change of mind policy and the order form states "Only sign this agreement if you wish to be legally bound by them" and I have already paid everything the order form wanted and have a receipt. If they had done everything correctly and I decided I didn't want the car at the signed price I am sure the contract would stand then...
Edited by lalunen on Tuesday 19th June 20:50
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