Advice urgently needed re used car purchase contract

[Little star]

Hi
I agreed a purchase price on a used car on Saturday afternoon and a trade in price for my current car with a dealership. I signed a finance agreement and was told I would be able to pick up the car within the week.
Yesterday I saw the exact car I have agreed to purchase being advertised for £3500 more than I agreed to pay for it and the dealership have told me that the sales person who made the agreement with me is no longer in their employ and so my agreement is null and void. Surely they can't get away with this can they?
I understand from the finance company that the dealership have not passed any paperwork to them and so I am not sure whether or not the paperwork I have signed is in any way legally binding.
I would be very appreciative of any help advice anyone can offer.
Thanks

 

[Witch consumer]

Hmmmm makes me wonder if he'd been sacked and was just getting his own back

 

[Little star]

Surely you wouldn't let someone be arranging sales if you had sacked them though!
Regardless though, we have the agreement in writing so surely they have to honour it?

 

[Witch consumer]

No I don't believe at this point they do, had you been in a position to pay cash, it may have been different but I don't think the offer can be deemed to have been accepted without finance in place.

Sorry that is probably not the reply you wanted and someone else may offer a different opinion.

 

[ALewis]

Agreements for finance are accepted at the point that the finance company sign the papers unfortunately.
Or the papers can be previously conditionally signed by the finance company, though again, the papers return to the finance company for acceptance.

If the papers aren't with the company, it's just an 'invitation to treat'. Therefore no contract.

 

[Little star]

That is unbelievable - so they can make a verbal contract, shake hands on it, sign paperwork to the effect, lie that it is in the hands of the finance company, and then try to increase the price and we can do nothing?!?!? If that really is true then I have lost faith in the consumer protection laws of this country as if that is not an open invitation to con men then I don't know what is! Think I am going to have to seek legal advice in the morning!

 

[Witch consumer]

To be honest there is no contract, only a verbal offer, nobody is obliged to sell anybody anything for an advertised price which is why Tesco and Currys don't have to sell tellies for £59 when they miss a '0' off the price on their website.

Look at the other side of the coin, if the contract exists, you owe them money you don't have, you are therefore in breach of the contract because you can't pay. As I said earlier, if you had the cash on Saturday, the situation could be very different.

If you are going to see a solicitor, make sure its someone who deals in commercial or contract law and take advantage of a free consultation.

 

[Little star]

Not sure a typo and deliberately being evasive and lying are comparable to be honest. And not sure how this has turned into an attack on me? I have done nothing but try to complete the purchase - there would be no problem with the finance if they had bothered to pass the paperwork to the finance company, they have chosen not to because they want to wriggle out of an agreement which they have made in good faith. As far as I am concerned that kind of behaviour is entirely dishonourable and unethical at best - if, as you seem to believe, it's legality is not also questionable then thee really does seem to be little point in our consumer protection laws. But that is my opinion - maybe my specs have been a little too rose tinted!

 

[ALewis]

Like Witch said, there's a difference between an 'offer' and 'an invitation to treat' . Just like when you walk into a shop, full up your trolley, you could get to the till for the person to decide 'nah, I'm not selling you that lot', and they can do that, because they aren't offering you the goods for a price. They are letting you pick up the stuff, take it to the till operator and offer to purchase it for a price.

They aren't obliged to sell something if no contract exists.

Similarly in your situation, you go to dealer , you choose a car, you conditionally agree to take the car provided that the finance provider will facilitate you with credit. You put all your details on paper to be sent to the finance provider for them to decide whether to accept your invitation to treat.

If you decide to seek professional legal advice (by professional I simply mean by an income source), get free advice, or go to Citizens Advice.
It wouldn't be fair to let you go waste £200 to be told the same as what us amateurs (amateur due to no income) advise.

 

[Witch consumer]

Apologies Little Star, the thread is not a personal attack on you, just an explanation of why they don't have to sell the car to you at a lower price than its value, my first comment is tongue in cheek but could well have been true.

The others , as were Adams, were to explain why no contract exists at this point.

Having realised the car had been sold for a low price (for whatever reason) the showroom do have the right to withdraw it from sale. Had you been in a position to buy it there and then, the sale, and therefore the contract could have been completed. We will never know what would have happened then, perhaps the sale would still have been stopped by the management.

There is a saying we use often on here "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is"

 

[Little star]

Citizens advice seem to believe that we do have a case on the grounds that they have been deliberately misleading and so we wait to see what trading standards come back to us with - or what the dealership have to say in response to this piece of information.

 

[Witch consumer]

Possibly good news for you, please let us know how this ends, it will be interesting to know the result.

 

[Little star]

Probably won't believe it now until I am actually driving the car off the forecourt but answer phone message left by dealership this afternoon says they are honouring the deal! Will confirm this is the case once the car is mine!!

 

[Witch consumer]

Brilliant news well done, think that possibly explains why the salesman has been shown the door