Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards Officers have issued a stern warning to local people looking to buy a second hand car.
Their warning comes hot on the heels of a county man who caved in after the hard sell and has been stung to the tune of £16,000 after signing a credit agreement for a car worth only £5,000.
“By the time the inflated price of the car, payment protection and extended warranties are added, it often leaves people having to repay three times the value of the car,” said Principal Trading Standards Officer Tim Thorne.
“The main problem is out of county “used car finance showrooms” which target low-income families and people with poor credit ratings.
“They are often contacted via unsolicited telephone calls with offers of vehicles on high-interest credit agreements,” he added.
“The cash price of the car is often inflated and customers are given the hard sell to accept various insurances and extended warranties – which can leave them owing three times the original price of the car.”
If these agreements are signed on the trader’s premises, buyers have no cancellation rights.
“This is exactly what happened to a local man this week,” said Tim. “He fell for the hard sell and the added insurances and extended warranties and signed the contract.
“He came to us when he realised the situation but unfortunately we could do nothing as he had signed the contract in the showroom.”
The buyer now faces the situation that should he fail to keep up the payments, the car will be repossessed and he will be left with a huge debt – a scenario which has ruined many people’s lives, says Tim.
“With UK consumer debt in excess of the one trillion-pound mark, I’d urge consumers to follow one simple rule:
“NEVER SIGN A FINANCE AGREEMENT ON TRADE PREMISES WITHOUT FIRST TAKING A QUOTE AWAY AND SLEEPING ON IT.
“If the sales person pressures you against this, then it clearly can’t be a good deal. Please think carefully and do not get yourself into a debt you may never get out of,” he added.