The woman had no other way to go home. Photo: 123rf / Katarzyna Bialasiewicz Photographee.eu
A woman who was picked up from her home by a car dealer and driven an hour-and-a-half to see a vehicle - but not offered a lift home again, has had her loan balance wiped.
The woman complained to Financial Services Complaints Ltd, a financial ombudsman service that deals with complaints that cannot be resolved directly between consumers and financial services providers.
She had seen a car for sale in Auckland online but lived an hour-and-a-half away.
She contacted the dealership and was told one of the staff could pick her and her daughter up and drive them into the city so she could look at the car.
She had thought she would be driven back again but was told that the staff member would not. She had no other way to go home apart from in the new car.
She told FSCL she was given paperwork about buying the car and taking a loan for it.
But she hit trouble paying the loan almost immediately and only managed to make loan payments with family help.
She thought the loan was unaffordable and complained to FSCL, saying she had been pressured into buying the car and that the lender did not check that she could afford it. She said she was not told about the interest rate.
The lender argued that the loan was affordable but could not comment on the dealership's alleged pressure, though it said it was looking into it.
FSCL said the loan affordability assessment had incorrectly recorded that she was paying $50 a week for board, rather than the $240 she was actually paying in rent.
The lender then offered to refund the fees and interest on her account and wipe the rest of the loan balance.
FSCL said that was a reasonable offer and the complaint was resolved.
"We did not need to investigate or decide whether [she] had been unduly pressured into purchasing a vehicle, because the lender's offer to resolve the complaint was reasonable to resolve her complaint. However, the alleged tactic by the dealership employee was concerning, and is something for lenders to be mindful of when they have car dealerships arranging lending to borrowers on their behalf."