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Car-buying firm agrees to more pricing transparency after OFT investigation
OUT-LAW News, 01/04/2011
An online car-buying company has agreed to change the way it operates after consumer regulator the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that was not transparent with customers about its pricing.
A year-long OFT study revealed that nearly 96% of people who sold their cars to webuyanycar.com received less for their vehicle than the original online valuation. The OFT found that We Buy Any Car Ltd's pricing practices may breach aspects of two regulations, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The firm give the impression that their online valuation of a vehicle is the price a customer can expect to receive, whereas the car's final valuation is subject to amendment following a visual inspection, the OFT said.
The OFT found that staff conducting the inspections were able to secure larger performance-related bonuses for re-appraising the value of cars to lower prices, which the OFT said had the potential to encourage unfair conduct.
OUT-LAW News, 01/04/2011
An online car-buying company has agreed to change the way it operates after consumer regulator the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that was not transparent with customers about its pricing.
A year-long OFT study revealed that nearly 96% of people who sold their cars to webuyanycar.com received less for their vehicle than the original online valuation. The OFT found that We Buy Any Car Ltd's pricing practices may breach aspects of two regulations, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The firm give the impression that their online valuation of a vehicle is the price a customer can expect to receive, whereas the car's final valuation is subject to amendment following a visual inspection, the OFT said.
The OFT found that staff conducting the inspections were able to secure larger performance-related bonuses for re-appraising the value of cars to lower prices, which the OFT said had the potential to encourage unfair conduct.
More details here: http://www.out-law.com/page-11848
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