Hi, I am currently in dispute with a Skoda main dealer and looking for some information to support my claim.  Does anyone have any record of the % increases applied to the range during 2021?  I believe that there were two increases - one around beginning of July, and the other around November?  

 

Appreciate any help 

 

Thanks,

 

Gaz 

Hi Gaz,

 

Sorry I don't have any specifics on the actual % rise but I ordered my Octavia iV VRS in May 2021 and specced it so that it was £38995 and therefore <£40000 so I didn't have to pay the extra premium on the VED. Car was meant to be here in Sept but delayed till mid October due to the chip shortage. When I picked it up they registered it with value of just under £42000 taking me into the premium band for VED. I complained to Skoda UK, Skoda Finance, The Stealership and none would accept responsibility. It was basically that's what the car is worth now, although I paid less it's worth more so there. I'm now over £1600 out of pocket if I keep it for the full term.

 

I think looking back they were hoping I would say no keep it and then they could resell it at a bigger profit given the lack of new cars at the time.

 

John

 

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply, and I am in the exact same situation as you are.  Makes me wonder how many others are too?  I am in the process of pursuing a case against the dealer via the appropriate ombudsman, hence the request for information.  

 

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/consumers/make-a-complaint 

 

Regards,

 

Gaz 

If you order something like a car and sign the contract for it and the price goes up, they can't charge you the extra. 

 

By signing it you have agreed to form legal relations. 

 

Read this article: 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5769084/car-dealer-offered-me-a-deal-signed-the-contract-now-he-wants-to-increase-the-price/p3

 

I'm just about to place an order and seal the deal with a £1k deposit. Once I sign on the proverbial dotted line, the contract is live and legally binding on both sides. 

 

If Skoda UK then decide to up the price and try to make me pay the difference then I will cancel the order and contract with immediate effect and get my deposit back. 

 

It's a bit like going into a supermarket seeing something that you want at £2.50 and then at the checkout it tries to charge you a fiver, you can say that the price on the shelf says that and that's the price of it, if they won't budge on it, just say in that case I don't want it and walk away. Invariably they'll let you have it for the price on the shelf and take the hit once. 

Edited 19 March, 20224 yr by TheWanderer

I feel the dealer isn't at fault here. The Govt say if list price over £40k it's in the higher group. Totally irrelevant what you actually paid i'm afraid.

Hi, the issue that I have is not what I paid - which was exactly as per the initial order - but being misled and deceived over the valuation for VED purposes.  Up to and including to the point of placing the order we had persistently emphasised that we did not want to exceed the £40k threshold. The car was specc'd just below the threshold.  Despite there being an increase due within days, we were told, incorrectly, that this would not affect the VED-valuation.  Not the case, as we have subsequently found that we are now liable for the additional duty.  I am just hoping that someone will remember what the actual increase was circa June 2021 please?  

From what I've been able to find between 2½ and 3%.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Gazria said:

Hi, the issue that I have is not what I paid - which was exactly as per the initial order - but being misled and deceived over the valuation for VED purposes.  Up to and including to the point of placing the order we had persistently emphasised that we did not want to exceed the £40k threshold. The car was specc'd just below the threshold.  Despite there being an increase due within days, we were told, incorrectly, that this would not affect the VED-valuation.  Not the case, as we have subsequently found that we are now liable for the additional duty.  I am just hoping that someone will remember what the actual increase was circa June 2021 please?  

I feel your pain. 

 

I did exactly the same thing to keep it below 40K and was hit with the extra VED. I under specced my car by giving up DCC and my preferred colour. 

 

Skoda or dealer didn't care. 

 

 

21 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

From what I've been able to find between 2½ and 3%.

 

 

 

Thanks.  That's about what I remember but when you are repeatedly assured that the increase won't affect you, the actual increase - at the time - isn't front & centre.  G 

I've been advised by Lookers that if I pay a £500 refundable deposit, that will lock the price at the current level, and if they (I'm assuming they mean Skoda UK) don't accept it and increase the order price I can have a refund and walk away. 

 

I will take it that by paying the deposit fee that I have entered into a legally binding contract with Skoda UK (created legal relations) and that fixes the price I will be paying subject to interest. 

Edited 20 March, 20224 yr by TheWanderer

21 hours ago, GreenlineIIEstate said:

I feel the dealer isn't at fault here. The Govt say if list price over £40k it's in the higher group. Totally irrelevant what you actually paid i'm afraid.

My understanding is that a dealers salesperson shouldn’t be giving tax advice and if they did (and it was incorrect) then @Gazria might have reason to complain to dealer principle.   However common sense suggests asking for tax advice from a car salesman is likely to be as reliable as asking a bloke at the pub.

 

It is quite clear, VED is based on the list price at the date of the registration, not a discounted price that is actually paid, or a list price from many months before.

 

To be fair, I paid a deposit (£1k) and the actual price I finally paid remained exactly the same.  That's despite 2 (?) price increases from Skoda and 7-months between order and delivery.  G 

8 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

My understanding is that a dealers salesperson shouldn’t be giving tax advice and if they did (and it was incorrect) then @Gazria might have reason to complain to dealer principle.   However common sense suggests asking for tax advice from a car salesman is likely to be as reliable as asking a bloke at the pub.

 

It is quite clear, VED is based on the list price at the date of the registration, not a discounted price that is actually paid, or a list price from many months before.

 

 

I'm lucky it shows my total price (TSP) is just over £36,700 IIRC.

Edited 20 March, 20224 yr by TheWanderer

19 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

I've been advised by Lookers that if I pay a £500 refundable deposit, that will lock the price at the current level, and if they (I'm assuming they mean Skoda UK) don't accept it and increase the order price I can have a refund and walk away. 

 

I will take it that by paying the deposit fee that I have entered into a legally binding contract with Skoda UK (created legal relations) and that fixes the price I will be paying subject to interest. 

@TheWanderer I would check the wording, normally it is the pre tax price that is locked, and any changes in VAT or VED are to your account.

 

Also if the deposit is refundable, what are conditions for refund, are you able to cancel penalty free, or is it only if Skoda side fail to deliver before a specified date.

 

 

1 minute ago, SurreyJohn said:

My understanding is that a dealers salesperson shouldn’t be giving tax advice and if they did (and it was incorrect) then @Gazria might have reason to complain to dealer principle.   However common sense suggests asking for tax advice from a car salesman is likely to be as reliable as asking a bloke at the pub.

 

It is quite clear, VED is based on the list price at the date of the registration, not a discounted price that is actually paid, or a list price from many months before.

 

I understand your point but this isn't exactly "tax" advice but giving clarity over the VED process especially given the number of times the point was raised prior to order.  The dealer has already admitted that their process was flawed and we were badly advised but that's as far as they will go.  Ultimately, if we had been given clear understanding we would have simply down-specc'd the car.  Another point, we were told that adding the extended warranty and 3-year service plan would increase the VED value; not so.  So that's more poor information from the dealer and a lost opportunity from both us and for Skoda.  I wouldn't ask a guy down the pub for tax advice, nor would I buy a car from him.  But we buy cars from main dealers expecting much higher standards of service and professionalism from them.  Why, then, shouldn't we expect honest, clear and accurate guidance from them?  G 

All this will be discussed at detail tomorrow.

 

The quote they gave me namely the Total Selling Price inc VAT and Delivery is just over £36,700. 

 

It comes to about £39½k at the end of the 4 year pcp. 

Edited 20 March, 20224 yr by TheWanderer

The problem with VED (vehicle tax) is you at the mercy of the Chancellor changing the rules, even when car is few years old.

 

We had it with a 6 year old Octavia L&K estate Mk2 which had a 2 litre FSI auto and a CO2 rating of 201    About 2013 tax rules were changed and annual rate jumped hugely due its CO2 rating which hadn’t been a problem since 2006 when it was built.

 

New car on order and price locked ahead of the price increase in April. 

The issue here is that the VED value is NOT what you pay for the car...   It is the list price of a vehicle of the same spec AT THE TIME OF FIRST REGISTRATION.  That is different to the selling price which may have been agreed many months earlier

Well unless the price jumps £3½k, I'll be fine. 

9 hours ago, TheWanderer said:

Well unless the price jumps £3½k, I'll be fine. 

With the latest predicted inflation rate possibly getting into double figures I wouldn't be betting against it.

 

Bank of England

 

Quote

The rate of inflation went up quickly in 2021 and it has continued to rise this year. We expect it to reach around 8% this spring. We think it could go even higher later this year.