(under)Payment Legality

sandy27

sandy27

sandy27

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Joined
8 Feb 2022
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13
Location
Devon
Hi,

I purchased a car from a Car "Superstore" in March 2023

Via a Teams meeting, I digitally signed the contract for £22,101.99

The salesman subsequently sent me an email giving me the banking details of the company, requesting payment for £21,101.99

I didn't notice the difference, and made the payment, for which he replied "payment all received"

The car was released and delivered.

Today (4 months later) he's rung me and said the accounts department have noted an underpayment of £1,000.00 and can I pay.

I said I paid as per his email and he acknowledged it and released the vehicle.

He also mumbled about losing his commission during the call which was annoying...


Can I assume I am legally bound to make payment?

Thank you.
 
What does the small print on the signed order say? Normally it mentions about not having ownership of goods until all monies are paid (and see what amount is on order form).

I know there is a sentiment of "screw them, it's car sales and they are all sharks" from some people but, unless you were unhappy in how you were treated, you should pay up.
 
I totally appreciate the contract which I think stands - it's just the fact he confirmed the outstanding balance by email and then payment confirmed against this, plus the release of the vehicle which shouldn't occur if monies owing.
 
It might be interesting to get legal advice on this. I've heard of sales people upscaling the price so the sales person can pocket some of the money themselves.

He might have accidentally sold the vehicle at the normal level without his "commission" added on.
 
Bit of a tricky one but if you didn't expect the price to be lower (digitally signed at the higher price) then you probably don't have a leg to stand on legally unless at some point the/a lower negotiated price made a difference as to whether you went through with the sale or not (which they can probably prove wasn't the case here).

Do you have a final invoice and/or purchase order with numbers made up?
 
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It was a human error, you noticed at the time and said nothing. Now they are looking their money and you are looking for legal ways not to pay.

Legally they can probably do nothing but you know you owe them £1k. What you do is morally up to you and I bet if it was you who was owed £1000 due to your error, you would fight to get it.

You seem to be wanting random internet strangers to validate and approve your morally corrupt actions.
 
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sandy27 said:
I totally appreciate the contract which I think stands - it's just the fact he confirmed the outstanding balance by email and then payment confirmed against this, plus the release of the vehicle which shouldn't occur if monies owing.
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Yeah he shouldn’t have sent the car, but you did agree to the price. It was an error to ship the car and 4 months is a bit of a long time to catch it.
 
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jigger said:
Yeah he shouldn’t have sent the car, but you did agree to the price. It’s was an error to ship the car and 4 months is a bit of a long time to catch it.
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Legally they have up to 6 years to notice the error and do something about it for a contract claim - though the specific contract may have clauses which have lower limits.
 
Rroff said:
Legally they have up to 6 years to notice the error and do something about it for a contract claim - though the specific contract may have clauses which have lower limits.
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What's to suggest that in between the contract signing and the email request for payment he didn't verbally agree to take £1,000.00 off the price
 
You agreed to pay a set amount, you should honour that if you have any integrity.

How would you like it if the shoe was on the other foot?

I'm frankly surprised anyone had the audacity to genuinely ask such a question.
 
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Rroff said:
Legally they have up to 6 years to notice the error and do something about it for a contract claim - though the specific contract may have clauses which have lower limits.
Click to expand...

It’s still a long time to ask for someone to correct an error that really should have been caught same day.

£22,109.99 is a silly figure. OP call him back and say you’ll have to charge him a £109.99 admin fee. Send check for £890.01
 
jigger said:
It’s still a long time to ask for someone to correct an error that really should have been caught same day.

£22,109.99 is a silly figure. OP call him back and say you’ll have to charge him a £109.99 admin fee. Send check for £890.01
Click to expand...

There are various provisions for what is a reasonable time frame to correct a contract, but I'm not overly familiar with the specifics and/or that would only be relevant if it ended up in court. But nominally contract payment disputes need to be chased up within 6 years.
 
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