VW gets compliance notice over fees add-ons
The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has issued a compliance notice to Volkswagen Financial Services SA for charging consumers an on the road fee‚ admin fee and handling fee on credit agreements, notes a TimesLIVE report. ‘These fees are not permitted to be charged on credit agreements by the National Credit Act‚’ said the NCR's Lebogang Selibi in a statement yesterday.
The compliance notice has instructed Volkswagen Financial Services SA to refund consumers and submit an audit report to the NCR. ‘The National Credit Act allows consumers to be given a quotation which sets out the cost of credit before signing credit agreements. Consumers should request this quotation from their credit providers so that they can properly check the cost of credit that is being offered‚’ said NCR CEO Nomsa Motshegare.
Consumer journalist Wendy Knowler reported this month that dealerships had for years got away with what an industry insider once conceded was ‘overzealous padding’ in the form of the on-the-road fee‚ justifying it as the cost of ‘preparing’ vehicles for sale.
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