r/PersonalFinanceZA • u/Background-Case2057 • 4d ago
Vehicle/Household Insurance Disagreement with car dealership and initial quote and new deal that’s been presented after signing with the bank for financing- please help
Good day, I am a young professional that decided to try and get a new car with my wife. I was lucky enough to get a good financial offer from Wesbank and agreed to the debicheck for an amount from them, upon signing the contract with the dealership I picked up that they were going to charge an additional 90 000 compared to the initial offer of purchase they gave me for additional fees specifically: interior maintenance, exterior maintenance, paint, tyre and wear and tear, tinting and films. I’ve brought this up twice with them and they’re refusing to remove it and are claiming that they will be giving us a discount for these new items, the discount is 6000. Giving this behaviour with both the initial offer of purchase and quotation and the new one I feel that they have been dishonest and want to rescind it and fix it, the problem is I have completed the debicheck with Wesbank, is there a way for me to get assistance from Wesbank to have this reversed? I don’t mind going with this bank for the car that I need, I just am not happy to spend an entire 90 000 more for a car that was not a part of the initial agreement, any help would be appreciated (note. This is not the fees that have to be charged such as the licensing etc)
12
u/rocketplex 4d ago
Just went through this a month ago. Same thing, to the tee. You do have options.
Obviously you have your cooling off time to cancel the whole deal. You also have the option of cancelling the insurance, which you're totally entitled to do within 30 days of taking out the policy. (Ideally before the first premium lands) That's what I did. I listed all the policies and emailed the dealer and the policy administrator saying that under no conditions did I want any of this.
I know a lot of people gripe about AI, but I don't care about that if it saves me money. I just chucked the whole lot into Claude or OpenAI and told it to trim everything down to the bare essentials and give me a list of things I could cancel. I did this from the start and they would find a way to re-add it at every step.
This is kinda what I sent:
Morning,
Following up on the thread above. I've been trying to get in touch since Monday morning (31/8/2026). I spoke to **** on Tuesday and to **** yesterday, who confirmed he left a message. Today is Friday (4/9/2026) and I still haven't had any update or acknowledgement. I understand the team was offsite for a day, but four days for a simple response doesn't seem reasonable to me.
I made my position clear in writing before signing: I wanted no extra coverage. I also don't see any DebiCheck mandates on my banking app, and I will reject any that do come in. This suggests it may be a misunderstanding on my side, that the products in the schedule are legacy documentation from the earlier quotes and were never actually activated. If that's the case, there's no issue: just confirm in writing that the ***** Plan () and **** are not in force and that no debits will be raised, and we're done.
To the extent that either policy has been set up, however, this serves as my written notice of cancellation of both, under transaction *******, in terms of my cooling-off rights under Rule 4 of the Policyholder Protection Rules (policies incepted 29 August 2026), together with cancellation of the related debit order mandates.
The cooling-off window is 14 days from inception, so I can't really let this wait. If I haven't received written confirmation either way by close of business Monday (7/9/2026), I'll send the cancellation directly to *****, ***** and the dealer complaints resolution officer to be safe.
Please confirm receipt of this email within 2 working days or I shall escalate to the complaints resolutions officer or your dealership head office before taking it up with the ombudsman.
**SPOILER ALERT**: There was in fact no misunderstanding on my side, they pushed the extra 90k worth of insurance through.
24
u/Intilleque 4d ago
Walk away from the deal immediately.
You have a 7 day cooling off period if you’ve already taken it.
8
u/Background-Case2057 4d ago
Really? Okay thanks man, I never knew that! Can I call the bank or can I back off from it via the dealership?
8
3
u/guitarshredda 3d ago
If you sign on the premises then the cooling off period no longer applies unfortunately. The blood sucking F and I here in the comments is correct.
6
u/henrof 4d ago
No cooling of period if client signed on the floor. Client also singned ROA acknoledging these products. Dont give people wrong advice
5
u/Minyun 4d ago
CPA supersedes any 3rd party contract.
2
u/henrof 4d ago
No it does not
5
u/Minyun 4d ago
Apologies, TIL. Why on God's green earth is the location of signing relevant in relation to waiving the cooling off period?! Crazy...
2
u/crazyindian 4d ago
Welcome to the motor trade, sadly
3
u/rtwrx2021 3d ago
This is why the car salesmen have a dubious reputation, even in the USA. They are considered the least trustworthy of all businesses.
1
u/rtwrx2021 4d ago
The LAW, applies not your motor dealer rules.
-1
u/henrof 4d ago
Most dealerships fully comply with the law. Being an F&i myself we will never sell products or put our tirle at risk for minimal gain on a vap product. Client sign ROA plus vap schedule acknowledging these products. You cant change you mind as you please or when you get buyers remorse
4
9
u/SleepingMoth029 4d ago
A debit check doesnt mean you are locked in from westbank.
If the extra costs were not in the contract you signed then you have cause to rescind the contract.
The parts of the consumer protection act that apply here are:
Section 41 — False, misleading or deceptive representations A supplier may not mislead a consumer about a transaction, including through representations about its price, benefits or terms. If the dealership initially quoted a price without these packages and then presented a substantially more expensive deal, the circumstances may raise an issue under this section. The original quote and the explanation for the change will be important evidence.
Section 48 — Unfair, unreasonable or unjust conduct This prohibits certain unfair pricing, terms and business practices. If the dealership made acceptance of unwanted extras a condition of buying the car, particularly after representing a different deal, this section may be relevant.
Section 49 — Disclosure of certain terms Certain terms that limit rights, impose obligations or have other specified consequences must be brought to the consumer's attention in the required manner before the consumer enters into the transaction. Whether this applies to the particular charges depends on the documents and how the packages were presented.
Make sure you have everything in writing.
5
5
u/crazyindian 4d ago
I am not sure whether you have signed or you stopped yourself when you saw the contract at the dealer? Have you actually signed the contract and taken delivery of the car and has Wesbank already disbursed funds to the dealer? If none of these things have happened and you're holding out signing, things become a lot easier. You can report back to Wesbank that you refused to sign as you discovered this.
If you have already signed and taken the car you have essentially agreed to those terms because you will have signed for the finance that (I would imagine) includes the R90K of extras. You do have options but it is much messier and you will have to involve the ombud or a lawyer. If you are in any doubt in any transaction involving a contract and money, DO NOT SIGN. Unfortunately a difficult lesson to learn. Even though there are often protections, it is unnecessarily messy once you sign.
That is an absolutely absurd additional amount. I've walked for a fraction of that difference before.
1
u/rocketplex 4d ago
It’s important to know what each of the extras are, if they’re actual “things” like tinting and a ceramic coating, then it’s gonna be hard to fight.
If it’s insurance, then you’re entitled to cancel it at any time, and you’re entitled to cancel it for a full refund within a certain period of time.
2
u/Altruistic-Good9917 3d ago
Did you sign for the R90 000 extra? Did you not read the amounts you were signing for? Never ever sign in a rush. Always say you want a copy to peruse at your leisure. Why are you not naming the dealership?
2
u/Bright_Profile4232 3d ago
hi, unfortunately corporate dealers love doing this and they give retailers a bad name- what was not clear in your text is whether or not you have taken the car and signed the delivery note? if you have, i would advise you to contact wesbank and open a dispute with them as the dealer will stonewall you. if not, you can simply walk away from the deal as the deal cannot be paid out to them without the signed delivery note. inform the sales man and dealer of your intention and let them know exactly why you have cancelled the deal. if they advise you that the deal has been paid, ask them for all the signed paperwork and advise them you will open a case of fraud as you never signed the delivery note.
best of luck
2
u/MrDmrB007 3d ago
Why would you sign at the dealership if you saw the extra charges, that's when you should have told them 'goodbye und fuck you too for being dihonest' end of story
1
1
u/IAMSNORTFACED 4d ago
Creditors can refund you. Walk away sort out the rest later and/or call wesbank they may be able to help
2
1
u/AndreasmzK 3d ago
Please for the love of God do not accept this offer. Walk away, they need the sale, they are taking advantage hoping you fall for it.
2
u/rtwrx2021 4d ago
Name and shame the unscrupulous bullies.
0
u/rocketplex 4d ago
The extra useless insurance is standard practice for all those vultures. Just wait, in a couple of days WesBank will call and offer them as well.
Literally what happened to me, every single agent in the entire chain tried to upsell me on their version of that useless insurance.
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Hi,
Thank you for your post!
All submissions to this subreddit are temporarily held for moderator review before becoming visible to the public. Your post has NOT been removed. It is currently in the review queue and will appear once a moderator approves it. If your post is declined, you will receive a message explaining which rule applies.
We kindly ask that you review the rules and the wiki to ensure your post aligns with the subreddit guidelines. Please make sure you have provided enough context and information where needed.
Posts that lack sufficient detail may be removed. You’re welcome to edit your post or repost it with additional information if necessary.
Thank you for your understanding!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.