Notes from the Competition Department, car buyers must know

The psychology of buying cars for Tet and the tax on imported cars in the ASEAN region being reduced from 30% to 0% from January 1, 2018 are the main reasons why the car market in the days leading up to the 2018 Lunar New Year has become so vibrant.

However, in reality, there have been many cases where customers have been disadvantaged when signing a car purchase contract without clearly understanding the terms of the contract.

To protect the legitimate rights of consumers, the Department of Competition and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends some contents to note about car deposit and cases of car price change at the time of transaction.

Get double your deposit if you don't get the car.

Normally, when the car is not yet available at the dealership, the dealer will ask the consumer to deposit a sum of money to confirm the purchase of the car. The deposit, according to the 2015 Civil Code, is to “guarantee the conclusion or performance of the contract” (Article 328 - 2015 Civil Code).

However, in reality, in recent times, there have been incidents where there were no cars to deliver according to the signed contract, and the dealer resolved the situation by simply returning the deposit to the consumer.

Car buyers need to note some important information when making a deposit to buy a car to ensure their rights.

According to Article 328 of the 2015 Civil Code: “If the depositor refuses to enter into or perform the civil contract, the deposited property belongs to the deposit recipient; if the deposit recipient refuses to enter into or perform the civil contract, it must return the deposit property and an amount of money equivalent to the value of the deposit property to the depositor, unless otherwise agreed.”

Thus, during the process of depositing and signing the deposit contract, consumers should carefully read the provisions in the deposit agreement between the two parties. In the absence of any other agreement, when the dealer has received the deposit but does not have a vehicle to sell to the consumer, the dealer must return the deposit and an amount equivalent to the amount the consumer has deposited.

For example: In case a consumer deposits 100 million VND to buy a car but the dealer fails to execute the transaction, the dealer must pay the consumer the equivalent of 200 million VND.

Dealers are not allowed to change prices upon delivery.

In recent times, many consumers have reported having to buy a car at a higher price than the price specified in the contract when making a deposit. In fact, when faced with these situations, consumers often follow the dealer's instructions such as: Writing a voluntary withdrawal of the deposit or accepting to buy a car at a higher price than the price specified in the contract. However, by doing so, consumers have accepted that the dealer has violated their legitimate rights.

According to Article 16 of the Law on Consumer Protection, enterprises are not allowed to stipulate in standard contracts and general transaction conditions when entering into contracts with consumers the following terms: Allowing organizations and individuals trading in goods and services to regulate or change prices at the time of delivery of goods or provision of services.

Therefore, before signing a contract with a dealer, consumers need to carefully read the terms of the contract. If they discover terms that allow price changes at the time of vehicle delivery, consumers can ask the dealer to remove these terms from the contract.

In addition, the Department of Competition and Consumer Protection has recently received many complaints from consumers about dealers delivering cars without spare parts and accessories such as spare tires, tool boxes, user manuals, etc. Therefore, before receiving the car, consumers must carefully check the accessories that come with the car that are publicly announced on the car manufacturers' information pages.
The Department of Competition and Consumer Protection said that in case of needing advice, consumers can contact the consumer advice and support hotline: 1800.6838 (free call) or Email:[email protected].