Original title: New Auto Finance Routines: Audi owners pay pre interest fees
"Miss Li, your car loan prepayment business has been completed, and the 6500 yuan commission (interest) and 200000 yuan principal have been settled."
"Is the 10000 yuan 'advance interest fee' I paid refundable?"
"Sorry, there is no repayment record of 10000 yuan on your car loan account. The service charge (interest) is apportioned to the monthly repayment record according to 500 yuan per month. 60 installments total 30000 yuan."
"Why did the 4S store charge me 10000 yuan 'advance interest fee' when I paid the down payment?"
"Our bank doesn't charge 'pre interest fee'."
On April 3, Li Lin (a pseudonym), the owner of Zhuhai FAW Volkswagen Audi A4L, and her car lender China bank for economic construction When Zhuhai Wuzhou Kangcheng Sub branch confirmed the matters related to the prepayment of the car loan, it found that the 10000 yuan "pre interest fee" she paid to the seller - Zhuhai Liheng FAW Volkswagen Audi 4S Store (hereinafter referred to as "Liheng Audi 4S Store") when she bought the car had nothing to do with the repayment of the car loan interest.
On the same day, Li Lin's husband, Wei Jun (not his real name), called the Liheng Audi 4S store to ask for a refund of the "pre interest fee". A sales consultant from the store said that it was almost impossible to make a refund. "Buying and selling is a voluntary act of both parties, and the original sales of the car should be explained clearly to you".
The flow direction of the interest funds collected by the 4S store is not clear
"If you didn't settle the loan in advance, you may never know that this' advance interest fee 'was not collected by the bank."
Wei Jun introduced in an interview with Time Weekly on April 3 that on February 13, 2019, they planned to purchase a 2019 A4L 40TFSI fashionable car in the Liheng Audi 4S store, and the two parties signed a purchase and sales contract.
According to the FAW Volkswagen Audi Auto Purchase and Sales Contract provided by Wei Jun, Liheng Audi 4S store agreed with Li Lin that the car purchase loan plan is the 60 phase plan of China Construction Bank, with a loan of 200000 yuan and an interest of 20% of the loan amount, that is, 40000 yuan. The first phase of the collection is 10000 yuan only, and the remaining interest is equally distributed to the monthly payment. From the car purchase contract (photo), receipt, invoice and other vouchers, it is shown that Li Lin once paid an "interest fee" of 10000 yuan. In addition, in addition to the loan interest, Li Lin also paid a one-time financial service fee of 6000 yuan to the Liheng Audi 4S store. This fee is noted in the car purchase contract (photo), and there is also a corresponding invoice.
What puzzled the owner was that according to his communication with the loan bank, if there was no prepayment, the total interest of his car loan would be 30000 yuan, but the interest shown in the car purchase contract signed with Liheng Audi 4S store was 40000 yuan. Moreover, the difference of 10000 yuan was collected in advance by Liheng Audi 4S store, but the bank confirmed repeatedly that it had never received the "interest". Where did the money go? Does the Liheng Audi 4S store charge the owner more in the name of "interest"?
To this end, the reporter of Time Weekly contacted Mr. Mei, the head of the sales department of Liheng Audi 4S store, on April 3.
"For some customers, we do charge 'advance interest fee'. This is because sometimes the bank does not lend the loan in full to our car shop. For example, the customer's loan is 200000 yuan, but actually it is only 190000 yuan, which involves business policies and other factors." Mei Xiansheng asked more questions from reporters of the Times, saying that further discussion is needed at the store.
On the evening of the same day, Wei Jun called Zhuhai Wuzhou Kangcheng Sub branch of China Construction Bank again, and the bank said that a car loan of 200000 yuan had been paid to Liheng Audi 4S store in two full amounts on February 18, 2019. "One is 7000 yuan, and the other is 193000 yuan."
Lawyer refers to suspected breach of contract or improper enrichment
As for Li Lin's situation, on April 3, the special correspondent of the Times Weekly consulted Huang Shiqing, a lawyer from Guangdong Datong Law Firm, and Li Zilong, a partner of Guangdong Legal Shengbang Law Firm.
Lawyer Huang Shiqing pointed out that the nature of the 10000 yuan "pre interest fee" should be subject to the specific agreement in the car purchase contract between Li Lin and the 4S store.
"If the contract stipulates that 10000 yuan is the interest collected by the 4S store on behalf of the bank, and the 4S store neither delivers the money to the bank nor returns it to Miss Li, it has constituted a breach of contract. If there is no relevant agreement on the 10000 yuan in the contract, the 4S store has no contract basis to collect the 10000 yuan, which constitutes improper enrichment." Huang Shiqing, a lawyer, said.
Lawyer Li Zilong believes that the key to the dispute lies in the relationship between Li Lin, the 4S store and the bank.
"Li Lin has established a sales contract relationship with the 4S store based on the vehicle sales transaction, because a loan contract relationship has been established between the bank and Li Lin for the purchase of a vehicle. As the buyer and lender, Li Lin has the obligation to pay for the purchase of a vehicle to the 4S store, as well as repay the loan and interest to the bank.
"The bank said that it did not know about the interest collection, nor authorized the 4S store to collect it, nor did it ratify it afterwards. Accordingly, the 4S store has no right to collect this part of interest, nor has it obtained the bank's authorization to collect this part of interest, which belongs to the situation of unauthorized agency."
Although the foothold is different, both lawyers suggested that Li Lin could first contact the local consumer association complaint If negotiation and complaint fail, they can file a lawsuit to the court.
The chaos of auto finance needs to be standardized
All kinds of chaos in auto finance were pushed to the forefront of the storm in the Xi'an Benz female car owner rights protection incident one year ago, among which "financial service fees" aroused great concern.
Even after the incident, Li Lin took the initiative to ask the Liheng Audi 4S store for the corresponding invoice of the 10000 yuan "advance interest fee". Previously, Liheng Audi 4S store only issued a receipt of 10000 yuan for Li Lin.
Although on September 11, 2019, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission publicly punished the violators in the event of Mercedes Benz female car owners' rights protection, the charging standard of auto finance is still unclear.
Taking the Liheng Audi 4S store as an example, in addition to the "pre interest fee" that caused the dispute above, a special reporter of the Time Weekly also found that when he visited the store as a consumer, the service fees charged by the store for car purchase with loans were different, and the charging standard was unclear.
On April 3, the reporter sent an interview letter to the person in charge of the public relations department of the car enterprise regarding the auto finance charging standards and service guidelines of FAW Volkswagen Audi manufacturers to dealers, and the charging of "pre service fees" by Liheng Audi 4S stores. As of press release, no reply has been received.
On April 4, a senior auto sales manager in Guangzhou, who did not want to be named, told the Times that buying a car with a loan would not only generate service fees, but also a rebate for the loan, which was an important source of income for the auto sales industry.
Wei Jun told the Times reporter that if the 4S store can provide the corresponding service quality, or if there is a charging standard, they do not hate to pay the relevant fees, "we are not entangled in the 6000 yuan financial service fee, just want to return some unnecessary fees."
Editor in charge: Wang Jinhe
