Hello
I recently bought a new car from an authorized dealer in Finland. The sales person promised me that the car model I chose had a particular feature - Smartphone connectivity. I had asked about this multiple times and was given assurance that the feature was available. But after the car was delivered, I found that the promised feature is not available. When I checked with the sales person as well as his manager, they apologized for providing wrong information and said that there is nothing they could do at this stage.
Please let me know if anyone on this forum ever had a similar experience. What is the best way to approach this situation?
Warm Regards
Ogiv
Dispute with a car seller
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- Posts: 1439
- Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm
Re: Dispute with a car seller
https://www.kkv.fi/en/consumer-advice/ogiv wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 1:39 pmHello
I recently bought a new car from an authorized dealer in Finland. The sales person promised me that the car model I chose had a particular feature - Smartphone connectivity. I had asked about this multiple times and was given assurance that the feature was available. But after the car was delivered, I found that the promised feature is not available. When I checked with the sales person as well as his manager, they apologized for providing wrong information and said that there is nothing they could do at this stage.
Please let me know if anyone on this forum ever had a similar experience. What is the best way to approach this situation?
Warm Regards
Ogiv
Re: Dispute with a car seller
Thanks, but what is the outcome I can expect if I take this matter to the Consumer Forum? Is it like a small claims court? Can I represent myself and explain the matter in English in this forum?
I feel I might be at a tremendous disadvantage because I do not speak Finnish. But it is not fair that businesses are allowed to take advantage of a person just because of the language barrier.
I feel I might be at a tremendous disadvantage because I do not speak Finnish. But it is not fair that businesses are allowed to take advantage of a person just because of the language barrier.
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- Posts: 1439
- Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm
Re: Dispute with a car seller
The process is literally written in the provided link; 1) contact the seller and try to resolve the issue (which you have done) 2) contact the consumer advice, who will provide you with further information. Likely they will contact the seller themselves, which sometimes is enough to resolve the issue. If not, they will give you their view on possible next steps. Do NOT start any legal proceedings until consumer advice has looked at the issue. It is free for you and they do it for living. Ultimately it boils down to what can be proven about which equipment was promised with the car, and how adamant the seller is that they didn't promise what's missing.ogiv wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:48 pmThanks, but what is the outcome I can expect if I take this matter to the Consumer Forum? Is it like a small claims court? Can I represent myself and explain the matter in English in this forum?
I feel I might be at a tremendous disadvantage because I do not speak Finnish. But it is not fair that businesses are allowed to take advantage of a person just because of the language barrier.
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- Posts: 642
- Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 12:54 pm
Re: Dispute with a car seller
If it wasn’t in writing in the sales contract, your chances of winning are much lower.