Potential ***** and Reckless Lending

I bought a car from Renault Woodmead on the 27th of March 2019.

There are a few complaints I have been trying to address: 1. Over exposure of a vehicle - If I recall the car was being advertised for R179 999 or R169 999 at the time new (I am hoping someone can confirm or deny this information for me). My total loan amount is R257 996. Best case scenario if the car was R179 99, the load works out to a 43.3% on the original vehicle price. Worst case scenario at R169 999 the load would have at 52%.

2. ***** - My income and expenses form was changed by Dwayne Van Tonder, the F & I at Renault Woodmead. My signed expense form that I sent to Dwayne differs from the MFC contract hugely and these both differ from the expense sheet MFC have on file. 3. Reckless Lending - This car was approved at approx. 45.1% of my net income. This is while my ITC showed my current credit card, 2 FNB loans, a cell phone account, a clothing account etc. According to my income and expenses form I would have been left with R0 considering the car loan I had at the time of R3200. According to the MFC Contract my disposable income would have been R8990 and according to MFC’s most recent expenses my surplus after their installment to would be R836. Mind you this is without giving me any money for food, rent, transport etc. As a consumer I rely on the expertise and qualifications of the F & I as well as the financial institution to advise me on my financial status and my inability to afford the car but I was told the opposite and **** to.

As far as I am aware the Act was put in place to educate and protect the consumer on affordability due to the over indebtment of South African’s when the act was not in place. The F and I’s and financial institutions are responsible for ensuring no south African goes over indebted and taken advantage of for the monetary gain of others. Nobody sat me down and discussed the fact that I would not be able to afford this car. The only discussing regarding the finance approval was a statement from the Salesman John Mphahlele on the day of delivery. He stated that he was surprised the finance was approved without a fight, discussing how sometimes they have to fight with the banks to get an approval and organize special manual approvals that override the system. He was surprised they did not have to fight for my approval which told me everything was okay, or so I thought.

When meeting with the F & I at Renault on the day of collection (27th of March 2019). I was kept waiting for 45 min – 1 Hour, during what he knew was my lunch hour from work. I noticed there were a lot of papers and a lot of reading (this is the first time I had signed a vehicle finance document on site, I have only done it digitally to read at my own leisure). I asked Dwayne if I should delay the delivery and take the contract home to read through. He advised it was not necessary, at this point I was already uncomfortable with the situation. He very quickly ran through the contract with me and put a yellow mark where I should sign, which I did as instructed by the guidance of the F & I Manager and took delivery of the vehicle.

Prior to 2019 I had a pretty clear credit history. I have a few loans with FNB etc and all my payments were done on time, every time. I had even had small to medium size loans paid off before their term. According to the signed agreement first payment was 1st of June 2019, I received a notification for payment on the first of May which I queried with the F&I at the time and this is when my attention was drawn to issue of my affordability of this vehicle.

From the very first debit order of the vehicle, I knew I was in trouble and my credit history proves it. I immediately started missing other payments. I was chopping and changing between which accounts to miss payment on to pay others and try make ends meet. At this point I was extremely worried and stressed and absolutely terrified of what was going to happen as I had never been in such a financial situation before in my life.

I contacted the F&I about the issue on or around the 13th of May and how there must have be something wrong because I cannot afford this vehicle. He denied doing anything wrong. This email was also the first time I had received a sign copy of my contract as far as I am aware.

Page 6 of the contract shows a completely different income and expenses list. My total income is incorrect, my insurance amount is incorrect, and a few debit order payments are missing as well as living expenses.

The income and expense form sent to the National Credit regulator by MFC from a complaint I lodged regarding this matter, shows amounts that are different to what is on the MFC contract and different to what my income and expense form sent to the dealership.

After trying to complain to the dealership and getting no help, I tried again to get a copy of my signed income and expense form from Dwaye, this email went unanswered.

I have approached MFC about this, who gave me the worst and most aggressive customer service I had ever received. I approached NCR about this who seem to accept the fact that MFC left me with a negative balance on my account after the vehicle finance.

Now I am going to the Ombudsman and anyone else that is willing to listen and take this further because Renault woodmead and MFC have only been adding to issues with their lack of customer service and bullying tactics.

This deal should never have been approved, it has put me in a negative balance on my account without being able to pay for food, transport or rent. Is this legal?