Will my refund be subject to any deductions, even if I have driven the car (e.g. 500 miles) before notifying the seller within the first two weeks of ownership that I wanted to return it?
According to the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (the Distance Sales Regulations), i.e. you have bought your car online, you’re allowed to use a product in a way consistent with you needing to test it out to see if it’s right for you. For example, if you’ve bought a car, you might need to drive a few miles to check that everything’s working and you’re comfortable. However, if you’d driven the car for 500 miles in the space of a week, then it might be fair for the seller to make a deduction for some of that use.
It’s also worth checking the terms and conditions of the contract. Some sellers will specify what deductions they’ll apply in the event of a return – for example, this could be a flat fee or a pence-per-mile deduction.
