Supreme Court of Appeal carefully examines legality of 'on the road fees' in vehicle financing

SO-CALLED "on the road fees" (ORT fees), where vehicle credit providers add these extras to the financing deal, came under the legal spotlight in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) wanting to halt this practice.

- ZELDA VENTER [e-mail]

The ORT fees are usually added to the financing agreement, which includes additional fees covering licensing, pre-delivery inspections, roadworthy certificates, number plates, and additional fuel.

The credit regulator appealed against the orders of the majority of the full court (three judges) of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in which it was found that the credit providers did not charge consumers the OTR fees.

The High Court found that vehicle financing providers merely financed the purchase of vehicles on credit, the purchase price of which included the OTR fees agreed upon between the consumer and the car dealers.

The credit regulator, however, maintained that Volkswagen Financial Services SA, BMW Financial Services SA, and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services SA have unlawfully charged consumers OTR fees when financing vehicle purchases.