Terms of Business

Agreement with us: When you sign the order form, you accept the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement. Please read this Agreement carefully and if there is anything you do not understand, or may not agree with, ask any member of staff you communicate with. If you wish to rely on any amendment or addition to the Agreement, you should ensure it is confirmed in writing by one of our duly authorised representatives. If we agree any variation in the vehicle to be supplied, this shall be deemed to be an amendment to the Agreement rather than a new agreement.

You must provide us with any information we need in order to comply with money laundering legislation and guarantee the accuracy of the information so supplied.

Definitions – ‘We’ or ‘Us’ refers to Hippo Vehicle Solutions Limited as the seller of the goods described on the order form. ‘You’ refers to the customer as the purchaser of the goods described on the order form. ‘Vehicle’ refers to the goods being ordered and supplied as detailed on the order form.

Credit checks: On applying for a finance or lease product via any of our communication channels, your information will be used initially to conduct a soft credit search. This will not register as a full check on your file and will eliminate any unnecessary checks on your credit profile and allows us to get you an approval in principle with the lender that is best suited to your circumstances. If you qualify with some lenders due to a good/excellent credit rating, further details will be required to gain a full approval, this will then register as a hard search, the rest of our lending panel only register a hard search when you have decided to go ahead with a vehicle and the agreement goes live.

If you have applied for a specific type of product, such as Contract Hire but are unsuccessful for that type of credit line, we will offer other alternatives that may be more suitable to your circumstance as part of the application process.

Accessories: Any accessories fitted or supplied by us will be covered by any warranty given by the manufacturer of those accessories.

Delivery: Delivery will take place at the dealership detailed on the order form unless otherwise agreed.

1. While we will make every effort to deliver the Vehicle ordered by the estimated delivery date, we will not be liable for any claim for compensation or loss of any description (including any variation in part-exchange valuation) that may result from delay due to reasons beyond our control. If delay arises in this way, we will contact you to agree an alternative delivery date.
2. If we fail to deliver the Vehicle within 28 days of the estimated delivery date, you may tell us in writing that you require delivery within seven days from the date of receipt by us of the notice. If then the Vehicle is not delivered to you within the seven days, this Agreement will be cancelled, and any deposit paid will be returned and neither party will have any further responsibility to the other.

Cancellation / Withdrawal:

1. Charges: In the event that you wish to cancel or withdraw from the Agreement for any reason other than those stated in clauses (4.b.), (7.b.i) or (12.d.), Hippo Vehicle Solutions Ltd reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee of up to £500 +vat and withhold any deposit for services provided by Hippo Vehicle Solutions ltd; services might include, but are not restricted too, removal of a vehicle on sale for a period of time, production of paperwork, preparation of the cancelled vehicle or processing of documents. Any costs incurred by debt collection agents in the course of collection of this sum will also be payable. If for any reason the specified vehicle is not delivered, If you fail to take and pay for the Vehicle within 14 days of notification that the Vehicle is ready for delivery, we will treat the Agreement as cancelled and any deposit paid by you will not be refunded. This does not prejudice our right to recover from you by way of damages any loss or expense we may incur because of your cancelling
2. Return of Vehicle:On receipt of this notice of cancellation we will contact you to confirm arrangements for collection of the vehicle. You may arrange for the return of the vehicle to us, or we will collect it at a cost of £1.00 including VAT per mile for the distance recorded between the Company’s premises and your address as shown on a web-based distance calculator of the Company’s choice. You are required to make the car available for collection at a pre-determined date and time within 30 days of the delivery date.
3. Mileage and Conditions:On collection the car must not have travelled more than 10 miles since delivery and must be in the same condition as it was when delivered. Any deterioration recorded at the time of collection will be valued when the car arrives at the Company’s premises and details of these costs will be notified to you. Excess mileage over the allowed 10 miles will be charged at 50p per mile.

Ownership and Legal Responsibility:The Vehicle will belong to us until we have received cleared funds to the value of the total purchase price. However, you will be responsible for any loss or damage from when the Vehicle is delivered to you and should insure accordingly.

New Vehicle: If the Vehicle ordered is a new vehicle, the following will apply:

1. We undertake that the pre-delivery work specified by the manufacturer will be carried out and the Vehicle will be provided with the benefit of the manufacturer’s warranty.
2. If, after the Agreement is entered into but before delivery of the Vehicle to you, the price is altered, then we will give you notice of such alteration and;
   1. If the price is increased, you will be informed of the amount it is intended shall be paid by you. If you do not agree, you will have the right to cancel the Agreement within 14 days of receiving notice of the increase and your deposit will be refunded in full. Should you fail to notify us that you do not accept the increase within the 14 days, the increased amount will be added to the final amount to be paid by you.
   2. If the price is reduced, we will notify you of the reduced price you will be called upon to pay.
3. If we are unable to deliver the model, specification or Vehicle ordered for any reason, whether before or after the estimated delivery date, we may cancel the Agreement and refund any deposit you have paid in full. This includes models no longer available due to Model Year changes.
4. If we are unable to supply any accessory (factory fitted or otherwise) you have ordered as part of the specification, we will contact you and offer either to substitute a reasonable equivalent or to delete the accessory from the Agreement and adjust the purchase price accordingly. Subject to this, you shall have no claim against us in respect of our failure to supply any accessory and shall not be entitled to cancel the Agreement.
5. We reserve the right to amend the published specification of vehicles without notice.

Used Goods: Where the Vehicle supplied under the Agreement is still subject to the manufacturer’s or (as appropriate) concessionaire’s warranty, they will be sold with the benefit of such warranty. Where you are purchasing as a consumer such a warranty is additional to your statutory rights and is not affected by any change of ownership of the Vehicle. Remedial work under warranty may be carried out by any dealer or service workshop in the European Economic Area authorised directly or indirectly by the manufacturer, who may repair or replace any defective parts or (if he considers repair or replacement uneconomic) refund an appropriate part of the purchase price. Where such is available to us, we will provide you with a copy of the manufacturer’s warranty terms on delivery.

Delivery Mileage: If the Vehicle ordered is a new vehicle and is being collected by the customer from our premises, the mileage at delivery will be generally less than 200miles and will be no more than 500miles. If the Vehicle being ordered is a used vehicle, the mileage at delivery will generally be within 1000 miles of that shown on the order form. If the Vehicle (either new or used) is being delivered to the customer’s address, the delivery mileage will be greater by the delivery distance covered.

Part Exchange Valuation: Where you wish to sell us a vehicle in part exchange, and its value as agreed with us is to be taken off the purchase price of the Vehicle we agree to supply:

1. the following conditions will apply:

   1. that you own the vehicle to be taken in part exchange absolutely and can transfer ownership to us.
   2. Or, that if someone else has an interest in the part exchange vehicle, you will settle that interest so that we become the absolute owners when we take delivery. However, if you wish us to clear that interest for you by paying them a sum of money, the allowance for the part exchange vehicle will be reduced by that amount.
2. If we have examined the part exchange vehicle before entering into this Agreement with you, or you have described the condition of the part exchange vehicle to us verbally, the vehicle shall be delivered to us in the same condition but allowing for the fair wear and tear which may have occurred in the meantime. If there is any variation in condition, service history or mileage to that previously seen or described but allowing for additional mileage covered between the Agreement and delivery pro-rata to that already covered at the time of Agreement, we will adjust the price offered for the part exchange to take into account such variations and you will pay us any additional sum due as a result.
3. The price offered for the part exchange remains valid until the ‘Part Exchange Offered Price Date Expired’ shown on the order form. If the part exchange vehicle is delivered to us later than this date, we will revalue the part exchange in line with market conditions and advise you of any change to the amount you may need to pay us. If this is due to a delay in the delivery of your new Vehicle, please refer to clause (4).
4. The vehicle to be taken in part exchange shall be delivered to us no later than the date you take delivery of the Vehicle you have ordered. Ownership of the Vehicle ordered will be transferred to you and that of the part exchange to us when you take delivery of your order. If you do not deliver the part exchange vehicle at or by the time the Vehicle you have ordered is ready for delivery, you may not be able to take the Vehicle you have ordered, and you might be in breach of the Agreement and liable to us to pay compensation for any losses we may suffer as a result.
5. If you choose to sell us your part exchange before taking delivery of your new Vehicle, title for the part exchange will pass to us at that point. If you subsequently do not take delivery of the new Vehicle for any reason, we shall not be obliged to return the part exchange vehicle to you, but may refund you the part exchange allowance offered less any amount we may have paid to settle any interest in the vehicle as specified in clause (9.a.ii)
6. If you fail to satisfy any of these conditions, we will not be obliged to accept your vehicle in part exchange or to make any allowance for it and you might as a result be required to pay the whole purchase price for the Vehicle you have ordered before you can take delivery.
7. g. The transfer of a private plate is your responsibility, should you want to put your personal number plate on retention you can do so by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/take-private-number-off.

Taxes, Tariffs and Statutory Changes: In the event of the imposition of any taxes, tariffs or other statutory charges or changes to any such already existing, for example, changes to the rate of value added tax, road fund license (vehicle excise duty) or first registration fee changes between the date of order and the date of delivery, you must pay the amount current at the point of delivery.

Notices and Jurisdiction: Any notice provided for in this Agreement must be in writing and be sent by first class post to the residence or place of business of the person to whom it is addressed. It will be assumed that such a notice has been received by the addressee no later than two days after posting.

1. Any telephone calls made between you and us may be recorded, and the contents of such conversations used to support this Agreement.
2. This Agreement is subject to the relevant United Kingdom law and the relevant courts of the United Kingdom will have exclusion jurisdiction in relation to this Agreement.
3. It is our responsibility to supply you with goods that meet your consumer rights. If you have any concerns that we have not met our legal obligations, please contact us.
4. In the event of a complaint, in the first instance please address your concern to our Hippo Help Desk at the purchasing branch. If the issue remains unresolved, please contact; Customercare@hippomotorgroup.co.uk

Distance and Off-Premises Sales:

1. If you are a consumer and this Agreement has been concluded (a) without any face-to-face contact between us or anyone acting on our respective behaves, or (b) in the simultaneous physical presence of you and us but in a place which is not the business premises of us, you may give notice cancelling this Agreement within 14 days of taking delivery of the Vehicle/Goods. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us in writing of your decision to cancel the Agreement (e.g. letter sent by post, fax or e-mail to customercare@hippomotorgroup.co.uk).
2. In the event of a cancellation, it is your responsibility to return the Vehicle to us in the same condition and specification as it was delivered. You will be responsible for the direct cost of returning the Vehicle but, in any event, such cost shall not exceed the sum of £500.00 (Five Hundred Pounds). You must ensure that the Vehicle is returned with the same items with which it was sold. This includes (but is not restricted to): service packs, manuals, handbooks, locking wheel nuts, entertainment systems, tools & keys. If you have altered, modified, personalised, or adapted the Vehicle in any way you will have no right of cancellation.
3. We will make a deduction from the reimbursement if the Vehicle has suffered any diminished value due to you handling or using it beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and function, i.e. handling or use beyond what a customer would reasonably undertake when appraising and test-driving a vehicle at a dealership prior to purchase.
4. The V5C registration document must be returned to us as soon as you receive it from DVLA. This forms part of the goods and no reimbursement will be made until this is received. Providing the vehicle is returned to us in line with the conditions stated, we will process any reimbursement due within fourteen days of the date the Vehicle or V5C registration document (whichever is the later) is received by us. The reimbursement will be executed in the same way that payment was originally made, less any deduction for diminished value.
5. If the cancelled Agreement involved a part-exchange vehicle, we will return the part-exchange or pay the agreed part-exchange value to you at our discretion.
6. If you have committed to a finance agreement, you must inform the finance company immediately of the cancellation in writing. You will be liable for any early termination fees. We do our best to avoid such fees, and only apply them if the finance provider charges such a fee.

Limitation of Liability: Unless set out otherwise herein, we limit our liability for any breach of the Agreement (and for any other liability arising out of or connected to the Agreement) to the amount of the purchase price. We expressly exclude all liability for loss of profit, goodwill or agreements and for any indirect, consequential or economic loss. The limitations in this clause will not apply in cases of fraud, death or personal injury.

Data Protection: We are registered with the Information Commissioners Office, our company registration number is Z1246427. Data Protection legislation requires us to have a Data Privacy Notice (see Notice on our website or in one of our dealerships) which informs you how we process your data while in our possession. If at any time you wish to opt out of any communication from us or wish for your personal details to be amended or deleted from our records, please email your request to: hippo-complaince@hippomotorgroup.co.uk.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: We subscribe to third-party conciliation services and adhere to their codes of practice; we will always attempt to resolve any disputes quickly and efficiently. However, if you are a consumer and remain dissatisfied with the outcome and explanation we have provided, you have the right to escalate the matter to the FOS or any of the following optional providers of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) who offer conciliation and arbitration. Their decision will be legally binding on both us and you, as the consumer.