What's the difference between signing away from the dealership and a distance sale?

Our new solution is a signing journey that enables customers to sign their finance agreement from anywhere, whether that’s their sofa, in the dealership, or whilst on holiday. Signing remotely does not automatically mean the sale is a distance sale. A distance sale only occurs when there has been no substantive face to face contact between the dealer and the customer which the dealer could later evidence before the customer is sent the documents.

There is a common perception that if the customer signs for their finance agreement outside of the dealership, that this is a distance sale, but this is incorrect. A sale is classed as a distance sale if the dealer and the customer have not had substantive face to face discussion before the customer is sent their finance documents.

For more information about distance sales, please visit https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-faqs