Tesla forgot to charge HST

[JohnnyShoe]

Hey guys ..

Got my Model X in early December after waiting roughly 2 months for delivery. Paid the amount on the ‘Amount Due’ line of my invoice, and accepted delivery. Love the vehicle and the company. Here’s my dilemma...

I was contacted last week by a Tesla representative in Montreal. Turns out they forgot to charge me roughly $20k in HST. Seems like a rather large mistake no? It was a shock for sure.

Questions for the group:

1- Have you heard of this happening before?
2- Do you think I have to pay it? I mean I already have the vehicle.
3- What kind of compensation would you ask for, if it was you dealing with this surprise bill?

Johnny

 

[felixculpas]

Good thing they don't have the ability to remotely shut it down on you

 

[Tam]

...$20k in HST...

If you are obligated to pay HST, then you have to pay sooner or later.

 

[duanra]

Maybe you can ask to do it in several payments.

 

[TOFLYIN]

I could be wrong about this, and there are probably a couple of accountants that could wade in, but in Canada it is the responsibility of the purchaser to pay the HST, not the seller to collect it. The seller is just receiving the HST on the purchasers behalf and remitting it to the CRA. So if you don't pay it to TESLA, the CRA will just come calling when Tesla tells them you did not pay. My advice is to pay it and ask for some swag (hat etc). Don't ask for too much or you won't get it, and you will probably get some poor soul at Tesla fired for not checking a box on the order.

 

[xG35]

This is different than pricing error. I would had paid it.

 

[Darscot]

This is hilarious, it’s the country, have you ever heard of them just giving people a pass on their taxes. I highly recommend you don’t pay just so we can follow along. I can’t wait to hear how this goes for you.

 

[Dr. J]

If you financed your car, you lost the opportunity to roll the tax into your loan, right? I would say that's worth something significant, including generous pay out terms (0% interest, 12-24 monthly payments).

 

[pcons]

I don't understand how this is a 'suprise bill'? Did you not know how much the car cost (plus tax) when you bought it? Clearly you knew when you signed for the car that the total was below the amount it should have been? So pretending it is somehow money you don't owe, or that Tesla should compensate you for the 'shock bill' is a little disingenuous at best.

If the price was 20k over what you were expecting I'm sure you would have noticed that?

Or; if you really didn't pay attention to the purchase price, and had no clue the final price was $20k below what you should have paid, and just blindly signed the paperwork for a car well over $100k.... I think you should let someone else handle large purchases for you from now on...

 

[sakimano]

Hey guys ..

Got my Model X in early December after waiting roughly 2 months for delivery. Paid the amount on the ‘Amount Due’ line of my invoice, and accepted delivery. Love the vehicle and the company. Here’s my dilemma...

I was contacted last week by a Tesla representative in Montreal. Turns out they forgot to charge me roughly $20k in HST. Seems like a rather large mistake no? It was a shock for sure.

Questions for the group:

1- Have you heard of this happening before?
2- Do you think I have to pay it? I mean I already have the vehicle.
3- What kind of compensation would you ask for, if it was you dealing with this surprise bill?

Johnny

I don't think you should colour the HST as a 'surprise'. Let's be honest...when you were going over it, you knew they had made the mistake, but you didn't say anything.

You'll have to pay it. I dont think they owe you anything frankly. Maybe you'll get a hat or something.

 

[pcons]

I find it funny how 10 people (currently) say that it's Tesla's fault and the OP doesn't have to pay, and only 13 say the OP should pay it...where are all the people who love to complain about not getting the same 'deal' as someone else when tesla drops the price of a specific model or option?

I'm just waiting for the thread of angry owners saying that they "deserve to have their HST refunded by tesla because someone else didn't have to pay it"

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

CRA will eventually find you. Have the money in a high interest savings account and make a few points while waiting for the call.... that may or may not come - collect that interest! They do it to us with our tax refunds!

 

[jjtsl]

I don't see how you can avoid paying taxes owed to the government. As far as I know, it is still your liability because you bought the car, not Tesla. You don't want the CRA to come after you because they may even audit your prior income tax returns if they feel you're dishonest. As they say, the only things that are assured in life are death and taxes......

 

[YusufT]

I don't understand how this is a 'suprise bill'? Did you not know how much the car cost (plus tax) when you bought it? Clearly you knew when you signed for the car that the total was below the amount it should have been? So pretending it is somehow money you don't owe, or that Tesla should compensate you for the 'shock bill' is a little disingenuous at best.

If the price was 20k over what you were expecting I'm sure you would have noticed that?

Or; if you really didn't pay attention to the purchase price, and had no clue the final price was $20k below what you should have paid, and just blindly signed the paperwork for a car well over $100k.... I think you should let someone else handle large purchases for you from now on...

I was going to say exactly this but after seeing that poll result I just didn’t post the reply and gave up. Out of everything, tax is something you can’t negotiate and people voting for him not to pay up is ridiculous haha

With 13% tax rate the car cost approximately $155,000. It’s not like he can’t afford the tax.