Retail Installment Sale Contract on Cash and Credit Card Payment

[rhap4boy]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: California

I just bought a 2012 Prius 3 today July 15, 2012 at Toyota of Orange, CA. I paid full with check and partial credit card. However, they asked for my Social Security Number and ran a credit check. They asked me to sign a Pre-Contract Disclosure with 11% APR. I asked them why am I signing this and they explained this is just in case my check bounces. They later gave me a receipt for the full amount I paid. One of the item that was odd is when they ran my credit score, my score was 650. After I got home, when I read the contract again, one of the line says "Prepayment. If you pay off all your debt early, you may be charged a minimum finance change." I also went to myFico.com to check my credit score, my TransUnion was 791 and my Equifax was 770. Come to think if it, they did not give me one of the paperwork I signed that have my credit score on it. I don't feel very good about this.

Is this a legit practice and am I going to be billed for this later?

[mmmagique]

Is what a legit practice? Running your credit? Yes. (even if you pay cash.) If you're at a car dealership and you do not want your credit run, be very clear and emphatic about it, as they do like to run credit. If you're at a car dealership and they ask for your social security number, it's generally for one reason only. They want to run your credit.

The score they quoted you could be an internal method of scoring. They are not obliged to use one of the big three, although if they did, they should tell you which one they used.

I would call the dealership first thing in the morning and speak to the manager and/or owner about your concerns. Since you just bought a brand new car for cash, they should be willing to work with you. They can also write to the credit reporting agencies, and have that hit removed from your score, if they are so inclined. I would ask them to do so.

[aaron]

It isn't clear at this point that they weren't authorized to run the credit check.

[rhap4boy]

So filling out Retail Installment Sale Contract is normal even if you are paying by check/credit card?