Driving home for Christmas? Chance would be a fine thing!
23 Dec 08
Just one small example of how the credit crunch is affecting business has left this writer in a less than festive mood.
Chris Rea’s sentimental dirge has never been one of my favourite Christmas jingles, but this year it’s particularly hard to take. I find myself carless – and it’s all thanks to the credit crunch.
When my old car lease came to an end I figured that I had enough time to organise a replacement ahead of the epic Yuletide trek between relatives’ households, especially as I had found an offer for a car which the dealer was apparently keen to shift as soon as possible.
Getting my own lease in place wasn’t too difficult. Then, however, I discovered that the dealer wasn’t going to release the car because the finance company – one of the UK’s largest, by the way, and backed up by a very large financial institution indeed – still owes him some money.
In normal times it would be inconceivable for a major leasing company to experience that kind of cash flow problem – or for a dealer not to take it on trust that the cash was coming through eventually. But these are not normal times.
It’s just possible that Christmas Eve will see the delivery of my car and the family trip will be on again. If not, maybe I’ll name and shame the guilty parties in my next blog.
Till then, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous 2009. And if you see me hitch-hiking on the A1, please don’t pass me by!