Volvo car bought on Santander PCP / Personal Loan

[sj4201]

Like many other threads on your site I have also purchased a Volvo on what I thought and was told was a PCP. This was the initial proposal anyway. It was then processed as a fixed sum load, something which I was not informed of or aware of as any being different to the proposal. That is, until I looked to voluntary terminate nearly 3 years later on to discover it don't have a voluntary termination option! The salesman involved did said he was not aware it had gone through as a personal loan - that a PCP had been requested and that this was an issue between the garage and Santander. He also said that was being escalated. The manager of the garage, who I had to phone many times to get a response, said this personal loan was a type of PCP, which it is not. He said I had to take it up with Santander not them.

This is clearly deliberate mis selling that is happening to many people buying Volvo’s! Any advice on how I can resolve my issue and how the wider problem can be addressed with these two companies?

[Nelly74]

Simply mis-bought not mis-sold. Did you not read the documents before you signed them?

[Amethyst]

Like many other threads on your site I have also purchased a Volvo on what I thought and was told was a PCP. This was the initial proposal anyway. It was then processed as a fixed sum load, something which I was not informed of or aware of as any being different to the proposal. That is, until I looked to voluntary terminate nearly 3 years later on to discover it don't have a voluntary termination option! The salesman involved did said he was not aware it had gone through as a personal loan - that a PCP had been requested and that this was an issue between the garage and Santander. He also said that was being escalated. The manager of the garage, who I had to phone many times to get a response, said this personal loan was a type of PCP, which it is not. He said I had to take it up with Santander not them.

This is clearly deliberate mis selling that is happening to many people buying Volvo’s! Any advice on how I can resolve my issue and how the wider problem can be addressed with these two companies?

Do you have a copy of the agreement you could post up please?

[sj4201]

Nelly74 you sound like a Volvo salesman. It only takes a quick google to see there seem to be a lot of people mis-buying Volvos on Santander finance that mysteriously changes from a PCP to a fixed sum loan due to 'good credit'!

[Nelly74]

Na not a Volvo salesman, it just mystifies me how many people claim not to have read their finance agreements before they sign them to later claim ignorance? Seems foolish wouldn’t you agree?

I’ve heard of agreements being switched to fixed sum loan agreements on many occasions, often due to customers rolling in negative equity to their new deal. Perhaps this was the case? If not surely you still have your PCP rights a the end of the agreement?

[Nelly74]

PS did you say that Santander changed the agreement type after you signed it?

[Amethyst]

[Amethyst]

Maths wise it does work out correct that 36 instalments would see you having paid 50% of the total and thus being eligible for VT. So if you did get it recognised as PCP then VT'ing would be possible ( actually I think it's 37 months but 3 years is about right )

The GFV is the £9550 payable in month 49 if you didn't want to return the car ( quick look a prices that seems about right tbh - seems to be around £15k if you sold it now )

Do you have page 2/2 of the Volvo document ( poss the 'sales agency terms' ? ) and do you have any idea what that £750 figure is at the top of the page? ( commission ? )

Did you sign both documents at the showroom with the salesman present / any explanation given at the time ?

Mileage limits and excess mileage charges explained ?

Everything points at it being PCP tbh.

Seems to be this though ?

If you have applied for a Personal Contract Purchase agreement we may offer you an alternative product known as a Fixed Sum Loan with Guaranteed Final Payment. Part of the cost is deferred until the end of the agreement which may give you the benefit of lower monthly payments. The deferred amount is known as the Guaranteed Final Payment.

https://www.santanderconsumer.co.uk/...final-payment/

R0b - another one of these not sure any of the others got to any resolution do you know?

[R0b]

Na not a Volvo salesman, it just mystifies me how many people claim not to have read their finance agreements before they sign them to later claim ignorance? Seems foolish wouldn't you agree?

A good percentage of consumers do not read the small print (including myself) but the law protects those who have been offered one thing, which the consumer relies on and is then offered something else without realising or being told - that comes in the form of misrepresentation.

As for the contract, I would like to see a full copy of the T&Cs if possible? But you are right Amethyst, from what is described, it has the hallmarks of a PCP type agreement, or alternatively a Conditional Sale agreement which would also include the right to VT. The agreement states its a fixed sum loan agreement and I am curious as to what the terms say about ownership of the vehicle or whether it is silent on it.

That Sales Agency Agreement quite clearly states PCP on it, so there is no reason why a consumer would think otherwise and if Santander did offer a different agreement then this should have been explained by the salesperson at Volvo. Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 also plays a part here I think:

50 Information about the trader or service to be binding

(1)Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if -

(a) it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract, or
(b) it is taken into account by the consumer when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract.

(2) Anything taken into account by the consumer as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) is subject to -

(a) anything that qualified it and was said or written to the consumer by the trader on the same occasion, and
(b) any change to it that has been expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader (before entering into the contract or later).

As above, you could argue that the Sales Agency Agreement confirming it was a PCP agreement was something you relied on which was a term of the contract that was to be binding on Santander. Assuming from what the OP has described in that Volvo wasn't aware of the switch then nothing was qualified at the time and so Santander (so far by law), cannot then renege on this as they will be in breach of contract / misrepresentation.

A true fixed sum loan is an unsecured loan at a fixed rate of interest and fixed payments over a fixed period of time i.e. a bank loan. Clauses which fail to explain ownership of the vehicle and if there are excess mileage charges in there all point to a PCP type agreement, not a fixed sum loan. You can see that because Santander offer a fixed sum loan agreement and state that ownership of the vehicle will be passed to the debtor immediately.

It's very underhand by Santander (and perhaps some fault on Volvo's part) and I can only suggest a robust formal complaint to Santander, then to the FOS who might find in your favour but don't bank on it. Failing that, court is probably the only option and I would suggest that if the OP has legal expenses on their house insurance, they should look into that.

[sj4201]

After contacting Volvo Cars UK and Santander, an agreement has been reached and I have returned the vehicle. Volvo HQ were excellent in helping and have restored my opinion of the brand. Thanks for your advice!

[R0b]

After contacting Volvo Cars UK and Santander, an agreement has been reached and I have returned the vehicle. Volvo HQ were excellent in helping and have restored my opinion of the brand. Thanks for your advice!

Glad it was all sorted in the end, Santander can be a right pain when they want to be. If you are ever told something crucial and important, get it in writing first before choosing to accept or move forward. If they refuse to put it in writing, ask them why and this is where you need to be cautious and have a real hard think is it worth the risk if they aren't prepared to put in writing.

[fipcle]

After contacting Volvo Cars UK and Santander, an agreement has been reached and I have returned the vehicle. Volvo HQ were excellent in helping and have restored my opinion of the brand. Thanks for your advice!

I know this was 2 years ago, but I've just found out I've got the exact same scenario:

- Purchased a Volvo on what I thought was a PCP deal via a Volvo dealer, financed with Santander
- I have the Demands and Needs document that shows a PCP was recommended, with the benefit of the Voluntary Termination etc
- Both the dealer and Santander are telling me the purchase was changed to a Personal Loan, not PCP

sj4201 - If you're able to see this post, do you mind me asking how you went about approaching Volvo Cars UK? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as it looks like I'm going to have to battle this one similar to you! Thank you!!