Contesting excess mileage charges with BMW finance

[skidmeistx]

Looking for some advice on whether it is worth me contesting my excess mileage charge from BMW finance.

I voluntary terminated the PCP contract, and they have invoiced me for £607.31. The agreed mileage/annum was 8,000, which pro rata'd would be 32,066 miles for the time I had the car. I exceeded that by 19,654 miles.

Having read a few threads on this, I understand that the VT is my right as a consumer and it should nullify the terms in BMW's contract to pay this excess charge - as long as I've taken 'reasonable care' of the car.

I have also received a bill for £578 for damages outside fair wear and tear, which I will be negotiating.
I took good care of the car, new tyres regularly, and I had a qualified family member who would look it over and work on it for me. The charges come from scratches and dents in body work which seem to be people opening their car doors.
However, admittedly, I had only got it serviced once in the four years I had the car, I was due to get it done again as the service light came on shortly before it was collected. (I have learnt my lesson and will get next car serviced yearly!).

I am intending on standing my ground on the excess mileage charge, and negotiating the wear and tear charge.

My questions are:
- Will the fact I have wear and tear charges strengthen BMW's case against me for paying the excess mileage?
- I anticipate I'll need to take the case to the FOS, who apparently normally finds the case in favor of the lender (BMW), what would my next steps be?

Thanks so much for your help

[skidmeistx]

Maybe also worth showing you this which they included in the email along with the invoice:

"Please note that the excess mileage charge is a pre-termination liability and is therefore payable under Section 99 (2) of the Consumer Credit Act which states that any pre-termination liability is not affected by termination under the voluntary termination provisions."

[Laticsforlife]

I would say not having a service (which I presume is part of your damages charge) definitely points to you not taking good care of it! Door dents if on the creases is going to be charged too.

Maybe negotiation is your best bet, it all depends on how much they are willing to push it through the courts, is £1,200 enough for them, probably.

[skidmeistx]

R0b pt2537 Hi guys. I wonder if you might be able to help? Having scoured these forums, I see that you're the experts!

Update on this case:
I contested the charge with BMW and they responded with attached letter.

I have not heard anything at all in the way of the fees for the physical damages to the car. I didn't sign to agree with the charges the collector had noted, and he told me somebody would be in contact. That was 2 months ago.

I am wondering what my options are now?
I would like to be brave enough to go to court with it if it got to that point, but I don't know whether I have a strong case and whether it is better off settling.

Also considering paying for expert legal advice so I make the right decision.

Any guidance you could give me would be most appreciated.

Thanks

[pt2537]

Toss, where in the 1974 Act does it instil an obligation to keep the car in a reasonable condition? it does, it places a duty to take reasonable care of the vehicle and excess mileage is not a failure to take reasonable care, totally wrong in my opinion

[R0b]

As PT has said, it's a template letter that talks absolute rubbish. Reasonable care is a legal term of art which in other words has a particular meaning and in law, the duty to take reasonable care is usually akin to negligence. Therefore BMW would have to show you have been negligent by exceeding the excess mileage. There has to be an evidential link between the excess mileage and physical damage caused to the mechanical condition of the vehicle that is beyond reasonable wear and tear. That's pretty difficult to prove unless you get an expert involved and even then it could be subjective. Obviously if the car's clutch has gone on the vehicle after 10,000 miles and and a manufacturing default is ruled out and you are the only owner, then perhaps an expert might be able to prove that there has been some negligence on your part but I stress again, I don't see it as being that easy to prove.

Why not give PT a call and have a chat, he may be able to assist you legally with going to court at a reasonable price. You can, however, look to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman first which is free of charge - failing that then PT could be your option with legal proceedings.

There is a County Court case that already establishes that any excess mileage is not enforceable and deals directly with the points raised by BMW.

[drwoodman]

Dear PTilley

I have been battling with BMW for more than 3 years now over an excess mileage charge of £1128.60 following voluntarily terminating my agreement with them. They marked my credit file as delinquent soon after and have refused to take me to court as it was “not in their interest”. I unfortunately missed the time window to take them to the financial ombudsman on the levy of the excess mileage charge, but did take them to the FO on the credit file issue, and got a ruling that was not in my favour.

On the 13/3/2019 I received a letter from BMW saying that they had passed my debt onto a debt collection agency call Intrum and that I now owe Intrum the money. I have contacted Intrum by phone to explain the situation, and was told that my file would be put on hold whilst they investigated (for a period of 30 days). I then got an email to say thank you for contacting Intrum, no mention of putting my account on hold, but reiterating the balance allegedly owed to them. I have of course emailed them again asking for confirmation.

I am now very worried that Intrum will start adding charges to this disputed invoice and that I will now have bailiffs knocking at my door. Can BMW do this even though I still dispute the charges levied, and have asked BMW to take me to court to prove these charges are valid?

Regards

Darren Woodman