Merecdes Benz VT Court claim for perceived damages

[chakkchimp]

Hi

I have received a claim form from Mortimer Clarke on behalf of Mercedes Benz Finance.. Whilst there's lots of info on this site it is tricky to navigate and would appreciate specific help

@R0b

The Claimant: Mercedes Benz Finance
The Claimant's Solicitors: Mortimer Clarke
The Particulars of Claim (verbatim):By an agreement in writing on 26/09/12 the Claimant agreed to hire a vehicle to the Defendant for an agreed term in return for a monthly hire fee (the Agreement). The Defendant has returned the vehicle to the Claimant. Under the terms of the agreement the defendant agreed to pay any costs and or charges associated with vehicle damage excess mileage and or rental. these sums are now due payable
Date of issue of claim:23/10/17
Amount Claimed:£382.44 plus costs = £467.44
Have you acknowledged the claim (if so what date): Not yet
Any other relevant information (e.g. were you deceived/mis-sold): Car was VT'd at 45 months into 48 month (20k per annum) )agreement; 62k miles pro rata ~18k less than contracted. front bumper cracked, alloys kerbed but otherwise in v good condition. MB have not provided invoices or receipts for work done and my opinion is that the low mileage offsets any perceived loss.

My question is really should I settle, or go to court with the associated hassle and should I lose what level of additional costs if any I could expect?

thanks in anticipation.

[R0b]

Re: Merecdes Benz VT Court claim for perceived damages

Hello,

I'll pick this up later today and get back to you but I would point out that damage to the vehicle is subjective and could be argued either way.

I'll respond about the rest of your post later.

[R0b]

Re: Merecdes Benz VT Court claim for perceived damages

Hello,

Following the above, whether you choose to settle or not is up to you and should be made taking into account all of the surrounding circumstances. For example, do you have a defence to the claim, what evidence supports your defence, can you afford to pay the amount within one month if you lose, are there any other circumstances that might affect the claim to your detriment etc.

Their particulars of claim are a bit wishy washy to say the least, suggested that vehicle damage, excess mileage and rental is due. The sample defence in the VT guide caters for that and I suspect Mortimer Clarke will provide a template answer to this and say rental is not due but go into a bit more detail about the breakdown of charges.

What are your honest thoughts about the alleged damage, was it solely caused by you or was some damage there already and you contributed to it? Do you think it is reasonably wear and tear? Certainly a cracked front bumper might not come across as wear and tear but the vehicle as a whole needs to be taken into account as to whether it is in a reasonable condition, not just one area. You could try to argue that the guidelines used by MBFS are not appropriate (assuming they are BVRLA) as they don't factor in the vehicle's age which is likely to wear over time and various damage to the vehicle e.g. stone chips, scratches etc. which is what you might expect of a vehicle for that age.

As for your question on the mileage, sounds like a potentially valid argument to me. If you can provide evidence that the vehicle returned with 18k miles less has a potentially higher re-sale value than one returned with 80k miles, you could argue that the different in the market value between the two should be taken into account and reduce the claimant's claim for damages accordingly. Perhaps a starting point is to get some free car valuations from the well known online websites and seeing what values come back - it might even be enough to offset the value that the Claimant is seeking.

What is the age of the vehicle anyway?

Can you afford to make the payment if you lose? Court cases tend to take up to 6 months or longer on average so if you are able to put away some money each month you can have your say in court to either successfully defend it or at least have the charges reduced.

[chakkchimp]

Re: Merecdes Benz VT Court claim for perceived damages

Hi

many thanks for the quick response. The car was bought from new on 48 month PCP at 20k miles per year; returned after 45 months with 62k miles. Affordability isn't an issue, it's more a point of principle that I know that MBFS have not made any repairs and have not suffered a financial loss because the car went straight to auction.. I guess its a question of principle vs practicality. Whilst I don't fear going to court, it is a hassle I can do without, but if I was confident of winning I'd go ahead. n.b all payments were made up to the point of VT there is no outstanding finance just the damage to the bumper and wheels.