Voluntary Termination before halfway through

[thetownfool]

Hi All,

My wife has a seat Ibiza with VW finance and has paid about 6.5k of the original 15k due. and we want rid of the car.

We now longer use the car and its simply sat on our drive doing nothing which is obviously going to deteriorate its condition. I read somewhere (although now cant find the reference) that we can return the car at any time, as long as we keep paying the finance until we have paid the 50%.

Any guidance here would be appreciated.

Thanks

Carl

[R0b]

Re: Voluntary Termination before halfway through

Hi Carl,

You are right in that your wife can terminate any time before the final payment becomes due. This is set out in section 99(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you do terminate the.ln you will be liable to make up the difference between what you’ve paid and 50% of the total amount.

Of course many lenders will insist that 50% must be paid before you can VT but this is wrong and misleading. If this happens, then you should point out and ask them where it says you need to pay 50% before you can VT - they won’t be able to because the law doesn’t say that.

They also have duties under FCA rules and The Treating Customers Fairly principle. They can’t expect you to pay any outstanding balance in one lump sum especially where you can’t afford to do that or it will cause you financial hardship.

If they are refusing to accept your VT I would simply make a formal complaint about it meaning they’ve got 8 weeks to give their final decision otherwise you can go to the Ombudsman. If your forced to make a complaint I would also be seeking a small sum of compensation as it should have never got to that point in the first place if it wasn’t for VW dragging their heels.

[thetownfool]

Re: Voluntary Termination before halfway through

Hi Rob,

Thanks for getting back to me. I guess we should simply draft a letter requesting a VT and detailing that she wishes to continue to make the payments on the existing agreement until such time as she has fulfilled her commitment to 50%? are then any template available that would make a good starting point for this?

Many Thanks

Carl