Help please VT Audi excess mileage and refurb costs

[Chezsam]

I wondered if anyone could help me. I have just voluntary terminated my contract with Audi, due to needing a bigger vehicle after having a baby, with 10 months left on it. I have paid the shortfall amount and have been hit with damage charges of £470 and mileage charges of £575.

I was never sent the invoice with the specific charges until this week, even though the inspection was carried out 2 weeks before. When I rang Audi they told me they could read it me but couldn’t send it through. I have not signed any paperwork up to this point and have disputed the damage, due to being charged £130 for 4 wheel trim and alloy polishes, which I believe is fair wear and tear. I disputed this on the phone through being verbally told of these charges and not being able to read the paperwork. I do actually agree with the other charges (bumper scratch and passenger door scratch) coming to £250, however they want all the money. I have tried arguing that I should only be liable for 50% but so far they have disagreed. I was 7,000 over my mileage pro rata amount but not over my full contract term mileage. I was 3 years and 2 months into my 4 year PCP and my car is 6 years old. I think it was in excellent condition for its age and was proud of its condition.

I wondered if anyone could help me with a written response to Audi as I am not sure how to put across my grievances.

Another thought I had is that my Audi A1 was effected by the emissions scandal and following the update it went into limp mode several times and had to have another part fitted, so could I argue that the car was never in a reasonable condition to start with?
I would hugely appreciate any help with this matter. I need to pay or respond by Feb 12th.
kind regards,
Sam

@ROb;

@R0b

[Chezsam]

rob Tag

[Chezsam]

[QUOTE=Chezsam;n1387654]rob [email]Tag@R0b

[Chezsam]

Below is a draft of a response letter to VWFS- I would really appreciate if you could look over it and advise on whether to add anything or remove anything? Also-should I put it all in one font or change legislation quotes to italic?
Any help greatly appreciated:

To whom it may concern.

Voluntary termination of the Hire Purchase Agreement dated 21.12.2017

I am writing further to your letter of 22.01.2018 in connection with the above matter.
Firstly, I would like to express my frustration at the lack of clarity throughout the voluntary termination process. I have been passed from pillar to post (between the BCA and Audi Finance) over the phone, had information (vat charges on inspection report relating to costs of repair work) and documentation (vehicle inspection report) withheld from me. In addition to this, on the phone-calls, you state, dated 10 October, 17 November, 19 December and 20 December 2017 I received contradicting information relating to excess mileage charges and refurbishment criteria and in a conversation on 12 January, I was told ‘there was no charge for excess mileage on the inspection report,’ only to be told on a later call, with a different advisor that I would be charged, once the vehicle has been collected. I had therefore not anticipated these further costs.

In response to the refurbishment costs and excess mileage charges your comments are noted and after seeking legal advice I have set out below the following response.

Refurbishment costs-
Section 100 (4) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 explicitly states that there is an obligation to take reasonable care of the goods. Although the CCA does not provide a definition of what is meant by the word “reasonable”, a common sense interpretation in relation to a vehicle is that it must be returned in a roadworthy condition i.e. it has an up to date MOT, serviced regularly and mechanically sound. A fair and reasonable vehicle taking into account its use may have some minor cosmetic defects (which would include touch ups to the paint and body of the vehicle) but not major defects that would make the car undesirable.

Additionally, you have referenced the BVRLA’s Fair Wear and Tear Guidelines. The BVRLA Guidelines are used in relation to leasing and renting of commercial vehicles; the guidelines therefore have no relevance to this dispute as the vehicle under the Agreement was a non-commercial vehicle purchased at a dealership.

The vehicle was maintained in a reasonable condition, throughout the period of the agreement and therefore such damage charges you are claiming would amount to fair wear and tear; the vehicle does not need to be returned to you in any better condition other than a reasonable one. Photographic evidence was taken prior to the vehicle being transferred to you, which clearly shows that the vehicle was in a reasonable condition. The onus is on you to prove that the alleged damage caused was more than reasonable fair wear and tear.

Furthermore, my vehicle was affected by the emissions scandal of 2015. Therefore I would argue that the car has never been in a ‘reasonable’ condition, unbeknown to me, particularly at the time of purchase in December 2014. It has caused me considerable distress, not being able to trust that the car I was driving was even fit for purpose. It has also led to personal expense as the vehicle would regularly go into ‘limp mode’ putting myself and passengers in danger and causing for the breakdown services to be called on two occasions.

This was also a huge contributing factor to my decision to voluntary termination of the contract and I don’t see how Audi can penalise me further.

Despite my concerns since finding out about the emissions scandal, I have rigorously kept up with servicing and taking the vehicle into Audi for further maintenance to correct issues stemming from this. I have documentation to prove all of this.

Notwithstanding the above, I am prepared to pay a reasonable sum of [£248.40] relating to the Bumper front Front-£138
Door RHF Right Hand Front Door-£110.40

As you can see from above, this payment omits charges for 4 x scratched alloy wheels as per my original dispute, these are in perfectly reasonable condition, given the age of the vehicle and the photos provided certainly do not prove otherwise.

In any event, such sums you are alleging to be owed may only be recovered by a court order only and should you wish to pursue this matter in court, your application will be strongly defended.

Excess mileage costs:

In your letter, you referred to section 99(2) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as the reason why you believe that the excess mileage charges are recoverable following termination of the agreement. In particular, you stated that because the excess mileage charges accrued immediately prior to the termination.

Whilst I agree with your interpretation of section 99(2), I believe that you are misguided in your understanding of how this section applies when a debtor terminates the agreement voluntarily. This is because sections 99 and the 100 must be read together in order to fully understand what (if any) liabilities the creditor can recover. For the avoidance of doubt, I have set out below section 100(1) which stipulates the debtor’s liability when the agreement is terminated under section 99:

Where a regulated hire-purchase or regulated conditional sale agreement is terminated under section 99 the debtor shall be liable, unless the agreement provides for a smaller payment, or does not provide for any payment, to pay to the creditor the amount (if any) by which one-half of the total price exceeds the aggregate of the sums paid and the sums due in respect of the total price immediately before the termination.

As you can see, the provision clearly states that where a debtor terminates the agreement in accordance with section 99 (that is by giving notice in writing to the creditor), then the debtor’s liability shall be limited to one half of the total price payable including any sums owed in connection with the total price that became due immediately before termination.


The definition of ‘total price’ means any sums relating to the total price payable including the option to exercise price but specifically excludes:

(a) penalty charges;
(b) damages for breaches of the agreement; or
(c) compensation.

I am sure you will agree that, any ordinary reasonable person interpreting such a provision would have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that exceeding the agreed mileage under clauses 3 and 11 would be a breach of the agreement and thus fall into category (b) above. Indeed, it is also reasonable to suggest that it may also fall into category (c).

Put simply, your suggestion that the excess mileage charges can be recovered under section 99(2) is wrong. Admittedly, any overdue instalments may be recovered (as the instalments form part of the total price payable) but this does not extend to excess mileage charges for the reasons I have set out above.

In the circumstances, I believe that I have a very strong case against you should the matter end up in court and I would therefore invite you to close down this matter. If, however, you do not agree with the above interpretation, I ask that you provide detailed reasons as to why you still maintain that the excess charges are recoverable.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

[Chezsam]

R0b please could you take a look at my draft letter? Thanks.

[R0b]

Hi Sam,

I've attached a revised version of the letter (clean and tracked changes). Take a good read of it and make sure you are happy with the contents or adapt it as you feel is necessary. I've highlighted certain parts in yellow which will need changing on your part and reference to the CAP HPI Conditions you will find on the VT Guide so have a look at that also. My changes are only suggestions so if do not think you have to change it, it's your case and only include what you are confident of including.

I would also suggest that you remove any reference in this thread which contains your personal information. On the word document you can see your full name and also in the previous post shows your full name - I would suggest removing this next time you upload or paste any information on here, as it is a public forum anyone can access.

[Chezsam]

R0b thanks so much for your excellent support. I have posted the letter recorded delivery. I will update you with my progress. Thanks again! Very kind.

[Chezsam]

R0b
An update on this case- I have received this response from Audi today. As you can see, they have only responded to the part of the letter about the emissions scandal and not mentioned any of the other points at all. Any suggestions as to what to do now? They have said it’s a final response but I’m also confused because the letter says it’s responding to the contact made on January 9th and the letter I sent was last week??

[Chezsam]

R0b Hi, I have a further update from Audi. They have refused to acknowledge the HPI and have sent back the cheque. Could you take a look and let me know your thoughts of how to proceed please. Should I respond or just write to the financial Ombudsman? Thanks.

[Chezsam]

R0b hi , I was just wondering if you could give me your thoughts? I wrote to the ombudsman back in February regarding my VT with Audi and received a reply to say they would have a decision in 4 weeks. 4 weeks later I received a letter saying it could be within 8 weeks as they needed to look into it more. I have not received any correspondence since and it has now been 5 months! I also have received no further correspondence for Audi chasing anything and my credit file says it has been settled with no defaults applied. Should I assume no news is good news or should I contact FOS? I find it a bit strange as I was expecting them to be in touch and uphold Audi finance. Would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks

[R0b]

Morning Chezsam

Was your account still active and open previously? I would take a printout of your credit report anyway which proves that it is currently showing as settled and no defaults applied (in case it changes).

Difficult situation because on the one hand you might poke the bear and it could not turn out in your favour but on the other hand your credit file is showing what you want it to be. I'd be inclined to maintain the status quo and not do anything but if you still want an answer from the FOS then you need to contact them to get an update - wouldn't surprise me if they have forgotten all about you.

[gingergreg]

Hi Chezsam,
I am curious to know how you got on since the last post - I am about to execute a VT on my Audi and I am slightly over on the mileage. Thanks

[Chezsam]

Hi Gingergreg,
Currently my complaint is with the ombudsman, who I thought had forgotten about me as it was sent in February. However, a couple of weeks ago somebody from there rang me and explained that the Ombudsman service are reviewing their standpoint with excess mileage complaints (interesting perhaps) and will be in touch within 6 weeks.

As as far as vwfs goes, it was straightforward to terminate but they tried to charge for damage which was difficult to see and certainly should’ve been classed as wear and tear. Don’t sign anything and escalate to a complaint and then to Ombudsman. Don’t pay anything other than the 50%

I’ll update when I hear from Ombudsman.

[Chezsam]

Also...they will charge you for excess mileage but use templates from here to help with your responses. Rob is excellent!

[R0b]

Hi Gingergreg,
Currently my complaint is with the ombudsman, who I thought had forgotten about me as it was sent in February. However, a couple of weeks ago somebody from there rang me and explained that the Ombudsman service are reviewing their standpoint with excess mileage complaints (interesting perhaps) and will be in touch within 6 weeks.

I am interested in this, not sure why the FOS are reviewing this, but I would be interest to see what their outcome is.