Any examples of successes with VT charge challenges?

[JME]

Hi,

I've been reading through quite a few of the threads here and they seem to follow the same pattern, someone asks for advice regarding collection charges, excess mileage etc, someone else repeats the info in ROBs sticky post and states what should happen in their opinion, but we never then hear back about how successful anyone was in their challenge.

I'm in the process of VTing two cars through two finance companies (PSA and VWFS), one is charging a collection fee and the other isn't, I've tried challenging the fee over the phone using the info in this forum but their response is that all of their paperwork is checked by legal experts before it's issued so they know for a fact that they are able to charge for collection and that unless I pay it, I remain liable for the car.

Now I know this is at odds with what's posted here, but I've yet to see anyone come back and say "thanks for the advice, the FC waived the charges as a result" so I'm in two minds whether it's worth arguing with them.

Can anyone confirm in their own experience that challenging the FC does actually work?

Thanks!

[Amethyst]

On excess mileage - yesterday http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...91#post1393291

I agree, it is frustrating when posters don't post the final outcome of their case - I have posted a sticky post asking people for their outcomes - maybe post and tag the poster on the end of uncompleted threads ( they should get a email notification as a nudge then )

[Jon2018]

I am considering voluntary terminating a pcp/hire purchase agreement at the appropriate time. If I purchased the car from BMW with runflats on the car, am I obliged to return with runflats or just with an appropriate tyre for the car that is road worthy and legal.

Regarding the excess milage and VT, Ive see the other comments about it not enforceable my law, if however at the start of the agreement there is a line in the contract mentioning agreeing to paying pro rata excess milage costs if ending the agreement early, does this still stand or is that just a standard inclusion in a the contract?

Many thanks for all the comments.

Jon.

[Amethyst]

Have you a copy of the agreement you could post up? ( context is often really important - as in the case yesterday the excess mileage was stated under Default Charges )

I have no idea what runflats are though... presumably some special kind of tyre .... ostell ? R0b ? I'd expect the same 'standard' of tyre is probably required .... I suppose it's like you couldn't whip out the BOSE surround sound stero boom box system and stick a longwave radio casette player in ? lol ( I'm not a car person can you tell )

[R0b]

Runflats are a special type of tyre which, I believe allow you to drive the car so many miles where the tyre is punctured/flat. For BMW related agreements, I believe there might be a clause in the contract that says you must replace the runflat tyres so striclty speaking if you just put on a standard profile tyre for that type of car, you would be in breach of contract.

Any liability for not doing this if you VT would mean that it falls within the damages or compensation category which is excluded from being recovered under section 100. I guess they could argue that you failed to take reasonable care but in my view, as long as the car is in a roadworthy condition and capable of being driven then it is in a reasonable condition and the fact that it doesn't have runflat tyres does not mean it is in an unreasonable state.

Just my view but one thing to consider with BMW is that they appear to be reporting late payment charges for any outstanding sums not being paid and some on here have reported it as affecting their credit file. The only possible solution to this is to take them to court for potentially being negligent and breach of data protection but the onus is on you to initiate this.

[Amethyst]

Ahhhhh, so instead of carrying a spare you have a special kind of tyre so you can still drive if you have a puncture ( which seem to be standard on new BMW models ) .... I'd assume if you change from runflats to normal tyres it means you should also have a spare tyre on the vehicle.

[Phaeton]

Ahhhhh, so instead of carrying a spare you have a special kind of tyre so you can still drive if you have a puncture ( which seem to be standard on new BMW models ) .... I'd assume if you change from runflats to normal tyres it means you should also have a spare tyre on the vehicle.

The usual is to carry a can of weld, it's standard on many small cars these days, take up less space then even a spacesaver wheels

[JME]

Quick update on my VT progress.

I've decided not to VT my PSA car, I'm trading it in at a slight loss with a dealer as it's a lot less hassle than VT (so I suppose the finance company has won in that respect).

My VW has been a nightmare. The first BCA inspection picked up over £400 of 'damage' including £150 for refinishing the bumper due to a poor paint repair finish. As this is a 4 year old Up with less than 10k miles, I disputed the whole report as I didn't agree with the figure (bumper aside, grudgingly).

When I went back the next day to get some photos, as I worked through the BCA list I found that nearly all of the damage was either a) well within BVRLA guidelines, (ie 1x tiny dent on the bonnet, less than 10mm and not through the paint had been charged for, BVRLA says two dents per panel is acceptable) or b) didn't exist (ie charges for scratches on panels that neither I nor the guy from the dealership could find). I sent a letter of complaint to VWFS and included the photos, asking why their agents had attempted to bill me for damage that was well within the guidelines that they themselves had sent me a copy of. VW acknowledged receipt and said they'd resolve it within 8 weeks.

I then arranged for a 2nd inspection as the dealer offered to refinish the bumper for me (it was them who repaired it initially). I set a date with BCA, and on the day before called them to confirm a time. Turns out the guy I spoke to hadn't bothered to book me in, and I spent the morning on the phone trying to sort this out, eventually we got it booked in for a week later.

The second inspection report was for slightly less, £300 this time, oddly he inputted some of the same damage to his iPad app and it passed it as acceptable for the age of the car this time. Annoyingly the refinish to the bumper was still terrible, all they'd done was polish it to remove the raised inclusions but this left dimples and the dirt spots were still there, so I've been billed for that again. The second inspector picked up some more tiny (ie invisible unless you get the exact angle right, and even then well under 10mm with no paint damage, and only one per panel, 3 panels in total). I've disputed this 2nd report, I'll pay for the poor refinish on the bumper and two of the wheel trims that are quite badly scuffed, but the 'dents' are definitely within BVRLA standards as well as VWs own fair wear and tear guidelines.

The 2nd inspector explained their app system, supposedly they input any and all damage they find and it decides whether to knock it off the bill based on the age and mileage of the car, the inspector has no say over this and therefore can't enter into debate. Clearly the BCA system is set up to be overly stringent vs BVRLA, and this will obviously lead to people being overcharged. There was a guy from Mannheim inspecting another car at the same time and he flew round it, he was done in half the time the BCA guy took (don't get me wrong, the BCA inspector was a decent guy but they're led by this app).

I'm waiting for VWFS to get in touch with me, I'll update on my progress.


As an aside relating to other posts in this forum, as recently as a month ago I was told by a Citroen salesman trying to sell me a car on PCP that he recommends that I set the mileage limits as low as possible to reduce the monthly payments, even if I thought I would use far more, as I would definitely not be charged for excess mileage!

(PS this forum is really difficult to type into from an Android phone)

[Confused and lost]

Going through something similar with Barclays Partner Finance. How did yours end up ? Originally they told me £530 a 15 min call and reduced to £200 , now fighting that as well. Any help you can give me would be great.I didn't even know they had dine a damage assessment until a debt collection letter hit the floor.