Voluntary surrender of vehicle advice please

[RobP]

Hi I'm really needing some advice, I'm 20 months into a 36 month car finance and have payed over half of original sum, I rang them yesterday and said I wanted to give the car back as I'm struggling on payments, they was very nice and asked me to put into writing then can take a few week before car is collected, all sounds good but she advised me not to make my next payment which is in 5 days?? Am I right in thinkimg if I don't pay this payment they could mark as a default then they would have more rights than myself, basically a business work vehicle on lease means I can't afford my private car, any advice is much appreciated Thanks Rob

[Amethyst]

Hi Rob, tagging R0b for you - have a look at the excellent guide and template letters he's written at the top of the forum - http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...on-your-rights

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...tter-templates

That should set you on the right track.

Who is the car finance with ? ( they all seem to deal with VT slightly differently )

Is the VT amount stated on your agreement ? ( remember it's half the total due under the agreement not half the term or half the original loan amount )

Any mileage issues potentially ?

I believe that they are right, once you have paid over 50% and notified you are vt'ing no more payments need to be made and it shouldn't be reported on your credit file as a default.

[ostell]

You don't want Voluntary Surrender, you want Voluntary Termination. There is a sample VT letter in the forum.

Voluntary Surrender means you hand the car back and you remain liable for anything outstanding after the car is sold
Voluntary Termination means you cancel your finance agreement and hand your car back with no more to pay.

If you don't pay before they have received your VT request then ,yes, they can mark your account as in arrears.

[RobP]

Thanks for the advice much appreciated