Rejecting a PCP

[KChaps489]

Hello, I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I purchased a BMW on PCP on 13th April 2018 and on 14th April 2018 it broke down and had to get towed. I verbally rejected the vehicle to the garage numerous times but was forced to collect the vehicle once they fixed it otherwise they was threatening to charge me. On the 20th April I started to seek legal advise as the garage refused my rejection then ignored me. The ombudsmen advised to write a letter detailing my grievance and that I'm formally rejecting the vehicle I sent this to the garage and the finance company and today over 12 weeks later the finance company phone me and tell me that as I took the vehicle back after the fault I am not able to reject it. As I have no proof I was forced by the garage to take it I don't have a leg to stand on.

Is this correct as it seems like bullshit to me? I was under the understanding that I could reject the vehicle under the consumer rights act 2015.

[R0b]

Hello

First of all, a hire purchase type situation is like a three way agreement where the seller actually sells the car to the finance company who in turn hires it out to you, so the finance company is the owner of the vehicle and you should really be communicating everything to the finance company as that is who your contract is with, not the garage. So you should really have sent your concerns to the finance company.

Under the Consumer Rights Act you can reject the goods as long as you give some indication to that it is being rejected. But my question is, in this day and age where communication in writing is so easy, why did you verbally tell the garage that you are rejecting the vehicle? Even more so, why was it towed to the garage instead of your home as that could be seen as an inference that you wanted them to repair it, not reject it.

Yes it is very unfair but evidence in this day and age is crucial and being blunt, there doesn't seem to be any excuse as to why you didn't put this in writing. Strictly speaking, you can reject the vehicle verbally but why would you put yourself in a he said she said situation which as you've come to realise, has made life much more difficult for you. Had you put the rejection in writing sending to both the garage and the finance company, I doubt you would be in the situation you are currently in.

I can only suggest that you complain to the Financial Ombudsman and see where that goes. There's no guarantee that they will side with you but assuming you have evidence that the car was towed to the garage and then repaired is evidence that there was a fault. It is then up to you to persuade the Ombudsman that by towing it to the garage, you intended to reject the vehicle rather than having it repaired. Failing that, you could take your case to court but then that becomes a real risk if the finance amount is more than £10,000.

I think you should chalk it up to experience and remember to keep any complaint, disputes or concerns in writing wherever possible.

[KChaps489]

Hello

First of all, a hire purchase type situation is like a three way agreement where the seller actually sells the car to the finance company who in turn hires it out to you, so the finance company is the owner of the vehicle and you should really be communicating everything to the finance company as that is who your contract is with, not the garage. So you should really have sent your concerns to the finance company.

Under the Consumer Rights Act you can reject the goods as long as you give some indication to that it is being rejected. But my question is, in this day and age where communication in writing is so easy, why did you verbally tell the garage that you are rejecting the vehicle? Even more so, why was it towed to the garage instead of your home as that could be seen as an inference that you wanted them to repair it, not reject it.

Yes it is very unfair but evidence in this day and age is crucial and being blunt, there doesn't seem to be any excuse as to why you didn't put this in writing. Strictly speaking, you can reject the vehicle verbally but why would you put yourself in a he said she said situation which as you've come to realise, has made life much more difficult for you. Had you put the rejection in writing sending to both the garage and the finance company, I doubt you would be in the situation you are currently in.

I can only suggest that you complain to the Financial Ombudsman and see where that goes. There's no guarantee that they will side with you but assuming you have evidence that the car was towed to the garage and then repaired is evidence that there was a fault. It is then up to you to persuade the Ombudsman that by towing it to the garage, you intended to reject the vehicle rather than having it repaired. Failing that, you could take your case to court but then that becomes a real risk if the finance amount is more than £10,000.

I think you should chalk it up to experience and remember to keep any complaint, disputes or concerns in writing wherever possible.

Without sounding rude like I said I did not seek legal advise until several days later where I was advised by the ombudsman. I have never experienced anything like this before so how am I supposed to know the legal process thats required? I sent an email on the 15th Stating that I was considering rejecting the vehicle but again had no response anyway so then I phoned to say am I 100% rejecting the vehicle as no one was replying to my email.

I also have a question about contracts. On the 7th April i signed at 48 month deal and on the 11th April I changed it to 36 months which was fine as it was before the receipt of the vehicle. The problem is the garage took my original contract on the 7th and shredded it and left me with the new one which is what I wanted. HOWEVER they then proceeded to send the finance company the old contract which i did not know until the first payment came out and I received a welcome letter in the post. I've explained to the finance company that the contract they have is void as the agreement was terminated and I have a new contract signed by the garage that post dates it. I've sent them a copy but they haven't done anything. Surely this is fraud of some sort as that agreement was terminated by the new contract.

Also the garage informed me that it is a legal requirement that they check my insurance and that they pay the vehicle tax (which they charged me for) before i leave the showroom, so they sell a road legal vehicle. HOWEVER I paid the road tax fee which i have an invoice for yet 3 weeks later I find out the car is not taxed. AGAIN surely this is the unlawful sale of a motor vehicle?

[R0b]

I understand you didn't seek legal advice and you are not expected to know every legal process but at the same time I'm sure you will understand that when it comes to proving things, something said verbally is not really going to prove anything and many people who don't know the process or understand their rights have a tendency to worry or act in haste without thinking things through.

Sure, the garage would have threatened to charge you for the work but what would they do? If they tried to invoice you then it would simply aid you in proving their threats. Equally, you could have instructed them not to do the work and have it towed back to your house. Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing but as I said, its experience and a learning curve and I'm sure you won't make the same mistake again if you come up against something similar.

Just another point to note, sending an email saying that you are considering rejecting the vehicle services no purpose at all. To reject goods you have to be unequivocally clear, which means stating outright that you are rejecting it.

Strictly speaking, if you have signed an agreement then you are committed to it unless both parties agree to terminate it. I'm not entirely sure that your new 36 month contract supersedes the previous contract but you could argue that the fact you were given this copy and no longer have the older copy, meant that you had no reason to believe that the contract was for a 36 month period and not 48. Presumably the monthly instalments are higher under the new agreement than the old, unless you have 0% finance?

All in all, you seem to have a number of problems and I think you simply need to put it all in a formal complaint to the finance company. It needs to be concise and you should resist any aggressive tones, words that are in capitals, underlining or bold. Not trying to patronise you but there have been many an example on here where people do exactly that - keep it clean and to the point.

If you want feedback on any draft letter, I would suggest you post it up beforehand.