BMW Excess mileage

[matteh]

Hi all,

I need some advice in regards to excess mileage charge on a PCP agreement after Voluntary termination.

I VT'd my car 2 weeks ago. I was 3 years and 7 months into a 4-year agreement. The annual mileage was set to 8k (at the time that was more than enough), however, my job changed and so did my mileage.

When i VT'd the car I was at circa 40000 mileage, and the max mileage over the 4 year agreement was 32000.

The car was in excellent condition when collected. There was a slight scratch in the doorsill which they’ve charged me £40 to put right. I thought that was reasonable. However, I’ve recently received a hefty excess mileage bill from BMW financial services asking for circa £1,600.

I’ve read in numerous threads on this site that I may be able to half that amount or not pay it at all. I've attached the letters from BMWFS with the relevant parts of the contract. Would it be adivsable to send one of the excess mileage templates on this site to BMWFS?

Thanks in advance!

[matteh]

BUMP!

R0b - Apologies, i know you are super busy. When you get 5, could you please lend a hand on the above? There's a pint in it for you.

[R0b]

Hello

It's really up to you as to whether you want to fight the charges. BMW have a habit of marking your credit file with late payment markers which in my view is unlawful but the only real way you are going to get that resolved is to take them to court over it for breach of data protection.

If you do wish to defend it and BMW do mark your credit file, you might be able to discuss it further with pt2537 if you want to take it all the way and see what he can offer you should that happen.

[matteh]

Hello

It's really up to you as to whether you want to fight the charges. BMW have a habit of marking your credit file with late payment markers which in my view is unlawful but the only real way you are going to get that resolved is to take them to court over it for breach of data protection.

If you do wish to defend it and BMW do mark your credit file, you might be able to discuss it further with pt2537 if you want to take it all the way and see what he can offer you should that happen.

Thanks for your feedback R0b

I'd prefer not to get any late/missed payment marks on my credit file if possible. What do you think my chances are of getting the excess mileage charges halved? And could they offer me some sort of payment plan on the £800?

"Dear Sir or Madam,

Voluntary termination of the Hire Purchase Agreement dated [DATE]

I am writing further to your letter of [DATE] in connection with the above matter. Your comments are noted and I have set out below the following response.

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.

Although I have already referred to the definition of ‘total price’ in previous correspondence, I would like to reiterate that 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 clause [clause no.] 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,

[NAME]"

[R0b]

Being honest, I would not expect BMW to come to some settlement but that's not to say they won't. You are generally speaking with first line customer service advisors who no doubt will just say that you owe them in full. It's happened plenty of times here and unfortunately nobody seems to have had the guts to pursue their case to court (as yet).

If you do end up in a situation where BMW record an adverse entry then you might wish to speak to pt2537 who may be prepared to take on your case i you can come to some arrangement in terms of fees. Otherwise, if you want to avoid, you will have to pay in full if they don't accept a reduced offer.

[djlw84]

matteh I am in the same boat as you - handed my car back two weeks ago and this morning got a letter asking for £256 in excess mileage fees.

I've sent them the template letter - let's see what they come back with.