RCI VT Claim from QDR Sols

[Juke2016]

I require help with a claim from QDR Sols who are apparently acting from RCI. - not sure how to upload documents without agreement numbers etc.
- Prior to VT I had contacted the dealership who advised me the date I could commence a VT and that excess mileage would not apply, at this point I noticed that the term of the agreement had been extended to 42 months from the 36 months on my previous vehicle with the same dealership. This advice re the Excess mileage was consistent with the advice received when I got the car.
- 23.2.17 Vehicle VT'd - recommended protocols followed. I had paid £2k over the half the total amount due of.
- 2.3.17 Vehicle Collected - small amount of damage total £316.00 - roll on almost 7 months
- 29.9.17 letter received from Nissan Finance asking for just over £3k - no breakdown of amount. referred to a letter I had supposedly been sent on 14.9.17 copy not included
- I raised the issues with Nissan finance including what I had been told when I purchased the car.
- 16.10.17 received letter from Nissan Finance advising they would look into the issues raised and that I should maintain my monthly payments-car had been collected on 2.3.17!! The said they would get back to me within 8 weeks,
- 30.10.17 received letter from RCI saying that I had confirmed to them that I believed I had met my full liability in order to VT the vehicle - I had only 2 payments of 42 left to make. They referred to a letter, and attached a copy dated 14-9-17 which I had not received which showed over £3k outstanding but the breakdown of figures showed zero in all areas including Excess Mileage but with the total box showing the over £3k. Later reduced to £2,500 with damage to vehicle waived as a gesture of goodwill!!
- I had also raised the issues with the dealership, as I believed I had been mis-sold and the term extended without it being explained.
- 30.11.17 Dealership letter received saying they had received my complaint and would respond within 3 weeks.
- 14.12.17 letter from RCI saying they were sorry that I was unhappy with their response - they had said they were not responsible for how the dealership sold products with attached RCI finance. They also said they would not change their position. They had also sent copies of my correspondence ( and I assume theirs) to the dealership. They said that they now considered my complaint closed, but that I still owed them the £2500.
- I responded by asking for a copy of all paperwork so I could take the case to the FSA and offered to pay the requisite £15.00 fee for them to get that paperwork to me within 28 days. Suffice to say I received no response.
- 15.12.17 letter received from dealership outlining basis of my signed agreement of September 2013, and disputed that I had been advised the excess mileage would not apply. They agreed the excess Mileage charge as per the agreement would have been over £3k, They went on to say that had I had the correct annual mileage that the increase in monthly payment would have been £25 per month over 40 months a total of £1000, plus additional wear and tear giving a total benefit to me of £2,000. They went on to say that they would cover half of the balance (£3k+-£2k) just over £1k so they would give me almost £600 as full and final settlement of my claim and that the offer would remain open until 31.12.17.
- I got an extension on this date as I was trying to be fair and thought that the £600 plus damage costs of £316.00 would be close to £1k but also that the 40 x £25 was exactly £1k.
- 9.1.18 letter from Paladin advising they had been instructed by RCI had to get the £2500 from me.
- I contacted them advising my complaint issues, followed up by email on 15.1.18 with reasons for my complaint but I advised that I would pay £1k.
- 6.2.18 email from Paladin thay had no response from RCI
- 7.2.18 I emailed Paladin advising that until I had a response from RCI I would not take the case to FCA.
- 9.2.18 Paladin advised they had chased RCI
- 28.3.18 I again asked Paladin if they had received a response.
- 29.3.18 Paladin confirmed that RCI had said I was liable for the excess mileage £2.5k.
- 30.3.18 I asked Paladin for a copy of the RCI response they had received.
- 13.4.18 Paladin advised that all RCI emails were archived and he would have to request a copy of the response.
- 16.4.18 I again requested a FULL response as this would be required to take the case to the FCA.
- 17.4.18 Copy of my email of 15.1.18 sent from Paladin to RCI - No further responses
- 3.10.18 Letter received from QDR advising they were acting for RCI and had to collect £476.08 from me!!
- 10.10.18 Spoke with QDR and said I would get back to them and I confirmed verbally this was the full and final settlement
- 10.10.18 Spoke with dealership - they were happy to pay half and raised a cheque
- 12.10.18 Collected cheque from dealership - not yet cashed because
- 12.10.18 received a text from QDR with a link to a letter saying they had the amount wrong in their letter dated 28.9.18 and it should be £2500.00. Advised dealership.
- 12.10.18 left message for QDR to call me back
- 15.10.18 spoke with QDR advised I was unhappy and had an unresolved complaint. They put the account on hold until 29.10.18.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ls#post1429328

[des8]

tagging R0b

[R0b]

Morning,

I'm not entirely sure you have received a claim form from QDR and it may very well be a debt collection letter.

Its crucialcruciale understand what exactly you have received so it would be helpful to post up what you've got from them and make sure your personal info is redacted

[Juke2016]

Morning,

I'm not entirely sure you have received a claim form from QDR and it may very well be a debt collection letter.

Its crucialcruciale understand what exactly you have received so it would be helpful to post up what you've got from them and make sure your personal info is redacted

Hi R0b, attahced are the letters I have received form QDR. 28/9 made reference to an amount of around £470.00, Letter of 11/10 said there had been a mistake and increased it to £2500.00 which is what had been in correspondence from RCI and Paladin early in 2018.

[Juke2016]

Hi R0b, attahced are the letters I have received form QDR. 28/9 made reference to an amount of around £470.00, Letter of 11/10 said there had been a mistake and increased it to £2500.00 which is what had been in correspondence from RCI and Paladin early in 2018.

HI R0b any news on the above

[Juke2016]

Morning,

I'm not entirely sure you have received a claim form from QDR and it may very well be a debt collection letter.

Its crucialcruciale understand what exactly you have received so it would be helpful to post up what you've got from them and make sure your personal info is redacted

Hi R0b have you seen my response yet?

[pt2537]

Its not a claim rather its a poorly drafted letter of claim, if indeed that is what its intended to be.

They havent issued proceedings, but i think you may want to respond to that letter setting out your grounds for challenging the sums claimed etc I believe R0b has a template letter for this sort of thing too

[R0b]

Sorry I did but caught up in everything else I forgot to respond to yours.

RCI must have recently instructed QDR on these disputes because they are new to me however, I'm not entirely sure that it is a letter before action and it might simply be a debt collection letter. If it is indeed an LBC then as PT suggests, it's a very poorly drafted and non-compliant one at best.

QDR Solicitors are the debt collection services of Wright Hassall solicitors and as far as I understand, they usually deal with low level stuff such as parking tickets.

Not sure I have a template that directly addresses QDR's but I think in the first instance we need to find out exactly what capacity they have been instructed to act - whether that is in a limited debt collector role or if it is to commence legal proceedings for the recovery of the alleged debt (if the latter then we point out it's not compliant with the pre action protocols for debt claims).

I personally think they are only acting as debt collectors at this stage and looks like a one-size-fits-all template. Another finance company called GMAC do exactly they same thing and farm debt disputes out to Shoosmiths.

Let me have a look and I'll get back to you, I'm sure we can cobble a mixture of the templates to produce a response.

[R0b]

Can you simplify your first post and break down exactly what they claim to be owed - £2,500 in excess mileage charges but what else are they claiming, is that it?

[R0b]

Here's an example you can send to them - word version attached, adapt to suit your current situation.

----------------------


Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Disputed outstanding balance

I am writing to you in response to your letters dated 28 September 2018 and 11 October 2018.

It is not clear from your letters as to the capacity in which you have been instructed to act on behalf of RCI Finance ("RCI"). Please can you confirm whether you are merely acting as a debt collector or if you have been instructed to pursue legal proceedings for the recovery of the alleged debt. If it is the latter, then I consider your letters to be in breach of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and I would ask you to set out and itemise all sums claimed to be owed to RCI.

In any event, if the sums claimed are in relation to excess mileage charges, my position remains unchanged. As I have already explained to RCI previously, the right to recover excess mileage charges is a contractual one and, as a result of exercising my voluntary termination right, limited my liability to one half of the total price payable. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 is explicit as regards to the definition of "total price" in that it excludes sums related to compensation, damages for breach of contract or penalty charges. As already mentioned, the excess mileage charges are a contractual term and therefore considered to be compensation for exceeding the agreed mileage and/or damages for breach of contract. Accordingly, those charges are irrecoverable.

I would further add that this issue has arisen in a recent County Court case at Willesden (Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited v Cahalane). It was held that:

1. excess mileage charges were excluded under the definition of "total price" and that the section titled "TERMINATION: YOUR RIGHTS" also detailed the total amount payable under the agreement, which did not include excess mileage charges. The Judge further stated that she was further bound by the Court of Appeal decision in Julian Hodge Bank Limited v Malcolm Hall [1997] WL 1103662; and

2. the excess mileage was not a failure to take reasonable care of the goods on the basis that there was no correlation showing there to be a causal link between the excess mileage and a failure to take reasonable care of the vehicle beyond fair wear and tear.

Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the charges claimed by RCI are not recoverable and for the reasons set out above, shall not be paying those sums. I trust this makes my position clear and I do not think it necessary for there to be any further correspondence on the matter, save that legal proceedings are issued in which case it is my intention to defend any claim brought by RCI.

Yours faithfully,


[YOUR NAME]

[Juke2016]

[QUOTE=R0b;n1431025]Here's an example you can send to them - word version attached, adapt to suit your current situation.

----------------------


Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Disputed outstanding balance

I am writing to you in response to your letters dated 28 September 2018 and 11 October 2018.

It is not clear from your letters as to the capacity in which you have been instructed to act on behalf of RCI Finance ("RCI"). Please can you confirm whether you are merely acting as a debt collector or if you have been instructed to pursue legal proceedings for the recovery of the alleged debt. If it is the latter, then I consider your letters to be in breach of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and I would ask you to set out and itemise all sums claimed to be owed to RCI.

In any event, if the sums claimed are in relation to excess mileage charges, my position remains unchanged. As I have already explained to RCI previously, the right to recover excess mileage charges is a contractual one and, as a result of exercising my voluntary termination right, limited my liability to one half of the total price payable. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 is explicit as regards to the definition of "total price" in that it excludes sums related to compensation, damages for breach of contract or penalty charges. As already mentioned, the excess mileage charges are a contractual term and therefore considered to be compensation for exceeding the agreed mileage and/or damages for breach of contract. Accordingly, those charges are irrecoverable.

I would further add that this issue has arisen in a recent County Court case at Willesden (Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited v Cahalane). It was held that:

1. excess mileage charges were excluded under the definition of "total price" and that the section titled "TERMINATION: YOUR RIGHTS" also detailed the total amount payable under the agreement, which did not include excess mileage charges. The Judge further stated that she was further bound by the Court of Appeal decision in Julian Hodge Bank Limited v Malcolm Hall [1997] WL 1103662; and

2. the excess mileage was not a failure to take reasonable care of the goods on the basis that there was no correlation showing there to be a causal link between the excess mileage and a failure to take reasonable care of the vehicle beyond fair wear and tear.

Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the charges claimed by RCI are not recoverable and for the reasons set out above, shall not be paying those sums. I trust this makes my position clear and I do not think it necessary for there to be any further correspondence on the matter, save that legal proceedings are issued in which case it is my intention to defend any claim brought by RCI.

Yours faithfully,


[Juke 2016] Many thanks R0b, I have completed the template and sent it off to QDR. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Juke2016]

Can you simplify your first post and break down exactly what they claim to be owed - £2,500 in excess mileage charges but what else are they claiming, is that it?

Hi R0b, it is simply the £2500 reduced from £3k+. see attached docs