Voluntary termination with Mercedes Benz Finance

[Nodbadthebad]

Well, Its been 2 months and I've still had no reply from Mortimer Clarke.

I'm going to sit tight and wait. Will update as and when....

[tutu]

Hello lovely people. We are in a similar boat atm with Honda Finance. Early termination in June 19 ( 3 yr contract ended in Sept 19). Tbh that was our third car with Honda and we were going to get a 4th but just wanted a change. Always paid and were guaranteed the car value by the salesman but every renewal this didn't happen and we owed a higher deposit every 3 yrs! Sickness in the family and bad memories of the car and this made me want to car.

Anyhow termination went well i left the car to the auction depot etc. Good condition only two very minor surface scratches. I only signed to say I left the car and saw the report nothing else, otherwise they wouldn't take the car.* *Got a letter to say balance was nil. Then last month we owe £1030 in mileage. They sent one letter then an email ( to me not my hubby, who has the finance) then I got an email from a debt collector and the balance is now on his credit file.*

I'll use one of your template letters to say we wont be paying it but can I do anything re the passing of the so called debt to a debt collecting agency and it appearing on his credit file again whilst fighting this?
Thanks in advance. M

[Nodbadthebad]

So, I have today, after almost 3 months of nothing, received a letter from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors. Basically says We have put your account on hold while we investigate thoroughly

Ho hum watch this space.............

[R0b]

Well your letter must have stumped them, I'd imagine they would take just as long if not longer to respond.

Keep us updated

[Nodbadthebad]

Will do!

[Dodge1979]

I know I posted up my own situation last month regards Mercedes,* I have recieved a letter from Mortimer and it's the same wording as those who have already posted. In fact, reading above the letter from Mercedes is exactly the same as well as others regards excess mileage etc. So I'm going to go through the advice given and draft responses...

[MikeFletcher]

Hello

I'm currently in a similar position, having disputed charged from MBFS & DLC but today received a letter from Mortimer Clarke (similar to one the of the other members by the sounds of it).

Can anyone offer an help? Wondering if I should just settle and be done with it but the amount is a shade under 2k and I am completing on a house next month so I could really do without this cost...

[R0b]

Hello

I'm currently in a similar position, having disputed charged from MBFS & DLC but today received a letter from Mortimer Clarke (similar to one the of the other members by the sounds of it).

Can anyone offer an help? Wondering if I should just settle and be done with it but the amount is a shade under 2k and I am completing on a house next month so I could really do without this cost...

Not sure what help it is you need, because there really is only two choices available to you and that's to either pay up or continue defending it and whether you want to defend it that is a decision entirely down to you, not us. Court claims at the moment from start to finish can take as long as 6-8 months but could be longer due to the ongoing events with Coronavirus. So you could save up for the next 6 months a little at a time and still have your day in court, plus even if you lose you don't automatically get a CCJ marked on your credit file, you have one month from the date of judgment to pay up. All in all, you could have anywhere between 6-12 months to save up the amount claimed for.

I suggest you make your own separate thread if you decide to defend it, and not piggy back on someone else's to avoid confusion and you should start with any letters you received regarding threats of legal action otherwise we don't know what we are working with.

[Nodbadthebad]

Well, its now getting toward the end of May 2020. This all started back in September 2018!!

I've had nothing from Mortimer Clarke since their letter in December!

Thinking, the longer this goes on with no response from them, the better it is for me!

Here's hoping!!

Will post again if i receive anything!

[Nodbadthebad]

Hi R0b

I have finally heard from Mortimer Clarke following my last letter to them on the 22nd September 2019 (attached)!!

Their response seems to have totally ignored the points set out in my last letter to them.

I have attached their letter also and if you get a chance to have a look, I would very much appreciate your opinion on what my response should say.

I should point out that the only relevant items enclosed with their letter were the original credit agreement. No itemised damage list (apart from 4 photos of very minor scratches/wheel scuff).

Also, where they state that the vehicle inspection was carried out by BCA and to their standards, this is untrue. The "vehicle inspection" was carried out by a young lady who worked in the service reception at the dealership, walking around with a phone-camera.

I'm almost tempted to just say "have you read my letter?"!!

Thank you again in advance of a response.

Paul

[pt2537]

What a load of dross. Are Mortimer Clarke acting for Mercedes? It is very surprising if they are

[Nodbadthebad]

What a load of dross. Are Mortimer Clarke acting for Mercedes? It is very surprising if they are

Yes, they are representing MBFS. They are also the same Law firm that lost in the County court case using the exact same arguments they are using against me.

[Nodbadthebad]

Here is a Draft response to them, not sure from a legal point of view what it should say, but this is a first stab:

---

-----REMOVED DRAFT RESPONSE-----

---

As I've said, this is a first draft so please feel free to pick it apart and advise me of any changes..

Thank you in advance

Paul

[R0b]

It's a template letter that they've sent out to you, I can tell because there's square brackets in one of the paragraphs that they forgot to remove and I've seen it before without the COVID-19 comment.

Personally I would respond and explain that they have failed to properly address the points you raised in your last letter and there's no point in repeating what you've already said. If they have such confidence in recovering the excess mileage, invite them to issue legal proceedings if you are prepared to defend it. Otherwise I would stick two fingers up at them and not respond further unless they have something substantial to say.

[pt2537]

Yes, they are representing MBFS. They are also the same Law firm that lost in the County court case using the exact same arguments they are using against me.

I wasnt aware that they were involved, they normally deal with Cabot and Marlins debt collection.