Voluntary termination finance

[Kelly0611]

rob

Hi

New to the site and looking for advice and i can see you're quite clued up on this.

I'm facing some health issues which means it makes sense for me to get rid of my car as i can't drive it.

I want to voluntary terminate the agreement. At the end of this month i have paid 50%.

I made a stupid decision when i got the car, taking finance on an older car, which is now 11 years old and i still have over 3k outstanding in negative equity.

The car was sold to me with only 1 key, few scratches and paint chips and no service book. I have had it serviced since but only have the reciepts, no stamps as the book wasn't sold with the car.

i have done some research on this and it seems that these companies like to send big bills to recoup some money.
I know given this info, I'm likely to get a bill, but can i fight this given the cars age and the fact these items where not sold with the car, albeit i can't prove it.

The finance is with advantage finance if that helps.

They have also said they'll be sending me a pack that i must fill out and sign. Is that right? I though i just had to email them saying i wanted to terminate.

I plan on emailing them after my payment end of this month once ive paid 50%

Any help on my initial email or the questions i have above so i can be prepared for the worst possible outcome with them.

It's probably also worth mention that the car has recently had a new clutch, exhaust, fly wheel, belt and alternator pulley. It also has 11 months mot

Thank you kindly
Kelly

[kingroyale]

I am more or less in the same situation as you are and I need answers to almost similar questions. I have been scouring lots of sites for info. I have only just sent my notice of VT & am waiting for the finance company to get back to me. One thing I know is, do not sign any doc until you read it and understood all the jargon. The law is clear on your right to terminate but they could sneak in some terms and once you sign, you are bound by law. So be careful. Hopefully some other more informed people here will respond to these questions and fast...

[kingroyale]

check this info out from R0b
you can do search on this site for more of the details...
A guide to voluntary termination: Your rights

5. You should avoid signing any paperwork from the finance co. or their agent
It is common for finance companies to send you out their paperwork and ask you to sign and return it. However, the paperwork will usually have been worded to say that you accept and agree to pay for any vehicle damage, excess mileage charges or even collection fees.

Let me be clear, you are under no legal obligation to sign any of the finance company's paperwork, no matter how aggressive or threatening they become. It is well known on this forum that both lenders and agents who collect the vehicle have been known to pressure debtors into signing the agreement through a number of methods. For example they may tell you that they will:

(a) not to process the voluntary termination;
(b) obtain a court order to repossess the vehicle;
(c) not collect the vehicle and you will incur abandonment costs; and
(d) expect you to continue the monthly instalments until the paperwork is signed.

All of the above are a nonsense and unjustified threats. Finance companies have no right to prevent you from exercising your voluntary termination right and at the very least, their conduct and behaviour is likely to amount to aggressive commercial practices, contrary to both the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the FCA Rules under the Consumer Credit Handbook (CONC).

If you experience any of this sort of behaviour either by the finance company or their agent on collection of the vehicle, I would recommend you make formal complaint to the finance company and also a further letter of complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority's enforcement team. The FCA does not look at individual complaints but if enough noise is made, they may very well investigate.

[Kelly0611]

Thank you. This is really useful. I haven't sent my letter yet as I have 1 more payment till I hit the 50%, but I may send it now and see what I get back

[ostell]

Why not post the redacted letter here first for critique?

[Kelly0611]

R0b I just realized I tagged your name incorrectly when I written the post. Do you think I will need evidence of the paint chips, no 2nd key and service book not being sold to me? The car does have a number of scratches and chips but they were there when I bought it.

[ostell]

Turn it round, you bought a second hand car do they have evidence that the damage was not there when you bought it? Can they show that they gave you a handbook

[Kelly0611]

ostell great point! One thing I should mention though is that the car doesn't have a working bonnet cable. It has broken and due to my ill health I can't afford to fix it and the labour, however, if they tried to charge me for that I could save an extra 1 months finance payment to pay for it I guess as a settlement. Is that possible? I'm not sure if a missing bonnet release cable would class as acceptable under "reasonable condition/wear and tear"? The letter template is written for an immediate termination, but I can't terminate till the end of this month as I will have only paid 50% by the end of this month. So I guess I'll write the letter then using the template

[ostell]

It's not unreasonable that a cable on an 11 year car has broken. Wear & tear. They may not even notice it.

[Kelly0611]

You're giving me a completely different perspective, thank you so much. I think I'm worrying before I have substance or a dispute. I mean the car is in more than reasonable condition it's got just under 11 months MOT and had numerous costly repairs done, so if they do start I have some comeback! I have all the receipts for the work and the parts too. I guess i'll just send the letter at the end of the month and post back if they try and make a damage claim. I'm confident they will try it on as it's advantage finance who are known for charges! Thank you for replying to me