VT with RCI - my experiences so far.

[R0b]

XS2MAN makes a good point. If you want to argue the toss over a small amount which you accept likely was caused whilst in your possession then it might be sensible to just pay it off. You can, of course stand by your principles and it is perfectly reasonable to argue that they could have obtained a cheaper cost than what they are charging but it's not always about that. As long as that figure is in the ballpark figure of what someone else might charge to fix the problem then it's likely to be reasonable.

I'm not aware of RCI issuing adverse entries on your credit file but problems can and do arise when the correspondence goes cold after a while and then RCI decide to do something that affects you, and you don't realise until it's too late.

Probably best to take a pragmatic view on this, but that's up to you.

[BeardManMatt]

I guess what you do here really depends on how up for a battle you are. You have already acknowledged in this thread that the damage was likely done while the vehicle was in your ownership. Further, you have already mentioned that you credit report has had a negative hit.

If it were me, for the sake of £138, which doesn't really seem all that unreasonable, I would probably pay it and get on with my life. Otherwise, this could drag out for a long time, all the while affecting your credit score, and might only be recoverable with you taking them to court over this.

By all means, if your principles take priority, and you are willing to fight this at any cost, then crack on. But my experience of dealing with finance companies is that they are quite happy to ruin your credit score while taking no action, requiring you to make any moves. If you then offer, at a later date, to pay off the charge to resolve the issue, they will not change their markers on your file either. You need to take them to court to make them do this, assuming they were proved incorrect in doing so. Which will be hard if you have already paid the charge.

If it were me, there are more important things going on in the world right now, so I would take the hit of £138 and just forget about it and move on. It is a small figure when compared to all the other costs associated with the running of any vehicle.

XS2MAN makes a good point. If you want to argue the toss over a small amount which you accept likely was caused whilst in your possession then it might be sensible to just pay it off. You can, of course stand by your principles and it is perfectly reasonable to argue that they could have obtained a cheaper cost than what they are charging but it's not always about that. As long as that figure is in the ballpark figure of what someone else might charge to fix the problem then it's likely to be reasonable.

I'm not aware of RCI issuing adverse entries on your credit file but problems can and do arise when the correspondence goes cold after a while and then RCI decide to do something that affects you, and you don't realise until it's too late.

Probably best to take a pragmatic view on this, but that's up to you.

Thank you both for your replies.*

I had started to suspect after scouring the forum a few times and reading other peoples cases that maybe £138 isn't a lot of money and that maybe i might be better off settling up rather than going to court.*

To be honest though its not about the money, its about the fact i took care of that car like it was my own and i made sure(to the best of my abilities) that my kids were careful with it.*
I covered the back seats and the front seats with covers to protect them and there is no eating or drinking in it either.*
I feel that RCI don't care about that, they simply see an opportunity to extract more money from me. Im more than happy to pay my way in life, im very happy with the way my moral compass points and i genuinely believe they are judging the vehicle condition on the same basis they would a single person with no family and therefore less opportunity for damage.

Im sorry, that rant is one you've probably heard many times before...

My wife agrees with your points of view and i will reluctantly pay them their money to be done with it.*

I do have to concede one point and that is that after looking deeper into my credit file it appears RCI have not marked my credit file, it looks as though it is something to do with my mortgage having a short term to run. And i assume once the remortgage is complete this may return to its previous level.

Anyway, I will be sending an email to RCI to complain about their handling of my case and to reluctantly pay the £138.


In your experience is the matter "Finished' and is their usually any correspondence to say the matter is closed and no more monies owed?*

Matt.