Voluntary Termination Just Add Fuel

[Laurenc089]

Hi,
I've read a few threads on voluntary termination but none relating to my specific issue. Two years ago I started a just add fuel deal with Peugeot, funded my PSA finance. I have just spoken to very condescending man on the phone about voluntarily terminating.
My contract says "You have a right to end this agreement. To do so, you should write to the person you make your payments to. You will then be entitled to the return of the goods
and to half the total amount payable under this agreement, that is £6121.66. If you have already paid at least this amount plus any overdue instalments and
have taken reasonable care of the goods, you will not have to pay any more."
I have so far paid £8090.28, however they are saying that the "total amount payable" stated in the contract refers only to the car finance itself and does not include any money paid towards the insurance and so therefore I have not reached £6121.66 and am not entitled to terminate. I disagreed but they were having none of it. Am I right in thinking that since the contract is ambiguous in what the "total amount payable" refers to, that I am within my right to terminate as I have paid more than £6121.66? Surely, as the agreement includes both the car finance and the insurance, and the contract does not state that it's only the total amount payable of the car finance not including insurance that they can't then hold me to that.
Please could someone help?
Thanks, Lauren.

[R0b]

Have they followed it up in writing and said that you cannot terminate your agreement because of that reason or has it been confined to a phone call?

They cannot by law stop you from terminating the agreement and if your contract says you only need to have paid £6,121.66 then you can terminate and have no further liability in respect of the HP agreement. That's the figure and they can't unilaterally change it.

If you want to terminate the agreement you need to comply with what the law says and that has to be in writing, so whatever the advisor has said of the phone, his opinion means jack all. Keep your correspondence in writing wherever possible.

I suggest you read my guide and especially the FAQ section about your current situatin.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...on-your-rights

[Laurenc089]

Hi R0b*
Thank you for responding. I haven't yet sent anything in writing as I only made the phone call to see what the procedure was, naively I did not expect the response I got. I am going to write a letter ASAP, I just wanted to make sure I was right in what I was saying.*
Can I just clarify, does "you can terminate and have no further liability in respect of the HP agreement" mean I am liable to pay anything toward the insurance?
Thank you very much for your help and is it ok if I reply to you when they respond to my letter as I imagine they will try to say the same things as they did on the phone?
Thanks again,
Lauren.*

[R0b]

It means exactly what it says on the tin, no further liability in respect of the hire purchase.* There are arguments that the insurance or other additional products form part of the HP agreement and therefore you shouldn't be liable for those. However, there is also an argument that the insurance is deemed a separate contract, in which case it operates on its own.

If it does operate separately then if they call in the remaining balance they would be in breach of contract fundamentally because you only agreed to terminate the vehicle element and not the insurance.

Really depends on your appetite and whether you want to fight the whole cost or offer to continue paying the instalments or claim fundamental breach of contract. Again, all of this is explained in the VT guide so I won't go into it any further.

[Laurenc089]

Hi @R0B,*
I sent an email to the finance company a week ago and have just received their reply via a posted letter. Their response is exactly as expected, they continue to say that I have not met the 50% mark as my monthly payments are a combination of the vehicle finance and the insurance and therefore even though I have paid more than 50% overall, I must in fact pay 50% of the vehicle finance only. They say I am due to pay £967.07 for the car finance and £289.33 as an early settlement fee for the insurance, despite the fact they state that I do not have the right to end the loan for insurance. They also mention collection charges and say the termination will be shown on my credit file and will be seen by other lenders.*

I have studied your VT guide, which has been very helpful and thank you for creating and sharing that. I am currently working on a reply following this letter and will contact the financial ombudsman should this not be resolved ASAP. To me, the fact that it's a just add fuel deal means the agreement encompasses everything and so everything, including the vehicle and insurance, should be terminated but if not and they are indeed separate contracts, are they right to say I can't cancel the insurance? The insurance runs out 12/04 and the insurers have no cancellation fee so I don't see what these charges are for.*

*I have attached the letter I received this morning. If you or anyone reading this could offer some advice or reassure me that they are wrong in their demand of any fees, it would be much appreciated.*

Thanks, Lauren.*


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