Excess mileage help

[stuartm]

Hi all,

First time poster here and I'm looking for a little advice please.

In May 2020 I contacted Audi finance to VT my finance arrangement on my car. They sent someone from BCA who completed an inspection and took the car away.

A few weeks later I got a letter saying that I owed £2493.84. Of this figure £285.12 was for damage repairs, the rest was excess mileage charges.

I replied to their letter by email immediately, saying:

Dear Sirs,

Further to your letter dated 11th June 2020 outlining the end of contract charges on my agreement, I'm afraid to advise that as a result of COVID-19 my employment status has changed and I am unable to settle the full amount of £2493.84

My decision to voluntary terminate my agreement was also due to my sudden change in employment status.

I also understand that excess mileage charges should not be applicable as I VT'd my agreement having paid 50% of the finance agreement. I believe that I have taken good care of the car and maintained it to a high standard, although I do appreciate that there are some charges for minor repairs.

Therefore, I am prepared to settle £285.12 for refurbishment costs, on the proviso that I am able to pay this in 3 equal payments of £95.04 over a 3 month period.

Can you please advise of next steps?

I received a generic response to this email asking me to outline my income and expenditure. I did not feel that I had to justify this to Audi as I didn't think I was obliged to pay the excess mileage and had offered to pay the damage.

I have since received 2 letters demanding payment, the latest of which says that I am in arrears for the full amount (plus interest I'm presuming) and that it will have a negative impact on my credit rating.

I'm a bit lost as to what to do next and would be grateful for any advice

Thanks

S

[R0b]

Hello

The Voluntary Termination Guide below has everything you need to deal with this and make an informed choice.

You can either pay up or defend your position. There's always a risk that they might mark your credit file in which case you need to decide whether you pursue Audi and start legal proceedings for breach of data protection, or put up with the marker for the next 6 years, or pay up and still have the marker for the next 6 years.

The forum has a lot of regurgitated information and template responses for excess mileage so I would suggest you do a search of the forum for recent posts and you should find what you need.

A guide to voluntary termination: Your rights

[stuartm]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for this. As an update, I read through the guide and found it very useful, thanks for sharing.

I submitted my letter contesting my charges to Audi some 8 weeks ago and I have only just received a response.

They didn't acknowledge my COVID-related employment status despite me flagging the FCA's guidance on this matter.

Nevertheless, their response said:

"Excess mileage is chargeable upon the return of your vehicle as outlined within section 11 of
your terms and conditions. This takes into account the annual mileage allowance of 12,000
and the number of days you have been within the agreement. If the odometer reading is
higher than the number of miles we would expect, a charge would apply."

For reference, section 11 reads:

11 Mileage
11.1 If the Vehicle covers more than:
- the Maximum Annual Mileage in any succeeding period of 12 months starting from the making of this Agreement; and/or
- the Maximum Total Mileage;
you will be liable to pay us the Excess Mileage Charge shown on page 1. That liability will accrue with each mile covered by the Vehicle in excess of
those Mileages. You must discharge that liability by paying us the charge on demand .
11.2 If you have paid Excess Mileage Charges in relation to the Maximum Annual Mileage we will deduct this amount from any Excess Mileage Charge
payable in relation to the Maximum Total Mileage.
11.3 If the mileometer stops working you must have it repaired. You must tell us the date when it stopped working, the recorded mileage at that date and
the date when it was repaired. We will calculate an average mileage for the period during which the mileometer was not working based upon the
recorded mileage.
11.4 If this Agreement terminates early, we will reduce the Maximum Total Mileage in the proportion which the actual period of hire bears to the period of
hire originally agreed. Any Excess Mileage Charge will be recalculated using that reduced Maximum Total Mileage .
11.5 If you have made all other payments under this Agreement and pay the Option to Purchase Fee (if any), and we have not accepted appointment as
your agent to sell the Vehicle under clause 12, you will not have to pay any Excess Mileage Charges. We will refund you any Excess Mileage Charges
which you have already paid.

I've read through your guide and had a look through the forum, but couldn't find something of a similar wording.

I planning on taking this the full way as I feel strongly about it, but wondered if you would be kind enough to point me in the right direction or let me know your thinking please?

I think its pretty unfair especially as I phoned them twice in the early stages of the agreement to try and change the mileage limit (but they refused).

Any time or advice you could give me would be massively appreciated

Thanks

S

[stuartm]

Hi Rob.

In addition to this, I have just noticed a section on page 1 of the terms and conditions that reads:

Termination: Your Rights
You have a right to end this agreement. To do so, you should write to the person you make your payments to. They will then be entitled to the return of the
goods and to half the total amount payable under this agreement, that is £19,686.35. 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.

But then section 11 much later in the document mentions excess mileage...

As far as I'm concerned I terminated within my rights?

[R0b]

Nothing more to add because everything you need to know is in the VT Guide. Similar letter just different words and plenty of them posted on this forum.

Either you pay up or defend your position and call their bluff.