VTing my A3

[DioHasRocked]

Hi all - long time lurker here starting my VT journey after months of consideration. Really appreciate any guidance I may need with this but the VT guide does seem very in depth and informative.

My status so far is that I have sent the initial letter (2nd Sept) both via email and post as per the VT guide (I owe around £35 to get to the halfway mark) and today I had a response from VWFS as follows:


Good morning Mr XX

Thank you for contacting Audi Financial Services.

Before we are able to answer your query it is normal for us to ask a few security questions to verify we are communicating with our customer or their authorised third party, before we provide agreement specific information.


Please reply to this email with the following information and once verified we will be happy to assist you further.


Full name of Agreement Holder:

Vehicle Registration No:

Postcode:


Please can you confirm you are happy for us to contact you via this email address without further verification?


Please can you also confirm if there have been any changes to your contact details since your last communication with us?


You can also find lots of information on our website at www.audifinance.co.uk or please call our customer services team on 0370 010 2007 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.



Kind regards


Does anyone know if this is a stock response? I found it a bit odd that they would need to ask me this given I put all the information on the letter I attached regarding my address, reg and postcode.


Secondly, I feel I may be in a rather extreme situation here so would be very grateful for advice surrounding large excess mileage/damage charges. The car is 4 years old in January and I am waaaay over the pro rata mileage. I got the car initially when I began a job working in a small area. A year into my PCP I had to go for a job with another company which meant national travel, and the car has now done 80,000 miles which is roughly 42,500 miles over my allowance. At Audi's rate of 8.4p per mile this would equate to £3500 which in an ideal world, if I could get away without paying would be glorious! However, I fear I will be liable for these. Has there ever been a case where the driver and the car company have come to an agreement on payment? There are wheel scuffs and a couple of scratches as expected given the miles I have done but I fully expect to pay for these also. Are there any grounds to argue that I needed to do the mileage in order to keep my job and not surrender the car?

Many thanks in advance for any help!

[R0b]

Sounds like a template response. Assuming you've given all of the information on your letter, I would respond to Audi by saying, please refer to my previous email which contains the information you've asked for. If you're happy to converse by email, tell them that.

I'm sure there's plenty of agreements for repayment of excess mileage but that's a matter between the hirer and the lender.

Are there any grounds to argue that I needed to do the mileage in order to keep my job and not surrender the car?

Not that I can think of. You would have had a good argument if you called Audi and asked them to increase mileage due to change of circumstances and they refused (most lenders I've come across almost always refuse). Then you could say they failed to mitigate their losses because, had they agreed to increase the annual mileage, there's wouldn't be so much financial loss to the vehicle.

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b

Thanks for the speedy response, I certainly appreciate you giving your time up to reply to me.

I'll keep you/the thread informed as to how my journey progresses. I suppose at the time of transitioning jobs I didn't really expect to be doing as much mileage as I have done and then general life got in the way of even thinking about asking Audi to increase mileage.

My fault on that one!

Thanks again

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b

Quick update from me - I emailed and both posted the notice letter.

Today I have had post from VWFS about my request to terminate asking me to fill in a short form and return via post (Name, agreement number, address, confirmation that I have read the VT info pack etc) and confirming my shortfall of £34 to get to the halfway mark.

As part of the pack it says that once they receive my filled in template they will process my request and send me a confirmation letter with my pro rata mileage, any shortfall etc - even though they have already mentioned the shortfall. No mention of how much mileage I should have done yet.

But then I also had an email today which simply says:

Voluntary Termination

We have terminated your agreement as instructed. Please ensure you read the information pack that has been sent to you in preparation for the inspection and collection of the vehicle.

Your details have been passed to our agent British Car Auctions (BCA). They will be in touch within 7 working days to arrange both the inspection and collection of the vehicle. Alternatively you can contact them directly on 03457 00 44 33. Please leave 72 hours from receipt of this email, before contacting BCA.

If the vehicle is subject to a personalised plate and you wish to retain it, you will need to complete the transfer to a new registration number with the relevant V5C before your inspection date. If you have not done so already, you can remove your personalised plate online with immediate effect by visiting [http://www.gov.uk/keep-registration-...tration-number.

Kind regards

Customer Services Team


I'm guessing on that basis I can take the email as confirmation? Pretty confusing that both responses differ!


Kind regards

[ostell]

Have you read the enclosures. Are they trying to commit you to more than the law permits

[DioHasRocked]

Have you read the enclosures. Are they trying to commit you to more than the law permits

Hi Ostell - thanks for taking the time to reply

Hmm - the only thing I can think having read it is that they perhaps want a signature to confirm I have read and understood their charges for any dents/scratches/mileage etc?

There's a section about Inspection and collection which mentions that the inspection report will be forwarded from the BCA inspector in order for Audi to raise an invoice for any identified damage and excess mileage charges. So maybe that's why they want me to sign?

Either way, I think I may be best not filling in and just waiting for BCA to get in contact as per Audi's email?

[quintonside]

I had the exact same. Sent the letter, they come back and said fill in the template. The template didn't ask for anything that wasn't already provided, other than conformation the car was road worthy. I completed the template, but also added that my letter was already sufficient to terminate legally. Next day they confirmed agreement terminated with same wording you got. they also sent me details of how to pay the shortfall as i requested. BCA rang on Friday and picked up the car yesterday.

There is nothing to sign with BCA because of Covid. They email you the report. I made the BCA guy wait until the email came through. He had told me what he had included, but i wanted comfort that it was as he said. Email came through after 15 mins and confirmed the damage he marked. 3 Wheels and a scratch with appropriate costs.

Now I just wait for Audi to contact me for those costs and the excess mileage.


In short, if BCA haven't rung you by tomorrow afternoon, ring them and book it in.

[DioHasRocked]

Thanks for the heads up Quinton. I'm actually abroad for 2 weeks from tomorrow so they will need to wait until I'm back now. Hopefully that won't go against me somehow!

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b / ostell

BCA are booked in to collect my car a couple of days after I'm back from my break which seems good and painless thus far.

I just have a quick question in case either of you might know the answer. I've had the vehicle serviced 4 times since new, 3 by independent garages and once by Audi.

Theres no service book to stamp, I just got paper receipts to confirm it had been done each time. If I'm honest I've probably foolishly got rid of these at some point. Could I be charged for not keeping a record of the service history? Just thinking if I need to get back in touch with the garages to see if i can get re issued with paperwork prior to vehicle collection.

Many thanks in advance

[R0b]

The onus is on you to prove it's been serviced, so I would go back and try to get the paperwork as evidence.

Was the service book there when you first took possession? Any evidence from the initial paperwork to suggest there was? If so, you're on the hook for that too, otherwise it's up to VWFS to prove the service book was there.

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b

Thanks for the reply. There is the general owners book which has been in the glove box since day 1, but no stampable service book as per the old days. I remember asking on the first service and was told that it's been done away with by Audi now as it's all on computers? However I'll check my paperwork when I'm back and contact the garages that serviced the car.

Many thanks!

[quintonside]

Audi's don't have service books. Records are kept online. You need to use a garage that has access to recording the services online (main dealer or some independent approved also have access). Alternatively, you need to keep the invoices from the independents, ideally showing they've been done using genuine parts (for warranty)

Think VWFS charge £400 + VAT for missing service history.

[DioHasRocked]

Hi all

Update from me. I'm now back in the UK and BCA collected my car yesterday evening. I have filled in the online transfer stuff with the DVLA, cancelled my insurance etc.

I got the condition report from BCA this morning with a 'B' grade which I am guessing is 'good' ish? Anyhow the only points of damage on there are 2 scuffed alloys, RHF and LHF. The BCA report has noted the charged of £60 per alloy as per the following description:

Wheel RHF Scuffed rim and spoke Upto 2mm deep Refurb Alloy Wheel 60.00

Now I wasn't going to contest the fact that I did have scuffed alloys however the last guide I saw which detailed damage charges is this one and that has alloy scuff charges of £36 per wheel.

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/content/...%20Charges.pdf

I am not sure if there is a newer version? I tried to click on the one on VWFS website here but it won't load for me!

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/existing...Agreement.html


Can anyone please offer any advice?

Many thanks

[quintonside]

Hi all

Update from me. I'm now back in the UK and BCA collected my car yesterday evening. I have filled in the online transfer stuff with the DVLA, cancelled my insurance etc.

I got the condition report from BCA this morning with a 'B' grade which I am guessing is 'good' ish? Anyhow the only points of damage on there are 2 scuffed alloys, RHF and LHF. The BCA report has noted the charged of £60 per alloy as per the following description:

Wheel RHF Scuffed rim and spoke Upto 2mm deep Refurb Alloy Wheel 60.00

Now I wasn't going to contest the fact that I did have scuffed alloys however the last guide I saw which detailed damage charges is this one and that has alloy scuff charges of £36 per wheel.

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/content/...%20Charges.pdf

I am not sure if there is a newer version? I tried to click on the one on VWFS website here but it won't load for me!

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/existing...Agreement.html


Can anyone please offer any advice?

Many thanks

The document Audi sent me when they accepted the VT ahead of collection stated:-


Alloy Wheel
Scratched (Exceeds 50mm scuffing over the total circumference of the wheel) / Spoke Damage
Refurbishment
Per Alloy
£36.00

Alloy Wheel
Gouge / Deformed / Excessive Damage
Replacement
Per Alloy
Based on Approved Retailer Pricing.


I also had scuffed wheels on my report (x3) and they put £36 per wheel. I also had a scratch on the rear bumper noted. But my condition was marked A.

Not had the invoice/letter from Audi yet though, and it was collected nearly 4 weeks ago.

[DioHasRocked]

Thanks quintonside - I will wait to hear something official from Audi then and update the thread once I get that.

Cheers!