VTing my A3

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b

Hoping you can cast an expert eye on something for me please? I had my charges summary through the post from VWFS following BCA's collection.

It details the excess mileage charges and refurbishment costs for 2 alloys but doesn't make reference to Section 99.2 etc so I was unable to respond with the letter in the VT guide as it would have looked a bit odd! Instead I have taken some bits from other things I have seen on the forum and have come up with the below, if you could please let me know if it's a decent enough response to try and get things moving?

Dear Sir or Madam,
***
Re: Voluntary termination, end of contract charges

I am writing further to your letter dated 6^th October 2020 detailing a summary of costs for refurbishment and excess mileage upon the Voluntary Termination of my vehicle.

Refurbishment Costs

I do not dispute the fact that I had 2 scuffed alloys, however I am confused **by the summary in the letter which makes reference to a £60 charge (plus VAT) per alloy. Can you please let me know where this figure is from as in my previous correspondence from you, and in fact the VWFS website, the Audi damage charges document details that the charge for a scuffed alloy is £36 per alloy and doesn’t mention that this is excluding VAT. Please see the following link and advise:

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/content/dam/bluelabel/valid/www-vwfs-co-uk/documents/self-serve-documents/audi-self-serve-docs/Audi%20Damage%20Charges.pdf

Excess Mileage Charges

• The excess mileage charges are not recoverable. I would draw your attention to the County Court case, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited v Cahalane (Willesden County Court, Feb. 28, Claim No. D1CD9N5D). In that case it was argued (and rejected) that the excess mileage charges were rolling throughout the contract. On the contrary, Deputy District Judge Ellington (as she was then) confirmed that the excess mileage charges do not accrue at any point, rather they crystallised upon termination of the contract. She further pointed out that:

(a) she was bound by the authority in Julian Hodge Bank v Malcolm John Hall [1997] EWCA Civ 1852; and


(b) in any event the definition of "total price" as set out in Section 189 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 excludes any sum payable as a penalty or as compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement and that excess mileage charges do not fall to be included within the definition of total price. Judge Ellington further supported this point by referring to the wording in the agreement where it states "Termination: Your Rights" which goes on to say that you are only entitled to half the total amount payable as well as the return of the goods.



It is clear from the above that upon exercising my voluntary termination right, the ability to recover any sums exceeding one half of the total price payable no longer exist. Had I not exercised this right, and instead continued the agreement until the hire period expired and opting to return the vehicle, then the excess mileage charges would have applied as the limited liability rule would not be engaged.

I would appreciate your comments to the above and together with any evidence you have in your possession. In the absence of a substantive response, I have nothing further to add and consider this matter to be closed and will transfer the amount of £72 for the scuffed alloys in the coming week.

Kind regards

[R0b]

Why don't you have a look at the FOS complaint template in the VT guide which has a piece on excess mileage, you can use that for your points around excess mileage.

[DioHasRocked]

Why don't you have a look at the FOS complaint template in the VT guide which has a piece on excess mileage, you can use that for your points around excess mileage.

Perfect - thanks R0b - apologies for not spotting it sooner, I hadn't been that far down the VT pack.

Do you think the following looks OK?

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Voluntary termination, end of contract charges

I am writing further to your letter dated 6th October 2020 detailing a summary of costs for refurbishment and excess mileage upon the Voluntary Termination of my vehicle.

Refurbishment Costs

I do not dispute the fact that I had 2 scuffed alloys, however I am confused by the summary in the letter which makes reference to a £60 charge (plus VAT) per alloy. Can you please let me know where this figure is from, as in my previous correspondence from you, and in fact the VWFS website, the Audi damage charges document details that the charge for a scuffed alloy is £36 per alloy and doesn’t mention that this is excluding VAT. Please see the following link and advise:

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

Excess Mileage Charges

Having terminated the agreement in accordance with Section 99(1) of the CCA 1974, Section 100(1) is to act as a backstop in that it serves as a limitation of liability for the benefit of the debtor. It imposes a statutory limit on the amount of liability owed by the debtor to the creditor under a hire-purchase agreement which is defined as one half of the total price payable. “total price” is defined (see Section 189) as, “the total sum payable by the debtor under a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement, including any sum payable on the exercise of an option to purchase, but excluding any sum payable as a penalty or as compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement.” Accordingly,

Furthermore, in a recent County Court case between Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (UK) Limited v Cahalane (Willesden County Court, 26 February 2018) District Judge Ellington (as she was then) held that excess mileage charges were not recoverable. Her reasons included, amongst other things, that the definition of total price excluded the recoverability of these charges, the statement “Termination: Your Rights” was explicitly clear that liability was limited and, in any event, she was bound by the Court of Appeal decision in Julian Hodge Bank v Hall [1997] EWCA Civ 1852, which established that “total price” excludes compensation and damages for breach of the agreement for the purposes of calculating the total price payable.

It is clear from the above that upon exercising my voluntary termination right, the ability to recover any sums exceeding one half of the total price payable no longer exist. Had I not exercised this right, and instead continued the agreement until the hire period expired and opting to return the vehicle, then the excess mileage charges would have applied as the limited liability rule would not be engaged.

I would appreciate your comments to the above - in the absence of a substantive response, I have nothing further to add and consider this matter to be closed and will transfer the amount of £72 for the scuffed alloys in the coming week.

Yours faithfully,

[quintonside]

You had your car collected 3 weeks after mine was collected and I still haven't had anything from VWFS yet!

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b - hoping you can offer some guidance. I sent the above letter via email to VWFS on and asked that correspondence be kept to email. I'm trying to limit physical interaction as much as possible given what's going on in the world.

I received a response on the 20th Oct via email asking for more details as to my agreement no, name etc - security questions they termed it as. I responded the same day and had heard nothing until I received a letter through the post saying the situation remains unresolved, charges are still outstanding etc.

What I would like to know is, is there any legal obligation to correspond via post? I would have thought for the sake of the environment and peoples health that staying at home and emailing would be the best way to communicate but I could be wrong!

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

[DioHasRocked]

Sorry that should have said - received a letter through the post yesterday (Nov 14th)

[DioHasRocked]

ostell pt2537 - wondering if either of you helpful people may be able to offer some guidance as I think R0b may be away...

I'm a little further on than above now in that I have finally got VWFS to email me rather than have me going back and forth to the post office.I had to chase a few times to get a response to the letter above in red, and this is the response I got - can you make any sense of it?

Dear XXX


Thank you for contacting Audi Financial Services on 16 October 2020, I am sorry you have had cause to complain.


Your Complaint


My understanding of your complaint is as follows: You are unhappy having received an invoice for refurbishment charges on the return of the Audi A3 as you believe the reported damage falls within fair wear and tear.


My Investigation


Refurbishment fees form part of the terms and conditions you signed at the beginning of your agreement.


We understand during the life of an agreement, some damage may occur to the vehicle. British Car Auctions (BCA) use the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) fair wear and tear guide during their assessment which allow damage to the vehicle providing it is within the parameters stated in the guide.


I have reviewed the inspection report provided by BCA, please see enclosed for reference. I have assessed the damage using BVRLA guidelines, the industry standard of fair wear and tear for drivers of leased and financed cars. To reference this guide please find attached a copy of the BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines: https://issuu.com/bfwsn67/docs/fwt_volkswagen_financial_services_2?e=2001091%2F12 361092


Below is a list of the charges you were invoiced that were deemed by BCA to be outside of fair wear and tear:


Wheel left hand front - Scuffed rim - Refurb alloy wheel - £60

Wheel right hand front - Scuffed rim - Refurb alloy wheel - £60

Total: £120.00

Total incl VAT: £144.00



Below is the outcome of my investigation using the inspection report provided by BCA:

Wheel left hand front - Scuffed rim - This damage falls out with BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines - £60

Wheel right hand front - Scuffed rim - This damage falls out with BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines - £60

Total: £120.00

Total incl VAT: £144.00


My Decision


In light of the above I have decided to not uphold your complaint. However as a gesture of goodwill, I have waived the charge of £144.00 on this occasion to resolve your complaint. I have raised a credit note on your agreement to remove these charges.


You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge but you must do so within six months of the date of this email.


If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.



The FOS Consumer leaflet is available online here or should you require a copy of the FOS Consumer leaflet, please let us know and this will be posted to you.



The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted at:



Financial Ombudsman Service

Exchange Tower

London

E14 9SR



Telephone: 0800 023 4 567



www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk



Thank you for contacting us and providing us with the opportunity to review your complaint.



Yours sincerely


It just seems a bit like they have missed the point of my letter? Or not even read it?

As per my letter a few posts above, and the guide they sent me, I transferred the £72 (£36 per alloy) and in between my letter and the above response I have also since has a late payment letter from Themis Recoveries for the outstanding about they were wanting, minus the £72 I sent.

Hope that all makes sense, I really appreciate any help or guidance you are able to offer.

[R0b]

I don't think there is much more I can add, because it is a typical scenario of arguments over certain charges and whether they should be applied or not. If you feel strongly enough about them, then make a complaint to the FOS, you don't have to accept their decision and ultimately it is then down to VWFS to take legal action and pursue you for these charges.

Apart from legal proceedings, all of this should be covered by the VT guide including a template letter to use for the FOS complaint.

[DioHasRocked]

Hi R0b hope all is well

It was more to do with my letter saying that I was not disputing the fact that I had scuffed alloys, then their response saying that as they understand it, the complaint was that I was disputing the damage - without mentioning the excess mileage which is the main complaint.

Just wondered if it was a known tactic that maybe you had seen before, where they intentionally ignore what I've actually said to them!

[DioHasRocked]

Update for R0b & all - I think I won!

After weeks of waiting following on from sending my complaint to FOS, I'd asked for the charges to be dropped but didn't want to ask for any compensation for stress etc that some might try and go the extra mile to do - I've had the below response back from the FOS. Huge thanks to R0b and everyone else for all the helpful info.

Dear Mr XX

Your complaint about Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Limited

Thank you for your patience while we’ve been looking at your complaint. I’m sorry it’s taken longer than we would have liked to provide you with an answer. As previously explained, this was because of the complexities involved.

VWFS is making you an offer

Following our investigations and discussions with VWFS, they have now agreed to settle your complaint about the excess mileage charge being applied when you voluntary terminated your car finance agreement.

In your case, this means VWFS will either waive the excess mileage charge or, if you have already settled your excess mileage charge, they will now refund the charge adding interest at the rate of 8% simple per year from the date of payment until the date of settlement. If any adverse information has been recorded on your credit file – in relation to the period where the excess mileage charge wasn’t paid – this will now be removed.

This is in line with what the Financial Ombudsman Service would expect in these types of situations – and I think their offer is fair and reasonable.

What happens next?

I think this is a fair outcome in the circumstances, for the reasons I’ve explained.

If VWFS’ offer is acceptable, you don’t need to do anything. They’ll be in touch directly with full details of the settlement, in the next six weeks.

If you're not happy with the offer, or if there are outstanding secondary issues to your complaint, please let me know by 1 July 2021. If I can’t resolve things, an ombudsman here can look at everything again and make a final decision.

If I don’t hear from you by 1 July 2021, we might not be able to look at your complaint again. So please get in touch as soon as possible to let me know what you’ve decided.