Voluntary Termination with Alphera Finance

[wiredworm]

Hi,

I've just started the process of voluntary termination for my vehicle as i've changed to a new job which comes with a Company Car. It doesn't make sense to have the PHP car sat on the drive not being used for the next 10 months.

I sent the template letter to them a couple of days ago using special delivery and today i've had an e-mail from them. Despite using the template letter which clearly states I want to terminate with immediate effect they've very kindly provided me with a comparative quote between voluntary termination (which costs me £0) and settling the agreement (which will cost me in excess of £13k).

Needless to say i'll be mailing them back to confirm I want to go ahead but before doing so i'm going to cast my eye over the returns process and try to make sure bases are covered.

I've already had some of the paintwork repaired due to minor damage and once I have a collection date arranged i'll be having it valeted inside and out to make sure it's in as good condition as possible.

I've been warned that they don't like people voluntary terminating so i'm now worrying about just how much nit-picking they're going to do. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated as things progress.

[wiredworm]

I'm fully expecting some excess mileage charges as my annual allowance was a super low 6,000 miles per year. As it stands now i'm actually under the total mileage for the full four year term, but as i'm cancelling early I presume I need to break that 6000 miles down to a monthly figure and then multiply it up by the number of months up to the date of termination.

Thankfully it's not a huge amount and should equate to < £300. Not too bad, presuming that they don't pick up any other issues which start pushing the price up.

[wiredworm]

So I tried to reply to their e-mail to confirm my intent to continue with the voluntary termination only to get an NDR back from their e-mail system. The recipients mailbox is apparently full.

Nice going!!!

I'll give it an hour or two and then try again. The response address was the same customer services e-mail they advertise on the website so hopefully it won't take too long for them to spot the issue.

[R0b]

If you have already sent them a notice to VT, you don't need to reiterate your right to exercise. Nothing in the legislation says your first notice is a provisional notice of intention and then need to be followed up by a confirmation which is taken as your official notice to terminate. Your first notice is the notice to terminate and if Alphera ignore that then that is their fault, not yours.

Of course it depends on how you want to play it, you can send a follow up confirming your intention but if this is after the date next instalment is due, Alphera may argue you never officially terminated on the date given on your first notice. Equally, if you cancel your direct debit following the date of termination you might end up being pursued by Alphera and possible effects to your credit file which means you would need to sort that out but not without the right to be compensation.

[wiredworm]

Thanks for the confirmation. The way they presented their e-mail made me feel uneasy about not reiterating my intent to terminate.

I've just sent the mail for a third time and will wait to see if it bounces back or not. I still have just under 2 weeks before the next payment is due.

Can you please advise when I can cancel the direct debit? I presume any final charges for excess mileage and/or damage will be invoiced and payable within 30 days so it's not a requirement for the DD to be in place to settle those?

[R0b]

You can cancel when the date of the agreement you have given ends. So if you told them that you are terminating effective immediately, then it would terminate on the day they received the notice. I usually allow a couple of days after that where possible to be safe but if you have confirmed it has been delivered then you should be on solid ground assuming the letter was properly addressed.

If you are still receiving a bounce back that the inbox is full, suggest you get a letter out tomorrow again recorded delivery and refer to their email you received. Explain you tried to respond several times but received a bounce back email each time saying the mailbox was full and even though you are not required to confirm your voluntary termination, the letter confirms in unequivocal terms that you are exercising your right to terminate either with immediate effect or the date you stated in your original letter. If you wanted, you could go as far as mentioning that since the agreement is now at an end and are no longer obligated to pay any further instalments, you will be cancelling your direct debit.

Unfortunately, you can't predict how the lenders will respond and it may be that Alphera chooses to reply to your letter and trying to delay matters by asking you to do XYZ or they may refuse to accept your notice of termination or they may say you are not allowed to cancel your direct debit. It is entirely your choice if you want to play their games or not but as long as you are confident you have complied with the requirements of giving notice of voluntary termination under the Consumer Credit Act, you should have nothing to worry about.

[wiredworm]

Thanks for the information.

I sent the e-mail again later in the day and it seems to have gone through now. The next direct debit payment isn't due for a couple of weeks so to play things safe i'll leave it until later this week before cancellation (this still gives a good week to make sure it's cancelled). I would hope that by then I'll have heard from their collections team.

[wiredworm]

So, it's three days since the mail confirming I wanted to go ahead and i've heard nothing as yet. I'll give it to the end of the week and then start chasing.

[wiredworm]

This morning I finally got an e-mail from Alphera confirming the voluntary termination. They've given me some instructions about calling them to give them a document from the V5 and what I need to do with that once i've spoken to them.

Someone should apparently contact me in the next 72 hours to arrange for collection at which point i'll look into getting it booked in for valeting.

[wiredworm]

Given that they have clearly received my letter and are actioning it I will cancel the direct debit payment for the next scheduled payment which is towards the end of this week. I presume i'm within my rights to do this.

Hopefully I will hear regarding the collection today or tomorrow and then I can arrange for it to be cleaned prior to returning.

[wiredworm]

It's been significantly longer than 72 hours and i've still not been contacted regarding collection.

My termination letter gave them a specific mobile number to contact me on. My suspicion is that they have just used a number they have on file for me which probably won't work because i've handed my old company mobile back. I've followed up today with a further e-mail just so we can get the collection process moving.

[R0b]

As long as you've done what you need, there can be no argument from Alphera so just follow up on a regular basis maybe once a week.

[wiredworm]

I ended up chasing this and as I suspected they had handed the number they had on file for me to the collection agent instead of using the one I stipulated in the letter. No major issue - I just called them and gave them the new details and BAC were in touch relatively quickly to arrange the collection.

I had the car valeted inside and out yesterday and the vehicle went back a few hours ago. The collecting agent found one minor issue which will incur a cost of about £40.

Now i'm just waiting to hear what happens next. Is there a second inspection carried out or will the finance company just invoice me for the repair stated by BAC and the excess mileage?

[wiredworm]

The representative from BCA called last Tuesday (31st May) and did the inspection before taking the vehicle. The only issue identified at the time of inspection was a scuff on the tail lift which was longer than the permitted length. I've already received a copy of the report and the likely cost for this to be repaired is around £30 exclusive of VAT. No other issues were noted.

Today i've received a copy of my invoice for excess mileage which i've duly paid.

So, anyone know what happens next? Will I receive a second invoice for repairs - and if so is it likely they'll have done a secondary inspection and added to the list, or is it more likely than not that i'll just end up with the scuffed tail lift repair cost?

[wiredworm]

Its three weeks since collection on Tuesday and aside from the mileage charge I've heard nothing more.

How long should I reasonably wait before presuming the matter is closed?